Iowa senior offensive tackle Brandon Scherff, one of the nation's top prospects regardless of position, had knee surgery Tuesday morning.
KCRG, the ABC TV affiliate in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and radio station KMA in Shenandoah, Iowa, first reported that Scherff had knee surgery; while the TV station report didn't mention the type of injury, the radio report said it was an arthroscopic procedure for issues with the meniscus in his right knee. That report said Scherff would be out for up to three weeks. Meanwhile, the TV station later reported that Scherff said he expects to be back by the start of Big Ten play on Sept. 27.
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz was on the Big Ten teleconference Tuesday morning, but said only, "Brandon injured his knee Saturday. Other than that, don't have much to tell you." He also called Scherff "day-to-day." Iowa is notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to discussing injuries.
The severity of the injury, as well as his recovery time, will be a huge point of emphasis for NFL scouts going forward. In addition, while Iowa has a solid starting line, depth is iffy, so an extended absence will hurt the Hawkeyes, who play host to archrival Iowa State this week and are at Pittsburgh next week before meeting Purdue on Sept. 27.
Scherff (6-foot-5, 320 pounds) hurt his knee in the first quarter of this past Saturday's win over Ball State. He had to be helped off the field, but later walked to the locker room under his own power and returned to the game in the second quarter and played the rest of the way. That he played most of the game seemingly would rule out a severe injury, such as a torn ACL.
Scherff is in the running to be the potential overall No. 1 pick in the 2015 draft, NFL Media senior draft analyst Gil Brandt said in July.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.