Tag: Addison Ostrenga

Iowa releases availability report prior to UCLA contest

Six Hawkeyes are listed out in Iowa’s availability report vs UCLA.

The Iowa Hawkeyes get the prime time treatment on Friday night in their Rose Bowl trip to take on the UCLA Bruins.

Iowa (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) looks to secure its longest winning streak of the season in its Friday night clash against UCLA.

After a 42-10 thrashing of Wisconsin last week, Iowa has now won back-to-back Big Ten games for the first time this season. The Hawkeyes have scored 40 or more points in three of their past four games, too.

In order to extend those streaks against UCLA (3-5, 2-4 Big Ten), Iowa will do so without several key contributors.

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz discussed the Hawkeyes’ quarterback situation earlier this week during his Tuesday press conference. The Hawkeyes’ Week 11 availability report reaffirms what Ferentz shared on Tuesday.

Graduate quarterback Cade McNamara and sophomore quarterback Marco Lainez were both listed out.

McNamara has been sidelined since sustaining the concussion early in Iowa’s 40-14 win over Northwestern on Oct. 26. McNamara has thrown for 1,017 yards and six touchdowns against five interceptions thus far this season.

In addition to those two, freshman wide receiver Reece Vander Zee and junior tight end Addison Ostrenga are both listed as out. Defensively, sophomore defensive back John Nestor and junior linebacker Karson Sharar are also out.

Vander Zee has caught 14 passes for 176 yards with three touchdowns, while Ostrenga has reeled in 11 grabs for 63 yards and one score.

Nestor has appeared in seven games this season and has seen 92 defensive snaps per Pro Football Focus. The Marist High School product out of Chicago has nine tackles on the season.

Iowa kicks off against UCLA from inside the Rose Bowl at 8 p.m. CT with the game set to be televised on Fox.

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Iowa updates injury outlook prior to Northwestern

An updated look at Iowa’s injury front vs. Northwestern.

The Iowa Hawkeyes return home to play host to the Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday afternoon in a 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff on Big Ten Network.

After a frustrating loss last week at Michigan State, Iowa (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) is looking to bounce back in a big way in front of its fans from inside Kinnick Stadium.

As the Hawkeyes ready to host the Wildcats, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz updated the injury front in his weekly press conference.

“Injury-wise, nothing really to report. Addison (Ostrenga) is going to be out for a while and then Beau (Stephens) will not make it this week, so we’ll see what next week brings, but he definitely won’t play this week,” Ferentz said.

Both Ostrenga and Stephens were listed out in last week’s availability report at Michigan State.

On the season, Ostrenga has caught 11 passes for 63 yards with one touchdown grab. Stephens has started 16 games in his career and started the first six games of this season at left guard.

Meanwhile, graduate CASH Sebastian Castro was listed as questionable on last week’s availability report. The 5-foot-11, 205 pound defensive back didn’t dress out against the Spartans.

That gave redshirt sophomore defensive back Koen Entringer an opportunity to make his first career start at MSU. Entringer made the most of it, intercepting a pass from sophomore Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles in the first quarter.

However, Entringer exited the Michigan State game with an injury.

“Yeah, I think he’s going to be okay. He’s got a hand issue, but I don’t think it’s going to be career-ending by any stretch,” Ferentz said of Entringer after the Michigan State loss.

On Tuesday, Ferentz provided positive injury updates on both Castro and Entringer.

“They both practiced today, so I anticipate they’re going to be okay. Koen’s injury looked like it might be a little bit more serious on Saturday. But fortunately, he’ll be fine,” Ferentz said.

Ferentz had noted after the Michigan State game that Castro was dealing with an ankle tweak.

“I expect him to play next week. At least I think he will. He just tweaked his ankle basically. I thought he might have a chance today, but he couldn’t go yesterday. Hopeful with a little extra time today that maybe he’d be alright, but he’s not. I don’t think it’s anything longterm,” Ferentz said of Castro following the Michigan State game.

Ferentz discussed the plan on the interior of Iowa’s offensive line with Stephens still sidelined. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), senior Tyler Elsbury played 28 snaps and redshirt freshman Kade Pieper played 20 snaps at left guard against Michigan State.

“Yeah, obviously the injury was Beau being out, and that’ll be the case this week, too. We’ll probably go the same way. Tyler has done a great job. I’ve talked about him a lot. Really has good position flexibility. He’ll be our backup center this week, I would imagine, going into the game and start at left guard.

“Then Pieper is a guy, young guy, obviously, a little different, kind of the exact opposite of Tyler, but really impressed us last year and had a really good spring ball and had a good camp, so we think he’s got a really good future right now. So our plan the other night was to play both those guys, and we’ll probably do the same thing this week.

“I mentioned Tyler being the backup center only because Kade has been working backup center, too, but I don’t think we want to have him doing two things this week. So we’ll just keep him at guard and let Tyler float around a little bit. His versatility, part of that comes with his experience. He did a great job last year when Logan was out,” Ferentz said.

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Iowa trio listed on Week 8 availability report at Michigan State

A trio of Hawkeyes are on the Week 8 availability report vs. Michigan State.

A trio of Hawkeyes are listed on the availability report ahead of Iowa’s date at Michigan State on Saturday evening.

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz revealed in his weekly press conference that the Hawkeyes would once again be without junior tight end Addison Ostrenga. Ostrenga was seen in a sling on the sideline at Ohio State on Oct. 5 and he didn’t play in the Hawkeyes’ 40-16 win over Washington last week.

Ferentz said that junior starting left guard Beau Stephens would be sidelined as well.

“Injury-wise what we went into the game is where we’re at right now. Addison Ostrenga is going to be out several weeks. Beau will not be able to make it this week. Maybe it’s not as bad as we thought earlier in the week, but he definitely will not play Saturday. He was out there today walking around. He has a ways to go.

“On the positive front, looks like Hayden Large will be able to play if he can make it through the week. Optimistic about that. That’s some good news at least,” Ferentz said in his Tuesday press conference.

Iowa’s Week 8 availability report confirms what Ferentz said earlier in the week. Both Ostrenga and Stephens were listed out.

Graduate defensive back and CASH Sebastian Castro was also listed as questionable versus the Spartans.

On the season, Ostrenga has caught 11 passes for 63 yards with one touchdown grab. Stephens has started 16 games in his career.

Castro has 28 tackles, one tackle for loss, one forced fumble and one interception on the season. In his Hawkeye career, Castro has registered 134 tackles, 18 passes defensed, 12 tackles for loss, four interceptions, four forced fumbles, two sacks and one defensive touchdown.

Kickoff at Michigan State is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on NBC.

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Lone Hawkeye listed out vs. Washington Huskies

Addison Ostrenga is sidelined vs. Washington.

One Iowa Hawkeye finds themselves on this week’s availability report.

As the Iowa Hawkeyes (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) gear up to host the Washington Huskies (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten), UI released its weekly availability report.

Junior tight end Addison Ostrenga was listed as out. The 6-foot-4, 251 pound tight end exited Iowa’s 35-7 loss at Ohio State and was seen with a sling.

It’s not a surprise to see Ostrenga on the sidelines this week. Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz indicated this would be the case earlier this week during his press conference to preview the date against the Huskies.

“Injury-wise, Addison is probably going to be out this week. I don’t see anything that’s realistic to think he’ll make it back. A lot of guys with injuries coming out of that game. Physical game, both sides. But I think based on what I saw today, I think we have a chance to have everybody ready Saturday outside of Ostrenga,” Ferentz said

Ostrenga has 11 catches for 63 yards with one touchdown on the season. In 2023, the Sun Prairie, Wis., product reeled in 31 receptions for 192 yards and two scores.

Iowa also revealed this week that junior wide receiver Kaleb Brown and senior running back Leshon Williams both intended to leave the program and transfer.

“I applaud both guys because what you don’t want is somebody in the program that doesn’t have both feet in the circle and totally committed to the team, doing well. At this level, it takes everybody. It takes everybody on the team. I applaud them, wish them the best, and appreciate what they have done,” Ferentz said.

Iowa kicks off against Washington at 11 a.m. on Fox.

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Kirk Ferentz updates injuries to Ethan Hurkett, Addison Ostrenga

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz updated injuries to defensive lineman Ethan Hurkett and tight end Addison Ostrenga.

A pair of Hawkeyes exited Iowa’s 35-7 loss at No. 3 Ohio State with injury.

Senior defensive end Ethan Hurkett and junior tight end Addison Ostrenga both sustained injuries against the Buckeyes.

Immediately after the loss, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz shared his early diagnosis on Hurkett and discussed why junior Hawkeye wide receiver Kaleb Brown didn’t play.

“Yeah, I think he’s okay and the other one’s just a soft tissue thing that popped up on Wednesday, so, you know, who knows. We’ll see,” Ferentz said.

Ostrenga was seen out of pads and with his right arm in a sling at Ohio State.

“Yeah, I’m not sure. He had to come out. And I don’t know if he was in a sling or not, but they had him strapped up or taped up afterwards. Hopefully, it’s nothing too bad, but couldn’t go back in the game obviously,” Ferentz said.

Brown was the only Hawkeye listed on Iowa’s pregame availability report. It was Brown’s first appearance on the availability report this season.

Brown has just one catch for 18 yards thus far this season, but the 5-foot-10, 200 pound receiver reeled in 22 passes for 215 yards with a touchdown last year.

Meanwhile, Ostrenga has 11 receptions for 63 yards with one touchdown.

Hurkett has been one of Iowa’s most disruptive defenders. The 6-foot-3, 260 pound defensive lineman has tallied 17 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and a pair of forced fumbles.

Iowa (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 12 with a home date against Washington (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) from inside Kinnick Stadium. The Huskies topped then-No. 10 Michigan over the weekend, 27-17.

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Iowa Hawkeyes 2023 Positional Breakdown: Scouting the tight ends

Iowa will have one of the nation’s finest tight end tandems in Luke Lachey and Erick All. A breakdown of the Hawkeyes’ tight ends.

Iowa University is Tight End U. Don’t give me some talk about teams that were great at a time before most collegiate athletes were even alive. We’re talking right now. We’re talking current day, and nobody produces tight ends like Iowa.

Since the Mackey Award was first instituted in 2000, two Hawkeyes have won the award in Dallas Clark (2002) and T.J. Hockenson (2018). Hockenson was joined by his teammate Noah Fant that year as a semifinalist for the award. Iowa had two straight semifinalists for the award in Allen Reisner (2010) and Tony Moeaki (2009), respectively.

Last year Sam LaPorta was named one of three finalists for the award. This was the same year he was named first-team All-Big Ten and was the Kwalick–Clark Tight End of the Year, an award partially named after, you guessed it, a former Iowa Hawkeye.

This doesn’t even mention the best of the bunch George Kittle, a fifth-round pick back in 2017 who has only been named an All-Pro three times while making the Pro Bowl four times.

Through college acclaim and professional success, Iowa has dominated the tight end position like no other. That trend does not look likely to end in 2023 one bit. Here is a breakdown of the tight end position for Iowa this upcoming season.

Iowa Hawkeyes 2023 Snapshot Profile: No. 87 Addison Ostrenga

Luke Lachey and Erick All that are proven collegiate playmakers. Can Addison Ostrenga add a third option at tight end for the Hawks?

Honestly, who even needs wide receivers?

Sure, other teams might employ wideouts to “catch the ball” and “make big plays,” but are they really that necessary? Iowa just may put that to the test this year.

In all seriousness, the job of an offensive coordinator is to figure out how to get the most out of the offense with the current personnel. It is up to Brian Ferentz to figure out how to get the best players on the field. There’s been a running joke about Iowa wanting to employ nothing but tight ends, but when you look at the state of the tight end room, could you blame them?

Much has already been made of starters Luke Lachey and Erick All, but keep your eye on rising sophomore Addison Ostrenga. There has been a lot of buzz around him this offseason, and he was one of the stars in the spring game. He brings a level of athleticism reminiscent of Sam LaPorta with route running ability to boot.

He’s exactly the type of tight end you’d expect to see waiting in the wings at Iowa, though Ostrenga may do more than just wait. Though behind some incredible players, if the sophomore tight end keeps impressing, it may be hard to keep him off the field for long. Here’s a look at Iowa tight end Addison Ostrenga.

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Report Card: Grading the Iowa Hawkeyes’ 27-0 win over the Nevada Wolf Pack

The Iowa Hawkeyes blanked Nevada, 27-0. Naturally, the best all-around performance thus far earns improved marks in this week’s report card.

Even though Mother Nature had other ideas, ultimately, nothing could stop the Iowa Hawkeyes from turning in their best start-to-finish performance of 2022. The Hawkeyes improve to 2-1 on the season and will now turn their attention to Rutgers next Saturday night from SHI Stadium at 6 p.m. on FS1.

As a result, the Nevada Wolf Pack exit Iowa City the victim of a 27-0 shutout and drop to 1-2 on the season.

“We got off the mat and got back in the fight and did a good job in unusual circumstances tonight. So to stay focused, that was good to see. Just really pleased. We showed some progress in certain areas. Happy about that. Obviously, it was good to get Nico (Ragaini) back and Keagan (Johnson) back and then Brody (Brecht) was able to get involved a little bit too at the receiver position. So gave us a few more guys to throw to.

“All in all, the team effort was good. Again, you go 60 minutes broken down over seven hours, not easy to do. Defensively, you all saw the game, those guys played a good game. They were aggressive and very tough to run against and they made the passing yardage tough as well. I thought especially in the first half. It was a little disjointed once we got back in the second half. But in the first half I thought we had a little rhythm offensively. The run game wasn’t perfect, but we did some better things so that was encouraging,” Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz said of the victory.

Before completely turning the page over to Rutgers, let’s hand out some Nevada grades. Pull up a chair. Class in session.

Social media reacts to the Iowa Hawkeyes’ 2022 Kids’ Day at Kinnick

What were the reactions on social media to what fans and media saw during Iowa’s 10th practice, the annual 2022 Kids’ Day at Kinnick?

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz had plenty to say following his team’s 10th training camp practice, the annual open practice for Kids’ Day at Kinnick.

Overall, Ferentz liked what he saw from his group.

“First and foremost, good opportunity for our guys to change up from the first nine days. First time we’ve been in front of the public a little bit, so that’s healthy. Just a healthy change for everybody. And then, flipping it over, it’s a good opportunity for us to have Kids’ Day. I think hopefully they enjoy it and all of our guys were kids at one point.

“Even me at one stage, I was a kid. So, that’s good and then the Kid Captain program as I said yesterday is just a great concept. Nice to have our seniors get an opportunity to spend some time with them, greet them down here in the end zone, so it was all good. And then, just overall, I’m actually kind of pleased with what I saw today,” Ferentz said.

Ferentz discussed what he liked the most about his group’s performance.

“Two things I feel really good about was, first and foremost, big contrast from the field goal kicking, from what all of you guys witnessed last spring and coaches witnessed as well. I don’t think we had a miss today. I don’t think we did and most of them weren’t even close. One was I know, but that was good, so a lot of growth there since April. We’re not out of the woods yet. I’m not pronouncing us ready to go, but at least that’s encouraging. The third down period I thought was really good, too. That was encouraging. I thought we were pretty sharp there and did some good things. So, those two things were good takeaways,” Ferentz said.

Naturally, the fans and media in attendance had plenty of reactions as well. Here is how Hawkeye social media took in the 2022 Kids’ Day at Kinnick.