IOWA CITY, Iowa — The Iowa Hawkeyes enter Week 5 of the college football season hoping to avenge last season's Big Ten Championship Game loss to the Michigan Wolverines. Both teams will enter Kinnick Stadium on Saturday undefeated in conference play.
On Tuesday, Kirk Ferentz met with the media to discuss the Week Five depth chart, new injury updates and the match-up that awaits with the fourth-ranked Wolverines. Here's a breakdown of the biggest headlines from the presser.
LB Jestin Jacobs ruled OUT for the season
Jacobs left play with an injury in Week One, and subsequently missed Iowa's matches with Iowa State and Nevada. He returned last week against Rutgers, but exited early.
"Unfortunately, we did get bad news on Justin. It didn't sound good the other night, and that's been confirmed. So he's gonna have to have surgery, and he's gonna miss the rest of the season," Ferentz announced on Tuesday.
With Jacobs out for the season, S Sebastian Castro and LB Logan Klemp will likely share reps in his place at cash/leo linebacker. Castro saw the majority of snaps in relief of Jacobs last weekend and played well, forcing a fumble and tallying four tackles.
CB Terry Roberts status
Roberts was injured in a practice on Friday, Sept. 23. The nature and extent of his injury is unknown. He was not listed on Monday’s depth chart, and Ferentz said, "[he's practiced] a little bit, [he's been] limited. We'll see how it goes."
Though Ferentz did not rule out the possibility of Roberts playing this week, Cooper Dejean will continue to start in place, at least until Roberts returns.
CB Cooper Dejean's performance
Dejean had a star performance in Roberts' place against Rutgers last weekend. In addition to recording seven tackles and a pass deflection, Dejean caught an over-the-shoulder interception that he returned 45 yards for an Iowa touchdown.
Ferentz says, "... three straight weeks he's had a pick ... he's been really impressive."
Dejean has the second most interceptions in all of the football bowl subdivision with three, having now intercepted a pass in three straight games. Sports analytics company Pro Football Focus rates him as the top cornerback in all of college football, and he's just a true sophomore.
Jamison Heinz, TJ Hall listed as backup CB’s
Along with Roberts, Ferentz disclosed that backup CB Brendan Deasfernandes is also out with an injury.
Now, Heinz and Hall find their names on the depth chart for the first time in their young careers. Ferentz said, "[they] have stepped up and done a good job."
RS sophomore Heinz saw the first action of his career against Nevada and played well, logging two tackles in limited snaps.
Hall also recorded a tackle against Nevada. True freshmen don’t typically play in Phil Parker’s elite secondary unless it's out of necessity. The California native was a highly touted prospect in Iowa’s 2022 recruiting class and enrolled early this past January to participate in off-season activities.
WR Keagan Johnson OUT for Saturday’s game
The star receiver is out again for Saturday's match. "Keagan right now will not be going this week," Ferentz said.
Through five weeks, Johnson has only been active once, logging a single reception in Week Three against Nevada. Spencer Petras has struggled to consistently hit his wide receivers, completing just one pass to wide receivers last Saturday against Rutgers.
The Iowa offense will have to figure out how to get the ball into the hands of receivers Arland Bruce IV and Nico Ragaini if Iowa is to compete with the fourth-ranked Wolverines.
Can Iowa move a defensive back to wide receiver?
Alleviating the depleted wide receiver room with a defensive skills player has been thought of as a possibility, considering Ferentz's historical willingness to flip players from one side of the ball to the other; but there are currently no plans to move defensive players to wide receiver.
"I don't think it's ever too late ... Cooper [Dejean] could probably play offense pretty well... but we gotta use him on defense right now ... we're not going there," Ferentz said.
Iowa entered the season with just three active scholarship wide receivers: that remains the number to beat. Scholarship receivers Johnson, Diante Vines and Jacob Bostick have all been battling injuries. It's expected that Johnson and Vines will return to the field this season.
On Iowa's offensive line rotation
The Iowa offensive line (OL) paved the way for 142 yards on 34 carries from Iowa ball carriers last Saturday. The run game was the best it's been all season against Rutgers, who entered the match as one of the top rushing defenses in the country.
Despite last Saturday's success, the coaching staff is still working to identify the best five-man OL lineup they can create. In addition to the five regular starters, the coaching staff has regularly rotated reserve offensive lineman Jack Plumb, Tyler Elsbury and Gennings Dunker onto the field.
" ... If it's close enough, we're gonna keep working it and I don't think it's a bad thing, quite frankly, you know, especially with guys that aren't established," Ferentz said on the re-shuffling on the offensive line.
Looking ahead to Saturday's match versus #4 Michigan
"I mean, you look at these guys, it's hard to find a weakness... they're very well coached. And they play hard. So it's, you know, it's gonna be a challenge. There's no question about that," Ferentz said on his team's outlook against the fourth-ranked Wolverines.
Ferentz understands that there can be no margin for error if the Hawkeyes are to find success against the elite Wolverines, saying "...one commonality with all the victories that we have had, they've all been really tough to get to earn ... typically they go 60 minutes ... that's what it's going to take this Saturday too."
Fox's "Big Noon Kickoff" will broadcast from the University's Hillcrest/Petersen lawn for the highly anticipated rematch. Iowa and Michigan kickoff at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
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