Iowa football tight end Addison Ostrenga is expected to be fully cleared by June after recovering from an Achilles tendon injury. Head coach Kirk Ferentz reported encouraging progress with no setbacks during his rehabilitation.
WEST DES MOINES — Iowa football tight end Addison Ostrenga is expected to be fully cleared in June, head coach Kirk Ferentz said at a Polk County I-Club event on May 6.
Ostrenga suffered an Achilles tendon injury when trying to make a catch against Iowa State on Sept. 6. He missed the remainder of the 2025 season.
“He should be full speed in June," Ferentz said. "That’s kind of been the target. He hasn’t done anything (in pads) at all. He’s out there working and rehabbing and running, cutting, doing things that are really encouraging. But the idea was, yeah, if we could have him ready at the start of June, that’d be great. So, we expect him to be doing everything like the rest of the guys would when the summer program starts.”
Ferentz added: “Everything’s been really encouraging. No setbacks.”
The tight end has logged 48 catches for 320 yards and three touchdowns in his Hawkeye career. His most productive season came in 2023 when he hauled in 31 catches for 192 yards and two scores.
Ostrenga has been hampered by injury in each of the last two seasons, missing time in 2024, and then having most of his season derailed by the Achilles tendon injury in 2025. Over the last two seasons, he has combined to appear in just 10 games.
His return would further fortify a promising tight end room entering the 2026 season.
DJ Vonnahme, Thomas Meyer and Zach Ortwerth are all returning to the Hawkeyes. Vonnahme exploded onto the scene last season, leading the team in receptions (29), receiving yards (434) and receiving touchdowns (three). Ortwerth has accumulated 263 receiving yards in his Iowa career. Meanwhile, Meyer has yet to make a catch as a Hawkeye, but appeared in game action in his first season in the program and is a rising, young piece in that room.
Addison Ostrenga suffered an Achilles tendon injury while attempting to make a catch against Iowa State.
Addison Ostrenga is expected to be fully cleared by June, according to head coach Kirk Ferentz.
Addison Ostrenga's rehabilitation has been encouraging, with no setbacks reported, and he is currently running and cutting as part of his recovery.
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“He’s a great leader,” Meyer said of Ostrenga in April. “He’s been helping me out, even when he’s been hurt, and (helping) all of us out when he’s been hurt. He still comes into it every single day with a great attitude, which has got to be hard to do coming off a big injury like that. But I know he’s been doing a lot of good things trying to get back.”
Achilles tendon injuries are not easy to come back from, so it remains to be seen what level Ostrenga can perform at. But his return would give Iowa another experienced pass catcher in the fold for the 2026 season.
“That’s one position that’s pretty established right now," Ferentz said of Iowa's tight end room. "We don’t have a lot of them on our team, but that, and I’d say the running backs, those are two areas where we have guys that have played and they really know what to do and they’ll play well. So I’m confident in saying we've got a good group of tight ends and I’m confident saying we’ve got a good group of running backs.”
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This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa football tight end Addison Ostrenga injury update