Tag: koen entringer

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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Phil Parker updates Iowa football’s preseason defensive health status exiting 2024 camp

Phil Parker updated Xavier Nwankpa and Koen Entringer’s health statuses.

The Iowa Hawkeyes are in good shape on the health front defensively as the 2024 college football season nears.

In his Tuesday meeting with the media, Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker updated the statuses of junior safety Xavier Nwankpa and sophomore safety Koen Entringer.

“Koen’s been practicing the last couple days. He’s doing a good job. I think he’s back. We’re just limiting some of his reps and watching so we don’t overload him. Xavier, it looks like he’s back at it. He should be. I thought he was going to practice here today a little bit, but I think he should be back in the next couple days,” Parker said.

Entringer suffered a knee injury during Iowa’s Citrus Bowl loss versus Tennessee. It required surgery over the offseason.

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz was optimistic about Entringer’s progress ahead of the Hawkeyes’ annual Media Day, but Entringer was held out of Kids’ Day at Kinnick and seen wearing a boot.

“One thing I’m pretty sure of, everybody is different in terms of their healing capacities, pace, all that stuff. He’s broken every record. He’s practicing. We’re not letting him tackle anybody or anything like that. But he’s practicing. He did tweak his ankle this morning, so I don’t know if he’ll practice tomorrow or not, but doing a really good job.

“We’re going to try to be really smart because it takes, what I also know or have learned, when guys get cleared, it takes a while for them to get their confidence back. He’s really kind of running around like there’s no problem, but try to protect him from himself a little bit,” Ferentz said of Entringer at Iowa Media Day.

Nwankpa didn’t participate in Kids’ Day at Kinnick either. It sounds like Iowa is just being cautious with Nwankpa ahead of the season opener against Illinois State on Aug. 31.

“There’s injuries and then there’s pain, you know what I mean? So, what’s the difference? Do you have pain, or is it truly an injury and you’ve got to take care of it? I think that everybody kind of knows the difference of that.

“Sometimes when you’re going out here and practicing in preseason like we are, you get banged up a little bit, hitting each other, stuff like that, so there’s soreness but there’s nothing more. We’re pretty healthy here on defense I think right now,” Parker said.

Parker said Iowa’s defense has no other health issues at the present moment. The longtime Hawkeye DC also hasn’t minded the opportunities it’s provided for younger Iowa players.

“We try to manage them during the preseason here where we need some younger guys to step up. I like to see some of them third-team guys, making sure they’re getting developed. It was a good opportunity for them to understand the defense.

“Some of these guys are really experienced and the experience that Jay and Nick have at the linebacker position and Fisher, I mean, these guys are just like a coach out there on the field and they’re coaching the younger guys. Until you get out there and do it yourself, I mean, I think that’s what the younger guys need,” Parker said.

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Kirk Ferentz updates Koen Entringer’s recovery from offseason surgery

After offseason surgery, Iowa DB Koen Entringer is back practicing with the Hawkeyes this fall.

The Iowa Hawkeyes have good news brewing in their defensive backfield.

In his Media Day press conference on Friday, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz confirmed that Hawkeye defensive back Koen Entringer is back practicing.

Entringer suffered a knee injury in Iowa’s Citrus Bowl loss versus Tennessee that required surgery over the offseason.

“Yeah, one thing about medicine, and I’ve sat in meetings for 26 years, I’m certainly not a doctor. You can look it up, I don’t have a masters. But you learn a lot in medicine just sitting there and listening to smart people talk.

“One thing I’m pretty sure of, everybody is different in terms of their healing capacities, pace, all that stuff. He’s broken every record. He’s practicing. We’re not letting him tackle anybody or anything like that. But he’s practicing. He did tweak his ankle this morning, so I don’t know if he’ll practice tomorrow or not, but doing a really good job.

“We’re going to try to be really smart because it takes—what I also know or have learned, when guys get cleared, it takes a while for them to get their confidence back. He’s really kind of running around like there’s no problem, but try to protect him from himself a little bit,” Ferentz said.

Entringer is listed as the Hawkeyes’ No. 2 strong safety on the preseason defensive depth chart behind junior Xavier Nwankpa. Iowa’s starting free safety is Quinn Schulte and redshirt freshman Zach Lutmer is listed as the backup.

The 6-foot, 207 pound sophomore defensive back wowed fans nationally with his effort play on special teams in the 2023 Big Ten Championship game versus Michigan.

After missing an initial tackle on Michigan punt returner Semaj Morgan, Entringer nearly raced the length of the field to chase down Morgan inside the 10-yard-line and save a Wolverine touchdown.

Entringer arrived in Iowa City as a three-star signee per 247Sports. 247Sports rated Entringer as the nation’s No. 42 athlete and the No. 18 player from Michigan in the 2022 class.

Entringer signed with Iowa over offers from programs such as Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Utah and Wisconsin.

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Wisconsin makes the top 4 for 2022 ATH Koen Entringer

Wisconsin makes the top four for 2022 ATH Koen Entringer

Wisconsin’s class of 2022 took a big hit this week when four-star in-state interior offensive lineman Billy Schrauth committed to Notre Dame and transfer cornerback Kalon Gervin switched his commitment from Wisconsin to Kansas.

There was some positive news to come from last week, though, as Wisconsin was among the final four schools for 2022 athlete Koen Entringer.

Entringer is a three-star recruit according to 247Sports and is the site’s No. 1487 player in the class of 2022, No. 126 athlete and No. 45 recruit from his home state of Michigan.

The three schools Wisconsin will look to edge out on December 15? Boston College, Michigan and Iowa.

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