Akron Zips football would be dealt huge blow if injury forces leader DJ Irons to miss time

DJ Irons wore the physical pain and mental anguish on his face Saturday afternoon in the University of Akron's Stile Athletics Field House.

He didn't hide from any of it.

The Beacon Journal had submitted an interview request for Irons four days before the Akron football team fell 13-10 in overtime to visiting Buffalo at InfoCision Stadium.

The plan had been to write a feature story about Irons — and for good reason.

UA's dynamic dual-threat quarterback and senior captain was coming off a Mid-American Conference East Division Offensive Player of the Week performance in another heartbreaking loss, a 29-27 quadruple overtime defeat on the road against Indiana. He left every fiber of effort he possessed on the field Sept. 23 in Bloomington and established himself as THE Zips player to watch this season.

However, the entire situation changed when Irons suffered a leg injury against Buffalo with 5:47 left in the fourth quarter. He immediately hobbled to UA's bench and slammed his helmet on it out of frustration. With 4:48 remaining in regulation, he entered the medical tent on the sideline to be examined.

With Irons out for the rest of the game, backup quarterback Jeff Undercuffler Jr. replaced him, and the Zips offense moved backward after Buffalo's Alex McNulty had made a 42-yard field goal on the first possession of overtime.

Akron's Owen Wiley had a chance to force double overtime, but his 48-yard field goal was blocked, allowing Buffalo to triumph in the MAC opener for both teams.

Losses sting, especially when they're back-to-back, crushing overtime letdowns like the ones the Zips (1-4, 0-1) have experienced.

Injuries can leave players feeling helpless and hopeless.

Despite those realities, Irons emerged from the athletic training room in the field house to provide insight about the disappointment he and the Zips had encountered. He takes his leadership role seriously, and he demonstrated it by representing his team in the midst of adversity. At any level of football — high school, college and the NFL — it's rare for a player to so thoroughly fulfill face-of-the-program duties under such circumstances.

The most impressive aspect, though, is Irons actually expressed more dismay about UA's loss than what could be a significant setback for him as an individual.

“There's nothing I could do about [the injury],” he said. “I can't control it. Really the only disappointment was the loss. So we've just got to be better and find a way to win.

“This hurts my heart for real. I'm probably not [going] to be able to eat, sleep. That hurt. Every loss hurts for real. It doesn't matter who it is, when it is — every loss hurts.”

Irons and Zips coach Joe Moorhead said they didn't know the severity of the injury. Moorhead said Irons would undergo X-rays and other testing.

Does Irons expect to be able to play again this season?

“Shoot, we're going to see,” he said.

If the injury is a worst-case scenario and ends Irons' season after merely five games, would he be able to help lead the Zips in other ways?

“I don't know,” he said. “That's something for the future, but right now I'm planning to play.”

It would be a huge sigh of relief for the Zips if he were to return. They had already lost a senior captain when defensive lineman Ryan Johnson recently left the team and entered the transfer portal, a source familiar with the situation said. The Buffalo game was Akron's first this season without Johnson.

As for Irons, he has grown accustomed to gutting it out. He pushed through shoulder injuries last season and had two offseason surgeries.

“Everybody on both sides of my family, we've just got big hearts,” he said. “... If it ain't broke, then you could [play]. It's a difference between injury and hurt.

“I [returned to UA for this season because] I wanted to go out with W's with my team. I just had graduated, so I just wanted to leave with a bang.”

Irons said he didn't know if his most recent injury was caused by him planting his left leg or absorbing a hit during the 4-yard run in question.

“Everything's a blur,” he said.

Unfortunately for Akron, Irons lost the ball on the same devastating down. Buffalo (1-4, 1-0) recovered the fumble on its 38-yard line but didn't capitalize by scoring off the takeaway.

Still, the game's lone turnover belonged to Akron and contributed to its offense failing to adequately complement a stellar defensive effort.

UA finished with 253 yards on 55 snaps. Buffalo had 254 yards on 70 snaps.

“It was all of us,” Irons said of the offense's woes. “If one person don't do their job, including me, then it's not going to be successful. The play will not be successful, the drive won't be successful and we won't be successful as an offense. So we've just got to clean up everything and learn how to finish.”

When Irons is healthy, he has electric playmaking ability. He said reaching the NFL is his goal, and he looked the part of someone with pro potential when he went 22-of-35 passing for 194 yards with two interceptions and rushed 18 times for 141 yards and two touchdowns against Indiana.

Moorhead said it was “very tough” for the Zips to lose “a guy who led us right to the edge of a win on the road in Big Ten territory and had been playing a fairly solid game” against Buffalo.

Irons finished 19-of-26 passing for 136 yards and a touchdown without an interception Saturday. He rushed 16 times for 100 yards, but he also lost 23 yards, taking three sacks and losing the fumble.

“Seeing him go down, it just hurts me as a human,” UA running back and returner Blake Hester said. “I know how much work he's put in, this team knows how much work he's put in and this coaching staff knows how much work he's put in.”

Irons, listed by UA as 6 feet, 4 inches and 215 pounds, evokes memories of former Kent State quarterbacks Josh Cribbs and Julian Edelman advancing to the NFL and creating great careers as receivers and special teams players.

Undercuffler and Tahj Bullock are next on the UA quarterback depth chart. If Irons is ruled out for Akron's next game Saturday at home against Northern Illinois, Moorhead would likely start Undercuffler. Bullock could still be used to change the offense's pace with his mobility.

Either way, the absence of Irons would be a huge blow.

“That's your senior captain quarterback,” Moorhead said. “So anytime you lose that guy for a play, a drive, a quarter, or hopefully not an extended period of time, there's certainly a performance component that goes along with it, but an emotional component for the team as well.”

Zips can't catch a break in overtime: Akron football suffers another crushing defeat after regulation, this time in MAC opener vs. Buffalo

Irons has been with the Zips since 2021 after transferring from Iowa Central Community College, where he landed after going to Eastern Kentucky University out of Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia.

UA hasn't finished a football season with a winning record since 2015, but even amid the brutal losses this fall, Irons said he is convinced this is “definitely a different Akron team” in 2023 than years past.

The Zips will just have a harder time proving it in the form of victories if he can't play.

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Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron Zips' DJ Irons hurt by loss even more than leg injury