9/22/2023 football Edit

Unofficial Penn State-Iowa Availability Report

Justin Morganstein • Happy Valley Insider

Staff Writer

No. 7 ranked Penn State is set to play its first ranked matchup of the season this Saturday as it welcomes No. 24 Iowa to Beaver Stadium.

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Both teams come into this game looking to pick up a crucial win to keep their unbeaten records alive in front of what should be a raucous whiteout crowd.

While the Nittany Lions are on the healthier side at the moment, Iowa is dealing with some injuries to key players that will affect the game this weekend.

Here is who could be in or out for both teams.

Penn State

On the offensive side of the ball, Penn State is continuing to get closer to peak health which will be critical to its success moving forward.

James Franklin said this week that wide receiver Harrison Wallace was cleared to play last Saturday against Illinois but kept him out of game action because they were unsure of how effective he’d be with the current injury he’s recovering from.

There is a solid chance we could see Wallace this week in addition to fellow wide receiver and special teams captain Malick Meiga who was unavailable for the Nittany Lions last week.

On the defensive side, Penn State is also relatively healthy.

Aside from their two season ending injuries to Alonzo Ford and Smith Vilbert, the only defensive player on last week's injury report was backup defensive tackle Kaleb Artis who is suffering from an undisclosed injury.

Iowa

Unlike the Nittany Lions, Iowa is dealing with some injury trouble that may not only affect the program this week but for the foreseeable future.

On the offensive side, there are three major contributors that will not be suiting up in Happy Valley this weekend.

Tight end Luke Lachey, and top running backs Kaleb Johnson and Jaziun Patterson will all miss the game on Saturday due to injury, all massive losses for the Hawkeyes.

Lachey, who will miss the remainder of the season with a leg injury, is Iowa’s top receiving target while Johnson and Patterson have gotten the majority of the reps at running back this year.

In addition to those injuries, the one other notable point on the availability front comes in regards to cornerback Jermari Harris who just returned from a gambling-related suspension.

He should be the Hawkeyes starter at one of the corner spots this weekend and will likely take over as the full time starter in place of Cooper DeJean.

Other depth pieces who showed up on the injury report before Iowa’s win against Western Michigan include wide receivers Jacob Bostick and Reese Osgood, as well as offensive lineman Asher Fahey, defensive lineman Chris Reames and linebacker Jaxon Rexroth.