Luke Lachey will not be available for Citrus Bowl, per Kirk Ferentz

In September, Iowa head coach announced Kirk Ferentz announced that the Hawkeyes lost tight end Luke Lachey to a “fairly significant” injury. However, there was some hope that he may be able to return at some point this season, even if only for the team’s bowl game.

Now, however, Ferentz delivered the news that Lachey will not be available for the Citrus Bowl.

“I don’t think so,” Kirk Ferentz said. “His rehab is going really well. He might be close but it just doesn’t make any sense right now. So, I don’t think so.”

Luke Lachey has been with the Iowa program since 2020, having joined the team as a three-star recruit, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, in the 2020 cycle. He was the 474th-ranked recruit overall and the 20th-ranked tight end recruit in that cycle.

Lachey became an excellent tight end in the process. He has consistently earned Academic All-Big Ten honors and there were incredibly high expectations for him going into the 2023 season. He was even a Preseason second-team All-Big Ten by Phil Steele and started the season on the Mackey Award preseason Watch List. He is also a team captain.

In 29 games since the start of the 2021 season, he has made 46 receptions for 662 yards and four touchdowns while being an excellent blocking tight end.

After playing in the Big Ten Championship Game, Iowa earned a bid to the Citrus Bowl. There, the Hawkeyes are getting ready to take on the Tennessee Volunteers. According to FanDuel, Tennessee opened as a 7.0-point favorite in the game. Since then, the line has moved slightly, and the Volunteers are now a 7.5-point favorite in the game. The over/under is set at 36.5 points.

Kirk Ferentz addresses challenge of Tennessee’s up-tempo pace

Tennessee will bring a very different approach to the offensive side of the ball than Iowa, running one of the most up-tempo offenses in all of college football. This is a challenge that Kirk Ferentz addressed once the matchup was announced.

“We certainly haven’t seen them this year. I know the work that Josh [Heupel] has done, both, obviously, at Tennessee and then Central [Florida] before that. Just outstanding,” Ferentz said.

“We saw Tennessee the last two years against Kentucky. We played Kentucky [in bowls] for two straight years. So we do have some familiarity but certainly weren’t looking at them from a game plan standpoint. The nice thing about playing on January 1st as well is there’s plenty of time to look at them.”