Kirk Ferentz updates Koen Entringer’s recovery from offseason surgery

The Iowa Hawkeyes have good news brewing in their defensive backfield.

In his Media Day press conference on Friday, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz confirmed that Hawkeye defensive back Koen Entringer is back practicing.

Entringer suffered a knee injury in Iowa’s Citrus Bowl loss versus Tennessee that required surgery over the offseason.

“Yeah, one thing about medicine, and I’ve sat in meetings for 26 years, I’m certainly not a doctor. You can look it up, I don’t have a masters. But you learn a lot in medicine just sitting there and listening to smart people talk.

“One thing I’m pretty sure of, everybody is different in terms of their healing capacities, pace, all that stuff. He’s broken every record. He’s practicing. We’re not letting him tackle anybody or anything like that. But he’s practicing. He did tweak his ankle this morning, so I don’t know if he’ll practice tomorrow or not, but doing a really good job.

“We’re going to try to be really smart because it takes—what I also know or have learned, when guys get cleared, it takes a while for them to get their confidence back. He’s really kind of running around like there’s no problem, but try to protect him from himself a little bit,” Ferentz said.

Entringer is listed as the Hawkeyes’ No. 2 strong safety on the preseason defensive depth chart behind junior Xavier Nwankpa. Iowa’s starting free safety is Quinn Schulte and redshirt freshman Zach Lutmer is listed as the backup.

The 6-foot, 207 pound sophomore defensive back wowed fans nationally with his effort play on special teams in the 2023 Big Ten Championship game versus Michigan .

After missing an initial tackle on Michigan punt returner Semaj Morgan, Entringer nearly raced the length of the field to chase down Morgan inside the 10-yard-line and save a Wolverine touchdown.

Entringer arrived in Iowa City as a three-star signee per 247Sports . 247Sports rated Entringer as the nation’s No. 42 athlete and the No. 18 player from Michigan in the 2022 class.

Entringer signed with Iowa over offers from programs such as Colorado , Maryland, Michigan, Notre Dame , Syracuse, Utah and Wisconsin .

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