Beau Stephens expected to miss Rutgers game, others remain ‘up in the air’

IOWA CITY — Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz does not envision offensive lineman Beau Stephens being available for the Hawkeyes’ game against Rutgers on Saturday while other players’ statuses remain “up in the air.”

“Time will tell” whether fellow offensive linemen Mason Richman and Logan Jones play against Rutgers. Rusty Feth eventually returned from his injury when Stephens suffered his injury although Feth was seen after the game with his arm in a sling.

“The guys are working back,” Ferentz said in his weekly Tuesday news conference. “We'll see who can do what on Saturday. But keep our fingers crossed.”

Richman, Feth and Jones all were included on Monday’s depth chart. Stephens was not on the depth chart, with true freshman Kade Pieper replacing him on the depth chart.

If Richman, Feth or Jones are not able to play Saturday, Tyler Elsbury could be a key reserve. Elsbury filled in for Jones at center last weekend against Northwestern and also has practiced at guard and tackle during his time at Iowa.

“We'll see how it goes with Logan,” Ferentz said. “(Elsbury) may be in there again at center. … He's really a versatile guy. He can probably play all positions on the line.”

Kirk Ferentz ‘not confident’ in Noah Shannon’s NCAA situation

Kirk Ferentz was not as optimistic Tuesday as he was previously about whether the NCAA will let defensive lineman Noah Shannon play yet this season.

“None of us are getting our hopes up too high based on the way things go with the NCAA,” Ferentz said.

Shannon received a season-long suspension for sports wagering, effectively ending the sixth-year senior’s collegiate career. Ferentz previously said Shannon placed a bet on a different University of Iowa sports team.

The NCAA announced last month plans to reconsider its sports wagering guidelines. The proposed changes could take effect retroactively, according to the October news release.

“I’m not confident that’s going to happen, but there’s no doubt in my mind it would be the right thing to do,” Ferentz said. “We’ll keep our fingers crossed.”

The NCAA initially planned to vote on the guidelines in the last full week of October before delaying the vote until this week.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com