Tag: Beau Stephens

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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Iowa may have accomplished the unthinkable: Spencer Petras, offense might have gotten worse

What happened versus South Dakota State might be worse than every Iowa fan’s worst nightmare: inexplicably, the Hawkeyes’ offense is worse.

Let’s get the “yeah, buts” out of the way right off the top. Iowa opened with the No. 3 team in the FCS in South Dakota State. The Hawkeyes did so minus their top running back and two of their top three wide receivers with both Gavin Williams and Keagan Johnson sidelined and wide receiver Nico Ragaini announced as out to start the week.

Those injuries are in addition to wide receiver Jackson Ritter and offensive lineman Justin Britt both being lost for the season. Plus, wide receiver Diante Vines isn’t expected back from his injury before at least the midway point of this season it doesn’t sound like.

It’s an offensive line that’s young in spots and looking to replace a first-round 2022 NFL draft pick in former center Tyler Linderbaum. Just to reiterate, South Dakota State is really good at the FCS level and has beaten FBS competition as recently as last season in Colorado State and hung with Minnesota in a 28-21 loss to start 2019.

All of this is true. It doesn’t change or excuse the fact that this looked and felt like rock bottom for Hawkeye quarterback Spencer Petras and the Iowa offense.

This was a flat-out embarrassing offensive performance for a program that spent all offseason looking to address a group that finished No. 121 nationally in total offense a season ago, averaging 303.7 yards per game.

Iowa ranked 101st in the country in rushing yards per game with 123.6 and 109th in passing yards per game with 180.1 last year. In 2021, Iowa registered an average of 16.5 first downs per game. In scoring offense, the Hawkeyes finished ranked No. 99, averaging 23.4 points per game.

So far, not so good in the improvement department. Iowa managed to do worse than each of those averages from last season. The Hawkeyes finished with a measly 166 yards of total offense, 109 passing yards and 57 rushing yards. Even though the score looks like the Hawkeyes tossed a conventional touchdown and PAT on the board, Iowa scored its seven points by virtue of one field goal and a pair of safeties. Oh, by the way, Iowa finished with 10 first downs and was 4-of-17 on third-down conversion tries.

In fact, Iowa’s seven points were the fewest by a winning Big Ten team since Iowa’s 6-4 triumph over Penn State in 2004. The Hawkeyes are also the first Big Ten team to win a game without scoring a touchdown since Nebraska beat Michigan State 9-6 in 2018.

At halftime, Petras was 6-of-15 passing for 41 yards with an interception. He finished 11-of-25 for 109 yards. All of the talk about this being a new-look offense sure didn’t hold up over the course of game one.

It could be as simple as Iowa truly doesn’t have a better option than Petras at quarterback. That’s what Ferentz said to start this season.

“It’s a long evaluation, and we evaluate everything, we tell our guys starting in January. Obviously we’re not doing football stuff, and both Spencer and Alex are both quality guys, but just the time on the field, I think Spencer has outperformed Alex a little bit at this point. He’s further ahead and gives us a better chance to be successful. That’s not to diminish what Alex has done. Both have improved.

“Now the thing is can we put this whole thing together and be a little bit more productive offensively. Both guys have done a good job. Spencer has continued to climb,” Ferentz said earlier this week when asked why Petras was able to secure Iowa’s starting quarterback job.

If that’s the case, then so be it, but it’s difficult for fans to reconcile not seeing other quarterbacks like Padilla or Labas get their chance outside of practice and in a game to try to deliver better for Iowa.

After all, as many in the Iowa echo chamber would pass along, right now, it doesn’t feel like it can get any worse. So, why not give those other two a chance and see if it can provide a spark?

It will get sold and painted as a positive that Iowa won the game 7-3 over South Dakota State despite offensive struggles. It’s not. It’s a negative that Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz and offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz were able to stick with Petras for the game’s entirety and win.

It sets up for the Hawkeyes to stay with a quarterback that means this team’s ceiling isn’t a Big Ten championship or maybe even a return appearance in the Big Ten Championship game. Today was the day to try out and see what it looked like once again with backup quarterback Alex Padilla or redshirt freshman Joe Labas.

Instead, the moment came and passed and now it’s on to Iowa State where tinkering at the quarterback position in-game could mean losing to your biggest rival for the first time in the past seven meetings. Obviously, the Iowa coaching staff hopes it doesn’t come to that.

The results versus the Jackrabbits indicate that it’s probably a matter of time before it does. Like the frustrating play that has defined Petras’ career at Iowa in the past, the San Rafael, Calif., native overthrew targets with regularity, struggled against pressure to identify where his open receivers were, he was intercepted on a pass behind his intended target in tight end Sam LaPorta, and missed a deep shot to wide receiver Alec Wick that could have helped sealed the game.

To be fair, Petras deserves a pass in this regard: like the subpar play that defined the back half of last season, it truly isn’t and wasn’t all his fault. The offensive line showed some serious weaknesses in game one.

Petras was under regular duress and the offensive line never could establish the Hawkeyes’ patented run game. Leshon Williams ended his day with 24 carries for a hard-earned 72 rushing yards, though he even had a costly fumble on Iowa’s lone offensive drive that seemed destined for the end zone. As a team, Iowa averaged just 1.6 yards per carry.

It’s week one, so overreactions are a dangerous game, but this was wildly uninspiring offensively from a program that needs improvement on that side of the football in the worst way.

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Week 1 Iowa Hawkeyes offensive depth chart versus the South Dakota State Jackrabbits

The Iowa Hawkeyes

The season-opening week for the Iowa Hawkeyes is upon us and that means it’s almost time for Iowa to lock horns with the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes released an offensive depth chart ahead of Big Ten Media Days, but, now that kickoff is this week, the Hawkeyes have revealed an updated offensive depth chart.

Fans suspected that Spencer Petras would remain as Iowa’s No. 1 quarterback. That is the case in the season-opening depth chart. What other surprises await Hawkeye fans in the first in-season depth chart reveal? Let’s take a look at the full Iowa offensive depth chart for South Dakota State.

Iowa Hawkeyes offensive lineman Connor Colby flexing his versatility

Iowa offensive lineman Connor Colby has been working at both guard and tackle, showcasing his versatility for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa offensive lineman Connor Colby has been showcasing his versatility, working at both offensive guard and tackle during the Hawkeyes’ 2022 training camp.

It’s already been important and figures to remain that way, too. Unfortunately, the Hawkeyes lost guard Justin Britt for the season, and while these aren’t season-ending injuries and don’t seem particularly serious listening to the Iowa coaching staff, both Mason Richman and Nick DeJong sat out during the Hawkeyes’ open scrimmage at the Kids’ Day at Kinnick.

After a season in which Colby started each of Iowa’s final 11 games at right guard, the ideal destination is probably to keep the 6-foot-6, 308 pound offensive lineman right there on the inside. Still, his versatility is something the Hawkeye coaching staff has to love.

Listening to Colby at Iowa Media Day, he’s fine so long as he’s got a spot on the field.

“I mean it’s been fun, anything I can do to be out there and play football. It’s a change up every now and then, keeps me on my toes,” Colby said.

Ultimately, Colby is keeping any inherent differences between guard and tackle pretty simplistic.

“You have to be ready no matter what, because no matter what there’s going to be a good guy across from you and you have to be ready to handle them,” Colby said.

In terms of bright futures in Iowa City, Colby’s would have to be right toward the top of the list. As a true freshman, Colby garnered All-America status from the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and the Maxwell Football Club.

Thanks to his standout true frosh campaign, Colby has been picking up recognition before this 2022 season boots off. Phil Steele named Colby a preseason second-team All-Big Ten selection, while Athlon Sports handed out preseason third-team All-Big Ten status to the sophomore.

With plenty expected of Colby, he’s just happy to be fully settled into what Iowa offensive line coach George Barnett and the Hawkeyes are asking of him.

“This year I have a better understanding of what’s going. I need to keep improving my fundamentals in order to make a big difference from this year to last year,” Colby said.

The Hawkeyes head into 2022 as one of the favorites in the Big Ten West. As the defending West division champion, there’s a laundry list of games that could fit the billing as one of the Hawkeyes’ most important.

Colby isn’t ready to iron down which one he’s looking forward to the most.

“I am excited for all of them, but I think the first time back in Kinnick Stadium will be fun. Coming out of the tunnel again, experiencing the atmosphere of all the fans. And they are all sold out this year, which is a testament to our loyal fan support,” Colby said.

As Iowa looks to get more out of its offense in 2022, one of the reasons for optimism is the man from Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Colby epitomizes a lot of the Hawkeyes’ hopes along their offensive line.

Similar to several of his teammates, the hope is his inexperience from last season morphs into seasoned play in 2022.

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Can year two under George Barnett yield an OL breakthrough for the Iowa Hawkeyes?

Can year two under Iowa Hawkeyes offensive line coach George Barnett yield a return to form and more impressive results?

Stop us if you’ve heard and seen this song and dance before. Iowa struggled to move the football and put up points in 2021. The Hawkeyes finished 99th in scoring offense and 121st in total offense.

At this point in the offseason, it’s like Beauty and the Beast’s “Tale As Old As Time.”

While quarterback Spencer Petras has oftentimes been the focal point of the fanbase’s ire, his offensive line left plenty to be desired as well last season. Iowa ranked 68th nationally in sacks allowed and the running game never really found its rhythm, finishing ranked No. 102 after averaging 123.6 rushing yards per game.

Redshirt senior Jack Plumb is part of a group that returns and features 44 career starts. Plumb, Iowa’s projected 6-foot-7, 296 pound starting right tackle, has nine career starts and started each of the team’s final seven games of last season.

Redshirt junior Justin Britt returns at left guard where he started Iowa’s first three games in 2021. At right guard, sophomore Connor Colby brings back 11 consecutive starts at the position to close last year.

At right tackle, Plumb and redshirt junior Nick DeJong split time last season. DeJong started Iowa’s first seven and Plumb the final seven.

Of course, center is where Iowa has to replace All-American and first-round 2022 NFL draft pick Tyler Linderbaum. Redshirt sophomore Tyler Elsbury, redshirt senior Matt Fagan and redshirt sophomore Logan Jones will battle it out during the fall to lock down that starting role.

Jones is trying to follow in the footsteps of Linderbaum as a player that Iowa signed as a defensive lineman and converted to the offensive line. Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz touched on his progress during the spring where he said Jones has “transferrable skills.”

Outside of Linderbaum, Iowa really battled the inexperience bug along its offensive line in 2021. Plumb met with the media for the first time since the spring and updated his summer progress and where he feels the group is at heading into 2022 fall camp.

One of the items he touched on jumped out. Plumb was asked about offensive line coach George Barnett.

“He’s pretty mellow, but he’s funny. He’s got a good way of telling stories and I love the way he coaches and everything. He’s big into family and about the room. Just being around us, having the guys be around each other all the time,” Plumb said of Barnett.

Keep in mind, Barnett is entering his second season leading the Hawkeyes’ offensive line. It’s something that Plumb feels has helped his group this offseason.

“It was cool. We know exactly what we’re going to get every day now. We aren’t worrying about the new guy, how is he going to act and everything. We know exactly what he’s going to get and it’s awesome having him around. I love him,” Plumb said.

When thinking about how Iowa’s offensive line can improve in 2022, the continuity with Barnett combined with the Hawkeyes’ offensive line having more collective starting experience seems like a nice recipe for a running game resurgence.

That would certainly be a welcome sight for the Hawkeyes’ quarterbacks in Petras, Alex Padilla and Joe Labas. It’s also great news for running backs Gavin Williams and Leshon Williams who are looking to replace Tyler Goodson’s 1,151 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns.

There’s still plenty to be sorted out with Iowa’s offensive line throughout fall camp, namely who will start at center, but a second season working with Barnett and plenty of familiar faces should be a terrific starting point.

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6 items with Iowa Hawkeyes offensive tackle Jack Plumb ahead of 2022 fall camp

Iowa Hawkeyes offensive tackle Jack Plumb met with the media, updating his summer progress and where the offensive line is at entering 2022.

Redshirt senior Jack Plumb will be counted upon to help guide Iowa’s offensive line in 2022. There’s hope that he and the rest of the Hawkeyes’ offensive linemen can kiss growing pains goodbye and deliver more of what Iowa fans have come to expect from this group.

In his first meeting with the media since the spring, Plumb spoke with HawkeyeReport‘s Tom Kakert and others to discuss his summer and his early thoughts on Iowa’s group heading into this upcoming college football season.

Let’s take a look below at everything Plumb had to say.

Athlon Sports’ 5 spring storylines to watch for the Iowa Hawkeyes

Athlon Sports’ J.P. Scott broke down five spring storylines to watch for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Iowa enters the 2022 spring after a 10-4 campaign that was highlighted by a 6-0 start and four wins to close the regular season that meant the Hawkeyes captured the Big Ten West championship.

Now, the focus is on figuring out how to replace three offensive starters and four defensive starters and how to close the gap between themselves and Big Ten champion Michigan. The Wolverines sent the Hawkeyes into bowl season with a 42-3 drubbing.

There’s plenty of reason for excitement in Iowa City with what Iowa returns, but, as typifies a spring, there’s plenty of questions for the Hawks as well. Athlon Sports’ J.P. Scott took a look at the five biggest spring storylines for Iowa in his spring preview of the Hawkeyes.

Examining the Iowa Hawkeyes’ offensive line to start the 2022 spring

What does Iowa’s 2022 offensive line look like as spring practices begin?

The Hawkeyes had the best center in the nation in 2021. That fact was illustrated by Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum earning the Rimington Trophy, which is awarded annually to the country’s top center.

Obviously, the loss of Linderbaum is a significant departure. The 6-foot-3, 290 pound center from Solon, Iowa, started all 35 games over the past three seasons for the Hawkeyes. Iowa replaces just three starters overall offensively, but another one of the Hawkeyes’ losses is left guard Kyler Schott.

The 6-foot-2, 294 pound offensive lineman played in 25 games with the Hawkeyes and started 18 overall, including the final 10 games of last season.

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz was asked if it’s a mix of fear and excitement with his offensive line entering the spring given some of the inexperience but knowing that young talent is there.

“Yeah, I’d say more fair a year ago. Again, we felt really good about the guy in the middle. Tyler (Linderbaum), one of the best guys we’ve had. And felt pretty good about Cody and, you know, well, Cody and Shooter. Thought we had three solid guys there. So we knew we had some work to do at the tackle spot, but that kind of blew up with Shooter and Cody. So that was a tough, challenging year and really impressed with the way George (Barnett) handled things. He didn’t go crazy or anything. He just kept coaching. And again, I think I’m excited about the growth that we saw, especially the last two months, November, December.

“So to me, I’m encouraged. I think the potential is there. Potential is potential. It really doesn’t help you, but I think the guys have worked hard. They’ve got the right attitude and I’m really anxious to see everybody this spring. It’s fun to watch guys and see how they practice, how they improve and compete. And it will be different on Saturday. We put pads on. We’ll be playing real football instead of just shells out there. But at least, you know, I think we’ve got, counting on everybody using the experience they’ve got and then improvement, and that’s where everybody on the team is really, that’s their job, including us coaches,” Ferentz said.

With that said, here’s how Iowa’s starting offensive line looks according to the first depth chart to the start the spring.