The 20th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes head into Week 3 after a hard-fought, 16-13, win over Iowa State from Kinnick Stadium last Saturday. Iowa improved to 2-0 with the win.
As the Hawkeyes ready for their final nonconference date on Saturday against Northern Iowa, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz met with the media on Tuesday to preview the matchup. Ferentz shared several key injury updates.
"Injury-wise, Tyler Brown's starting to get some work. I don't know that he'll play this week, but at least he's working back. (DJ) Vonnahme I doubt will be ready on Saturday. At least at this point I don't expect that. And then we've got a handful of guys that it was a really physical game and a handful of guys that have done very little, you know, are really sore
right now. We'll just see how that progresses as the week goes on and play that by ear. We'll just take it day by day on that one," Ferentz said.
Brown, a safety transfer from James Madison, has been dealing with a muscle strain and hasn't played yet in 2026. The 5-foot-10, 201-pounder started all 14 games for James Madison in 2025 at free safety, totaling 80 tackles six pass breakups, five tackles for loss, one sack and one interception in 14 games for the Dukes in 2025. He was also an honorable mention All-Sun Belt defensive back.
Vonnahme was a preseason All-Big Ten and All-American choice by Athlon Sports and The Sporting News respectively. The 6-foot-4, 241-pound tight end has six catches for 67 yards. A native of Breda, Iowa, Vonnahme tallied 434 receiving yards and three touchdowns last season on 29 grabs.
"With DJ, I don't think he'll make it this week, but I think there's a good chance a week from now he should be good to go. It's day by day, so, like a lot of injuries, you're just never quite sure until you see how things materialize," Ferentz said.
Iowa starting running back Kamari Moulton is among the handful of Hawkeyes that Ferentz and the staff are unsure will be available against UNI.
"We'll see. He's one of the day-by-day guys. We probably have a handful of them right now that are. It was a physical game. Guys are sore and we'll see," Ferentz said.
Ferentz was also unsure if South Dakota transfer running back LJ Phillips Jr. would be available, but Ferentz said 5-foot-8, 211-pound back is progressing.
"He's getting better. I don't think he'll make it this week, but we'll see. I'm not going to say no yet. It's a lower leg thing, so it's just getting the confidence to play that position. A little bit different, but we'll see. He's making good progress," Ferentz said.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa football updates injury front ahead of UNI game
