Washington football may be without freshman DB vs. Iowa Hawkeyes

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Washington could be without first-year defensive back Jeron Jones on Friday night as the team hosts No. 20 Iowa in a crucial Big Ten Conference football matchup.

Jones, coming off his fourth start of the 2026 season on Saturday against USC, is listed as doubtful on the Huskies' initial availability report on Tuesday. Fourth-year center Landen Hatchett remains listed as questionable on the first of four reports this week prior to the 6:00 p.m. kickoff at Husky Stadium on Fox.

As Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz noted during his press conference on Tuesday, starting quarterback Hank Brown and third-year defensive back Ty Hudkins are both listed as questionable for the visitors. If Brown, a former Auburn transfer, can't go, then the team will turn to third-year backup Jeremy Hecklinski, who has made three appearances this season and completed 18-of-32 passes for 208 yards with a touchdown and an interception off the bench.

Jones has proven to be a quality contributor through the first five games of the season, earning starts against Washington State, Eastern Washington, Minnesota, and USC, with the secondary working through injuries to third-year nickel Rahshawn Clark and outside cornerback Emmanuel Karnley.

Though the 5-foot-11, 180-pound isn't guaranteed to be ruled out, it's unlikely at this point that he'll be suited for second-year defensive coordinator Ryan Walters on Friday night. That would put more of an emphasis on Clark, who led the Huskies with a team-high 9 tackles, including a tackle for loss in UW's 25-21 loss at USC this past weekend.

Hatchett, a multi-game starter that was expected to be healthy by the start of Big Ten play two weeks ago, is now viewed as likely to play by coach Jedd Fisch during his weekly Monday press conference.

"We would be shocked if that's not the case," Fisch said of Hatchett's return. "So, there'll be some rotation there with Kolt (Dieterich) at center, Kolt at (left) guard. There'll be a rotation with Kodi (Greene) at (left) guard, John (Mills) at (left) tackle. There'll be a rotation with Kolt at (left) tackle, John at (left) guard. So, we'll have a little bit of tomorrow will be a rotational day to get ourselves back in action, and then we'll play the best five for this moment in time."

This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington football may be without freshman DB vs. Iowa Hawkeyes

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