Diante Vines among latest Iowa football players to miss time in fall camp with injuries

IOWA CITY — In the spring, Kirk Ferentz remembers the Hawkeyes having plenty of injuries — “probably as many as I can remember.”

Iowa is “certainly in better position than we were in the spring,” Ferentz said, but the Hawkeyes still have several players who have not been full participants through the first week-plus of fall camp.

Wide receiver Diante Vines will miss at least the start of the season with a wrist injury, Ferentz said Friday at Iowa’s media day.

“It's not season ending, I don't think,” Ferentz said. “But hopefully we'll get him back here somewhere midseason.”

Vines’ absence leaves a thin wide receiver position with one less option. After Nico Ragaini, Keagan Johnson and Arland Bruce IV, the Hawkeyes have an opening for a fourth wide receiver to emerge.

“He's was really practicing well, and certainly would have been a guy who could help contribute to our football team,” Ferentz said.

Other shorter-term injuries have put a wrench in Iowa’s fall camp plans.

“We’ve got a couple tackles out with injury right now,” Ferentz said. “You’ll see that tomorrow.”

That has caused the Hawkeyes to move former Cedar Rapids Kennedy prep Connor Colby from guard to tackle in recent practices. It’s too early to know whether he’ll stay there.

Wide receivers Keagan Johnson and Brody Brecht have also missed time.

“Keagan is working back,” Ferentz said. “He won’t do a lot tomorrow, but he’s working back. I think he’s close to where he needs to be, and hopefully the same thing with Brody.”

Running back Gavin Williams also has missed “maybe half” of fall camp so far with an injury.

On the defensive side of the ball, Deontae Craig has a lower leg injury, but Ferentz said Craig is “probably going to come back sometime next week.”

Ferentz also indicated there are “some injuries in the secondary.” He did not go into specifics, but the injuries will be more visible Saturday during the Kids Day open practice at Kinnick Stadium.

Ferentz already disclosed at Big Ten Media Days that offensive lineman Justin Britt and wide receiver Jackson Ritter will miss the entire 2022 season with injuries.

With Ritter out for the season, Vines expected to miss the start of the season and Johnson and Brecht missing much of fall camp, opportunities have opened for others in the wide receiver room.

Alec Wick, a redshirt freshman from Iowa City Regina who arrived as a walk-on, has had opportunities that Ferentz said “maybe in a normal circumstance he wouldn’t have.”

“The whole trick is, when you have opportunities, being ready to go,” Ferentz said. “And he's done that. He's made tough catches. He's very precise with what he does.”

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