Iowa Football On the Right Side of the Injury Bug During Fall Camp

The unavoidable and dark side of fall camp for every team across the country is injuries during fall camp. It's a cruel, unfair part of college football that teams hope to avoid in August.

The Iowa Hawkeyes are in the thick of fall camp and have seemingly been on the right side of the injury bug up to this point.

Iowa is healthy... so far

During Iowa's media day, head coach Kirk Ferentz provided an update on the team's injury status at this point in fall camp, confirming the Hawkeyes are relatively healthy right now, aside from a few long-term injuries.

"Last couple things here. Injury-wise, overall not too bad. We have two guys right now that may miss a big part of the season, if not the entire season. Kyler Gerardy, unfortunately, was injured Wednesday, and Lance Begley, a receiver, was hurt about a week ago. Those two guys are -- we'll see how that goes. We'll know more as we move forward.

"Otherwise, we have some camp issues like every year. Nothing really noteworthy to comment on," Ferentz said regarding Iowa's injuries.

Lance Beeghley is a wide receiver in his first year with the Hawkeyes after transferring in from SMU this past offseason. The 6-foot-2 wideout was a three-star prospect from New Braunfels High School in Texas as part of the class of 2023.

Kyler Gerardy has been with Iowa for two seasons as a defensive back, appearing in five total games. He recorded two tackles during the 2025 season.

Where Iowa can't afford injuries

Injuries are unavoidable, but half the battle is getting lucky that if and when they do occur, it's at a position of depth. For Iowa, they have to hope the injury bug avoids them on the defensive line and at wide receiver.

On the defensive front, Iowa is still seeking answers as to who is going to step up and prove themselves as a starter. Iowa has a rotation of guys along the front who can play, but digging into the depth chart is a treacherous path, should it be demanded.

At wideout, Iowa has Reece Vander Zee and Tony Diaz separating as the two starters, but after them, things get a bit murky as to who the third wide receiver is. Evan James, the Furman transfer, is in the running. Dayton Howard could factor in with his size. KJ Parker could take the next step.

Regardless, Iowa has not been deep at wide receiver for a few seasons, and testing it this year is not a route the Hawkeyes want to go.

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