Iowa football: Injured cornerbacks Riley Moss, Matt Hankins active against Penn State

IOWA CITY, Ia. — Iowa’s secondary finally seems to be getting healthy at just the right time.

Cornerbacks Riley Moss (hip) and Matt Hankins (hamstring) both went through pregame warmups Saturday and are expected to be active Saturday versus Penn State.

Moss hasn’t played since suffering his injury on special teams in Week 1. Hankins hobbled off during Iowa’s Week 2 over Rutgers and hasn’t played since. Kirk Ferentz indicated this week that Hankins had a decent chance to return.

"We'll see how the week goes for him," Ferentz said at Tuesday's press conference. "... You worry about volume with the kind of injury he had. We'll play it by ear and see what he can do. But he's a veteran player that we have confidence in, certainly."

Hankins’ return is certainly the biggest. Even if he doesn’t immediately jump back into the starting lineup in place of D.J. Johnson, Hankins boasts a veteran pedigree that Iowa needs against Penn State’s vaunted passing attack. Moss will provide additional depth as well.

Additionally, redshirt sophomore Mark Kallenberger is expected to start at right guard in place of the injured Cole Banwart. It’s the latest development in a season worth of up-front shuffling. Kallenberger is the fourth different Hawkeye to start at right guard this season.  

Dargan Southard covers Iowa and UNI athletics, recruiting and preps for the Des Moines Register, HawkCentral.com and the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.