IOWA CITY - Reporters camped on his door.

Facebook questions reached record highs.

Welcome to Jewel Hampton's life, liberty and the pursuit of his happiness.

The heir apparent to Shonn Greene as Iowa's featured running back, Hampton suffered a knee injury during the offseason. Little information on the extent of his injury reached Hawkeye fans and the media, so the fans and the media reached out to him - in person and on the Internet through Facebook.

"I didn't expect the feedback I got on my knee," said Hampton, a 5-foot-9, 210-pound sophomore from Indianapolis. "It was kind of a big deal. I didn't know people cared about me so much, you know?"

Laughing, Hampton added, "I guess the most bizarre thing was all the people asking me how I was doing. The reporter who came to my house - that was really bizarre."

Finally, during Iowa media day, Hampton delivered the words people had been hoping to hear. He wasn't very specific on the condition of his knee, but he said he's about 90 to 95 percent. In other words, the sophomore expects to play in Iowa's Sept. 5 opener against Northern Iowa.

"I'm definitely looking forward to playing in the first game," said Hampton. "Definitely."

Ironcially, Hampton's outlook endured another twist of fate when he aggravated the knee injury during a recent practice.

His teammates, the coaching staff and Hawkeye fans are hoping that he can be the definitive replacement for Greene. During his final season in black and gold, Greene won the Doak Walker Award en route to 1,850 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Then Greene departed for the NFL and the New York Jets. But Hampton hinted that he could run the ball very, very well when given a chance. As a true freshman, he racked up 463 yards, averaged 5.1 per attempt and scored seven touchdowns.

"He's tough," said Iowa offensive coordinator Ken O'Keefe."He wants the ball in his hands and he runs hard. As a true freshman, he didn't get rattled. He went in the game and just played."

No one, certainly not O'Keefe, suggests that Hampton can carry the ground game to Greene's level. And the new starter will get some support from backups like veteran Paki O'Meara. The rotation will be sorted out over time, said O'Keefe.

Hampton, though, is ready and willing to accept the burden.

"If you want to be the starter, you should be the starter," said the Iowa running back. "That's how I'm gonna approach it. I'm looking forward to trying to fill Shonn's shoes."

Hampton said he's picked up advice from Greene on items like reading defenses.

One thing Hampton vows to avoid is slowing down - good knees or bad.

"My running mentality doesn't change at all," he said. "(The injury) was just a setback. I'm moving forward and through.

"It should be good."