Phillips Jr., DJ Vonnahme and Tyler Brown were unavailable for Iowa’s game against Northern Iowa on Saturday, September 19. L.J. All three were dealing with injuries, with Phillips still recovering from a lower-leg injury, Vonnahme out after being hurt against Iowa State and Brown working his way back from a muscle strain.
“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 just getting the confidence to play that position, a little bit different. We’ll see. He’s making good progress. Vonnahme missed the UNI game after getting hurt against Iowa State.
The tight end had six catches for 67 yards through Iowa’s first two games .
Ahead of the Northern Iowa game, Ferentz said Phillips was improving but still needed to get comfortable playing his position again. On September 15, Ferentz said, “I doubt he will be ready on Saturday,” while adding that he expected Vonnahme to have a good chance of returning the following week .
The safety had been dealing with a muscle strain and had not made his 2026 debut. Ferentz said on September 15, “Tyler Brown is starting to get some work. Earlier in August, the coach had confirmed that Brown had been out with the muscle strain.
Brown also remained out. I don’t know that he’ll play this week, but at least he’s working back.
