Iowa Football: How Will The Hawkeyes Weather RB James Butler Injury?

The injury bug seemingly hit the Hawkeyes at the worst possible time. The #4 Penn State Nittany Lions are coming to town, and the Big Ten schedule is upon us.

The Hawkeyes lost Ike Boettger for the season in the overtime win over Iowa State. In the victory over the North Texas Mean Green, Iowa seemingly lost Matt VandeBerg, Noah Fant, Akrum Wadley and James Butler. All of these players have been among the top producers on offense besides quarterback Nathan Stanley.

But, as Kirk Ferentz told HawkeyeSports.com it appears that James Butler will be the only one missing time. Ferentz told the official site:

"“For sure, I think James will be out through the bye week,” Ferentz said. “It will be a couple weeks before we get him back. I think everybody else has an opportunity to be ready by midweek if not sooner. We’ll know more in a day or two, but I feel optimistic right now.”"

In this scenario laid out by Ferentz, Butler could return for the game in Evanston against Northwestern, or potentially the home tilt with the Gophers for the ‘Floyd of Rosedale’

Butler who joined the Hawkeyes as a graduate transfer after a successful career with the Nevada Wolfpack became a sturdy bruising running back to complement Akrum Wadley’s dazzling play.

With Butler mending his elbow over the course of the next few weeks, the Hawkeyes will have carries to be handed out. Toren Young looked the part in the win over the Mean Green, leading the Hawkeyes in yards with 78.

It will be intriguing to see if Young can continue to have success being ‘thrown to the lions’ with Penn State upcoming followed by a hostile trip to East Lansing looming. Especially with the condition of Akrum Wadley’s ankle in question, Young will be a very important cog in a potential upset against the Nittany Lions.

Also in play is true freshmen Ivory Kelly-Martin. Kelly-Martin got 2 touchdowns in his first action of his career, and looked like a potential successor to Akrum Wadley in 2018 in his limited time in the backfield. Both Young and Kelly-Martin are being thrust into the national spotlight off the bat with the primetime ABC night game coming up.

Others who’s roles with the Butler injury remain undetermined are Marcel Joly and Toks Akinribade. True freshmen Kyshaun Bryan may remain in the redshirt status this season. These players seemed to be buried on the depth chart, but as has happened numerous times in recent memory, Iowa’s running back fortunes can change in the blink of an eye.

Of course, the impact could also lead to the Hawkeyes trying to stretch the field more often as they have seemed to do in the early season non-conference play.