LOS ANGELES -- As the oldest of five children, C.J. Beathard is a natural-born leader.

It took three years at Iowa for the Hawkeyes to recognize it, but as the finale looms to his first season as a starting quarterback, Beathard has earned sweeping admiration from teammates for his poise and command under pressure.

Take a look.

“You can’t expect anything but greatness out of him,” Iowa running back Jordan Canzeri said.

Said receiver Matt VandeBerg: “We don’t have to worry about who is the leader of this team, who is commanding the troops. We know it’s C.J.”

From guard Sean Welsh: “His demeanor, it kind of gives us confidence. He’s always calm. He never panics.”

And tackle Boone Myers: “He’s someone who’s going to lay it out for you, so you want to lay it out for him.”

Here is the truth about about the Hawkeyes’ 22-year-old quarterback: He’s reliable and steady, providing guidance and decision-making ability that helped thrust Iowa from the picture of mediocrity to a No. 5 ranking and a school-record 12 wins as it meets No. 6 Stanford Friday in the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual (ESPN, 5 p.m. ET).

The Hawkeyes and so many others, it seems, had Beathard pegged wrong after his two-year stint as the backup to Jake Rudock. Observers saw inconsistent play from Beathard in limited time and figured he was a risk. They watched his big arm and escapability and assumed he would lend a boom-or-bust nature to the Iowa offense.

They saw his long hair and guitar-playing skills and labeled Beathard as a free spirit.

Really, he was none of that.

Beathard’s parents, Casey and Susan Beathard, laughed at the descriptions of C.J.

“To me,” Casey Beathard said Monday, “it was just the opposite.”

Casey, a well-known country music songwriter, describes his son as a “pleaser.” The elder Beathard wanted C.J. to cut his hair last year and in 2014. But Susan told her husband to pick his battles. After all, C.J. performs well in school. He’s loyal and stays out of trouble.

He grew out the hair once while in middle school, too.

“That’s his rebel thing,” Casey Beathard said. “He’s everything you could want in a friend, but when all of his buddies were out there partying and doing their thing, he’d say, ‘Well, look at this, I’m going to grow my hair.’”

Beathard chopped the long locks after last season. The time to rebel was over. Instituted 50 weeks ago as Iowa’s top QB over the two-year starter Rudock, who later transferred to Michigan, Beathard had to lead.

As for the frustration accumulated during his long wait to take charge, Beathard said it helped him.

“Definitely,” he said, “I think the patience prepared me to be a better player. It taught me a lot about waiting and trusting in the plan that God has. It was frustrating at times, but it taught me to be a better teammate.”

Beathard threw 155 passes without an interception before Michigan State safety Demetrious Cox picked him in the end zone on a twice-deflected pass during the second quarter of the Big Ten championship game. The loss was Beathard’s first in 14 career starts, leaving him alongside Jameis Winston and Cam Newton as the only FBS quarterbacks to win their first 13.

“When you’re the starting quarterback, you just have that natural leadership voice,” Iowa center Austin Blythe said. “He’s definitely taken that to a new level. And you know what, you see it through his play. That’s where he leads the most.”

In January, when given the reins, Beathard’s inner-child emerged. Casey, watching from afar, said his son’s temperament reminded him of watching his kids in competition at home. As the oldest, C.J. competed especially hard.

If someone told him he couldn’t throw a rock and hit the speed-limit sign, Casey said, “he just knew he was going to hit it.”

Same concept at Iowa.

“He’s going to show them he can do what they ask,” Casey said.

From there, the second-team All-Big Ten junior said, he improved most this fall at diagnosing defenses before the snap.

“As a quarterback it's all about seeing things,” Beathard said. “It's more of a mental game than it is a physical game.”

And that’s not to mention his confidence, which has skyrocketed as teammates’ confidence in Beathard rose.

“On top of all that,” Iowa offensive coordinator Greg Davis said, “he’s a winner.”

Proof there from Davis that the Hawkeyes, as this season nears its end, finally know just what they’ve got in Beathard.