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Iowa Football's L.J. Phillips Is Good To Go After Washington Scare
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- Iowa Football's L.J. Phillips Is Good To Go After Washington Scare
(USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
Phillips speaks to the media on Oct. 20.
L.J. Phillips Jr's move to Iowa hasn't been what he has envisioned so far.
The third-year running back came to Iowa City with a lot of hype after rushing for nearly 2,000 yards at the FCS level with South Dakota, but all it took was a few plays in the black and gold for things to go south.
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Phillips suffered an ankle injury early in the first quarter against Northern Illinois, an injury that caused him to miss the next three games (he was dressed for Michigan, but never saw any snaps). After seeing limited action against Ohio State - four carries for 16 yards - Phillips put together his most complete game in Iowa's 41-24 win over Washington on Oct. 9.
Totaling 42 yards was far from what Phillips was used to at South Dakota, but the 10 carries were the most he's seen this season. Phillips said it felt good to see some volume in the offense, but what happened at the end of that contest likely didn't feel good.
With the Hawkeyes already having the game out of reach with under four minutes to go, Phillips was in the backfield for a basic 2nd-and-6 run. He was stood up by Husky defenders as soon as he touched the ball, but rather than stop after the whistle blew, safety Alex McLaughlin and linebacker Taariq Al-Uqdah threw Phillips to the ground, causing the ankle injury to flare up again.
There was some concern after the injury, but Phillips said he'll be good to go for the rest of the season.
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"[The] guy hit me kind of late, so I tweaked it [the ankle]. But the bye week did me good, and I feel great," Phillips said at media availability on Oct. 20.
It's unclear what role Phillips could play for this Iowa team as it prepares for a crucial six-game stretch to close the regular season, but one thing is for certain - you can expect Phillips to be ready to hear his name called whenever that time comes against Minnesota on Saturday (2:30 p.m., FS1) or in any other spot the rest of the way.
Phillips admits that he wishes he could find more of a rhythm in this offense, but the run game as a whole didn't have much of that until the Washington game. The Hawkeyes were averaging around 63 rushing yards per game before the trip to the Emerald City, but left with 263 - including 208 from lead back Kamari Moulton.
"We always knew it was going to click. The offensive line, they get all the praise. It should be all of them. They opened up those holes. They get all the credit, and they made our jobs easy," Phillips said.
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While Iowa is optimistic about the progress of of its offensive line and the other question marks on the roster, the week off told the players something very important - they have to be prepared to face an opponent's best every week.
Five AP top-10 teams lost last weekend, and the No. 15 Hawkeyes (5-1, 2-1) don't want that party to continue this weekend. The Iowa coaching staff has held its players accountable for mistakes all season, but when it comes down to moments like these, Phillips knows the players have to come through.
"It was cool to watch all those upsets, but you don't want to be that team that gets upset."
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HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at bradschultz@roundtable.io
