Iowa RB Jordan Canzeri sheds boot, won’t play vs. Maryland
This isn’t an entirely unexpected development, but the bye week was good to the undefeated (7-0) Iowa Hawkeyes who are apparently closer to a full complement of running backs than we might have thought two weeks ago.
RBs on the field: Wadley, Mitchell, Daniels. Canzeri is on the field. He's not playing, but he's also not wearing a boot.
— Marc Morehouse (@marcmorehouse) October 31, 2015
Star running back Jordan Canzeri went down early in Iowa’s blowout win over Northwestern at last we had seen him, and it didn’t look good. Canzeri was unable to put any pressure on his injured leg and by the looks of the replay, he would be out indefinitely.
The Hawkeyes got some great news that day in the form of Akrum Wadley, Canzeri’s backup, earning Big Ten offensive player of the week honors with his four touchdown performance. They also got good news that Canzeri didn’t have any ligament damage or bone breaks, but it would just take some time to get him back into a position where he was ready to go out and play a college football game.
That time could come sooner than expected with the news that Canzeri has shed his walking boot and with some speculation that he might even play this week before head coach Kirk Ferentz shut that down.
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“He has an ankle injury and that’s not good for a back. They’re unpredictable,” Ferentz said. “He’s making good progress. He looked better two days after the injury than we anticipated. That’s good news. He’s feeling better by the day but when he’ll be ready, I’m not sure yet.”
One would have to assume that until Canzeri can get in a full week of practice, Iowa won’t have any reason to rush him back. Akrum Wadley played exceptionally well in relief and the Hawkeyes also have LeShun Daniels coming back from injury, along with Derrick Mitchell Jr.
This is a strong Iowa backfield and one of the most explosive passing attacks Kirk Ferentz has had to work with in recent years. When Canzeri gets back on the field, it’ll be a huge boost for an Iowa team that hopes to keep its CFB Playoff hopes alive today with a big win against conference opponent Maryland.