Iowa football: Alaric Jackson went down, but all hope isn’t lost

We’re waiting to hear back on Iowa football player Alaric Jackson’s knee injury. If it does turn out to be serious, where do the Hawks go from here?

You never want to see a player on your team go down with a potentially serious injury, and the sting worsens when it’s one of your top players. Last night, the Iowa football team had that exact scenario play out when star tackle Alaric Jackson went down with a knee injury early in the game.

Jackson, a possible first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, is a mammoth tackle who is one of the reasons Matt Miller called the Iowa football team’s offensive line the best in the nation. If the knee injury is as serious as it seems, this is a devastating blow for the Hawkeyes in 2019, but it doesn’t mean the season is over. And for what it’s worth, we don’t know how serious this injury is yet either. All we know, as of now, is that Jackson was seen on crutches last night.

Give the staff some credit here because they have done a phenomenal job of loading the depth chart with talented tackles behind Jackson and Wirfs.

After Jackson went down, redshirt sophomore Mark Kallenberger, a former four-star recruit from Bettendorf stepped in and filled in admirably. Granted, it was against Miami, who does not have the defensive line talent like many of Iowa’s Big Ten opponents do, but it was a start.

Obviously, I would rather have Jackson starting, but I’ve learned to trust the Iowa football coaches, especially when it comes to offensive line play, and Kallenberger has been patiently waiting his turn behind two first-round prospects to make an impact for the Iowa football team.

Behind him are 2019 recruits Tyler Endres and Ezra Miller, both four-star recruits who already have great size and ooze potential.

As we get more information on the Jackson injury, we will analyze what the impact will be on the Iowa football team, but for now, let’s let this play out. Kallenberger did well in action and we have no prognosis on Jackson yet. Plus, the Iowa football team got off to a good start with a win.