Ferentz: Iowa offense has a noteworthy injury

Update

Iowa tight end Jake Duzey re-injured his knee and will miss the Rose Bowl.

Duzey suffered a patellar tendon injury in the last week of spring practice and played in nine games this season with no catches.

The latest injury ends Duzey's career as he made the decision to play this year instead of seeking a medical hardship waiver.

Original Story 

LOS ANGELES — It will remain a mystery for a little while, but two days into their Rose Bowl trip the Hawkeyes have an injury to announce.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said Saturday that the Hawkeyes suffered a 'setback' on offense. He didn't say who, but added that there will be an announcement. Tight end Jake Duzey and offensive tackle Ike Boettger have been dealing with lingering injuries, so they would be logical guesses, but right now, they are only guesses.

'We just had a setback physically, so I'll make an announcement when everybody gets a shot at it,' Ferentz said from Disneyland during the team visit, which was covered by only a handful of media.

Defensive end Nate Meier didn't practice in Iowa City, but was supposed to begin this week. Ferentz didn't go into specifics on his situation — Meier played in the Big Ten title game with groin, shoulder and neck injuries — only saying a few players have been 'in and out' of practice.

The only light Ferentz shed on this injury in particular was that it was on the offensive side of the ball.

No shows — Just three players from Iowa's roster of 114 didn't make the trip to the Rose Bowl. Last week, redshirt freshman defensive end Terrence Harris reopened his Twitter account and started talking about a new beginning. He's likely one of the three. Ferentz was asked and didn't offer any names.

Ames reference — It's southern California and the Hawkeyes are from Iowa and so, yes, we have weather questions. The LA basin was under a wind advisory Friday and so . . .

'It was a little windy yesterday, I felt like I was in Ames, Iowa,' Ferentz said. 'It's really nice today and no one was complaining yesterday, except for our kickers who had a bad day. They didn't like the wind.'

It can sometimes be windy in Ames.

Canzeri ankle update — Running back Jordan Canzeri has been through the two full-padded practices Iowa has had here and reported Saturday that his right ankle has held up. He suffered a sprained ankle in the first quarter of the Big Ten title game on Dec. 5.

'Practice has been going great,' Canzeri said with a huge smile. 'This is the best that it could be right now. I'm really excited that I'm even here at this moment.'

Lomax knee update — Since the Big Ten championship game, free safety Jordan Lomax has been practicing in a knee brace. He suffered an injury in the game. Saturday, he said he has been practicing and will play in Friday's Rose Bowl.

Iowa's practice flow — The Hawkeyes are practicing this week at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., the home of Major League Soccer's LA Galaxy,

Ferentz said Iowa's Christmas practice was full-go and physical. The team tapered on Saturday and will begin normal game week preparation Sunday.

'I think we all felt coming off the field yesterday that it was slow motion, it didn't seem like a very good practice,' Ferentz said. 'We looked at the tape this morning, it was a pretty good. It reminded me that every year your first practice feels bad.'

The Lake Show — Iowa wide receiver Tevaun Smith posted a picture on Instagram from the Staples Center on Christmas night. He and teammates Greg Mabin and Anthony Gair saw the Clippers top the Lakers 94-84.

Gair had a good in for tickets. He attended Prestonwood Christian High School (Plano, Texas) with Lakers forward Julius Randle.

'We ended up being right on the floor,' Smith said. By the way, he had his picture taken with Laker fan, former talk show host and general celebrity Arsenio Hall.

A photo posted by Tevaun Smith (@smittie4) on

  Court side at the Lakers game and found Arsenio Hall.. #theydontwantyoucourtside

A photo posted by Tevaun Smith (@smittie4) on

Dec 25, 2015 at 9:58pm PST

Ready for Space Mountain — This is Stanford's third Rose Bowl in the last four seasons, so they know all about Space Mountain and its well-placed cameras that have caught embarrassing and hilariously staged photos that have been Internet fodder for years.

Quarterback Kevin Hogan had ideas.

'Once we figure out where they are, we'll be ready,' he said. 'I'm sure I'm going to ride all of these rollercoasters multiple times. Once we figure out where those cameras are, we'll get something good and hopefully get to save the picture.'

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com