Ferentz: Hawkeyes Are Surviving The Injuries

Jackson, Merriweather, and maybe even Brents could be back this week.

The trick, Kirk Ferentz said, is surviving the injuries that naturally pop up during a college football season.

Judging by the Iowa coach’s comments on Tuesday, the Hawkeyes may be in the process of doing that.

Ferentz said offensive tackle Alaric Jackson, safety Kaevon Merriweather and cornerback Julius Brents could be back on Saturday when the No. 14 Hawkeyes play at No. 18/19 Michigan.

Jackson (knee) and Merriweather (foot) played in the season opener against Miami (Ohio). Brents (knee) hasn’t played this season.

Jackson and Merriweather popped up on Iowa’s depth chart on Monday — Jackson at No. 2 at left tackle behind Tristan Wirfs, while Merriweather was at No. 2 at free safety behind Jack Koerner.

Jackson even has a chance to start, Ferentz said, but that decision will come later in the week.

“He looked good today and the film looked good,” Ferentz said. “As long as he can keep progressing — if he's capable, certainly we'll start him. He's one of our starters.”

“AJ’s looked pretty good,” running back Toren Young said. “The line’s been great all year, and it will be good to get him back out there.”

The Hawkeyes (4-0 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) have done plenty of rotating on the line all season. Cole Banwart, injured early in the season, is back as the starter at right guard. Levi Paulsen has played right tackle since Wirfs shifted over to the left side in Jackson’s absence. Mark Kallenberger has been a backup at tackle and at guard. Kyler Schott had been impressive at guard until an injury sidelined him.

“I can't say enough about the job Levi has done and everybody, we've been shifting guys around, but my guess is we'll continue to rotate the guys at least for the next couple weeks,” Ferentz said.

Much like in the secondary, which has seen its share of players in different spots with some emerging story lines, Ferentz said the same thing can happen with the offensive line.

“The whole trick is surviving it, and I think the offensive line has done a pretty good job of managing the bumps through the first four weeks, and getting AJ back will certainly help us, and hopefully we'll be a more diversified group now,” Ferentz said.

The return of Merriweather, as well as the possible return of Brents, helps the depth in the secondary and may mean the return of the “cash” defensive package with the hybrid linebacker-safety spot.

Ferentz doesn’t see Brents stepping in right away at cornerback, considering the way Michael Ojemudia and D.J. Johnson have played so far this season.

Brents emerged last season after injuries cut into the secondary depth.

“Well, it was really more by circumstance last year, and that's where we were at,” Ferentz said. “And we've been in that situation already this year, so it would be nice to have some options at least. I guess that's the deal.

“But I really see him hopefully helping out on special teams this week, and maybe in some sub packages, things like that. But right now DJ and OJ are our two ... we've got two initial guys. Anyway, they're our two starters at corner right now. That's how we're looking at it.”

Two other injured players, cornerback Matt Hankins and defensive tackle Brady Reiff, aren’t expected back this week.

“Yeah, they couldn't work today, so I just don't see that happening,” Ferentz said. “Hopefully we're getting closer. I think we're moving forward with all the guys that are still out, but yeah, just one of those deals.”