One of the hardest hitting games of the season prompted a handful of injuries and a great deal of uncertainty about Iowa’s lineup for next Saturday’s game with Indiana. A look at the injuries and their potential ramifications:

Dace Richardson: He has started every game this season, at three different offensive line positions, but I’m guessing we’ve seen the last of the big guy this season. He suffered what appeared to be a very serious foot or ankle injury (allegedly a fracture) and I can’t imagine he would be back before the end of the regular season. The good news is that there shouldn’t be much drop-off with veteran Julian Vandervelde ready to step back into the lineup at right guard.

Brett Greenwood: It looked really bad when they strapped Greenwood to a board and took him off on a cart, but that may have been largely a precautionary measure. The junior free safety was back on the sidelines in sweats at the end of the game. If Greenwood is out, fifth-year senior Joe Conklin becomes the starter. Conklin showed some inexperience when he was thrown into the action Saturday night, but with more preparation time he should be OK.

Colin Sandeman: He got knocked cold on a vicious hit by Michigan State’s Jeremy Ware. Head injuries aren’t anything to be taken lightly and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Sandeman sit out a game or two. His absence would mean more playing time at receiver for freshman Keenan Davis, but it’s not clear who would replace Sandeman on punt returns. Maybe Davis. Maybe Tyler Sash. Maybe Amari Spievey. Sandeman had done a very good job since taking over for Paul Chaney so this could be a bigger loss than it appears.

Adam Robinson: Many people probably didn’t even realize that Robinson injured his ankle late in the game because he and Brandon Wegher share playing time at running back anyway. Wegher also was banged up in the game (a shoulder, I think) although he came back and played after that. It not clear at this point how badly hurt either of them is. If both of them are out, it’s a major crisis. Hawkeye fans aren’t eager to see Paki O’Meara return to the starting lineup.

Tags: Adam Robinson, Amari Spievey, Brandon Wegher, Brett Greenwood, Colin Sandeman, Dace Richardson, Iowa Hawkeyes, Joe Conklin, Julian Vandervelde, Keenan Davis, Paki O'Meara, Tyler Sash

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 25th, 2009 at 8:16 pm and is filed under Hawkeyes Football. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.