IOWA CITY, Iowa – Drew Ott has waited longer than it takes to play a college football season for a decision on his medical-hardship appeal.

The all-Big Ten defensive end wants to return to Iowa for a fifth season after missing the final six games because of a knee injury. The decision is now in the hands of the NCAA after his appeal was first evaluated by the Big Ten Conference.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz was asked during a press conference on Tuesday if the system needs fixed, considering how long Ott’s future has been on hold.

“I’m not going to make judgment on that,” Ferentz said. “It’s just really hard to put a finger on. It’s what it is. We’ll bide our time. Everybody’s working hard on it. You have to get the right people all together and that type of thing.”

Ferentz wasn’t overly optimistic that a decision would come in the next day or two.

“I think probably within weeks here,” Ferentz said. “The clock is kind of ticking a little bit, too, because the NFL people are at some point going to make a move, too. I would imagine they’d want to bring him in for physicals and those types of things.

“He got checked at the combine. He got an exemption for that. So that gave him a baseline. But if they’re going to ask a guy to join their team, they’re going to want to know where he is physically. We’re still probably a couple weeks away, but clock is running right now.”

Ott played in more than 30 percent of Iowa’s games last season, which is usually the cutoff when determining medical hardship cases. But he played sparingly in three of the games, giving hope that the NCAA will make him an exception.

Ferentz said he has been encouraged by the decisions made for other players in Ott’s position, including former Houston quarterback Case Keenum, who now plays in the NFL.

“Just learned actually yesterday about Case Keenum who is playing for the Rams right now,” Ferentz said. “When he was at Houston he actually got a sixth year, redshirted one year, played three and then was injured in his fifth year and got a sixth year.”

C.J. BEATHARD UPDATE: All-Big Ten quarterback C.J. Beathard has almost fully recovered after having sports hernia surgery in January.

“I wouldn’t describe him as a hundred percent, but I think he’s close to it now,” Ferentz said. “He should be able to practice full speed out there.

“We’ll be careful about what we do with him because he’s still a little bit delicate at this point, but he’s doing really well with his rehab. Typically after those guys get the repairs on the sports hernias it’s a matter of climbing the ladder.”

Beathard passed for 2,809 yards and 17 touchdowns last season, earning second-team all-Big Ten accolades. He also rushed for 237 yards and six touchdowns despite being hobbled by leg and hip injures for part of the season.

MEDICAL REPORT: At least five players who figure to contribute next season will miss spring practice because of injuries.

Ferentz said Tuesday that starting cornerback Greg Mabin, starting linebacker Ben Niemann and reserve running back Derrick Mitchell Jr., will miss all of spring because of injuries.

Sophomore offensive lineman James Daniels and sophomore defensive back Josh Jackson also will miss spring practice because of medical reasons. Ferentz first reported that in February.

“It’s been a little bit of an unusual off-season,” Ferentz said of injuries and other illnesses that have affected his team. “We’ve had a little more activity on that front than normal. Even a couple cases of mono just to top it off.

“It’s just been one for the books. But we’ll work through that. The teams did a good job working through injuries last fall and we’ll try to do the same this spring.”

Ferentz is optimistic that all five players will be ready for the start of the 2016 season.

SITUATION BEHIND BEATHARD: Sophomore quarterback Tyler Wiegers will start spring practice in the same position he ended last season as Beathard’s backup.

Wiegers saw limited action in four games last season, completing 3-of-4 passes for 32 yards.

But he also worked extensively with the No. 1 offense in practice last season because Beathard was hobbled by injuries. That gives Wiegers an edge right now over redshirt freshmen Drew Cook and Ryan Boyle.

“Fortunately for him, but unfortunately for us, with C.J. missing so much time, Tyler got more time than a normal number two quarterback would get,” Ferentz said. “To his credit he really benefited from that and made it pay off for him. So he was clearly a better player in December than he was back in August or September. That was a tough circumstance for the team, but good one for him. So it gives him a big jump and big part of any position is just learning how to play within the scheme of things.”

“But we like both Drew and Ryan and are both good young guys. We have good feelings about them and eager to see how it pans out this spring.”

Ferentz said Cook and Boyle are even heading into their first spring practice.

“It’s a really good opportunity,” Ferentz said. “We do some work during the fall. Not as much as we’d like, but some work. We got a chance in December to do work with those guys running our offense, not an opponent offense. So it’s a really good learning experience.”

Ferentz said Cook and Boyle have benefitted from being around Beathard and Wiegers for almost a year.

“They’ve been in the room with two guys that really study it well and work at it and have been good mentors,” Ferentz said. “But there is nothing like being out there. So we’ll have to figure out how to cut those repetitions out a little bit this spring, but both of them are getting great exposure and good opportunity for them to move forward.”

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: Iowa will hold an open practice at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines on Friday April 8, beginning at approximately 6:30 p.m., Ferentz said.

This will mark the third consecutive spring that Iowa has held an open practice at Valley Stadium, which seats about 10,000.

By switching practice to the evening, Ferentz wants to provide a change for fans after holding the first two practices in the afternoon.

“I think it will be more family friendly to do it in the evening and try to make it interactive for the participants,” Ferentz said.

POSITION CHANGES: Sean Welsh is Mr. Reliable on the offensive line.

Iowa needs help at center with James Daniels injured, so the 6-3, 288-pound Welsh has switched to that position for spring practice.

Welsh has started 23 games for the Hawkeyes, mostly at guard, but also some at tackle.

Ferentz paid Welsh the ultimate compliment on Tuesday by saying Welsh is similar in some ways to former Iowa offensive lineman Marshal Yanda, who is now a star offensive guard for the Baltimore Ravens.

"I hate to throw this out, because I don’t want to start this train going, but Marshal comes to mind," Ferentz said when talking about Welsh. "If Marshal was in college what he is now, he would have been a first-round draft pick if he could go back and do it again. But I’m bringing it up because what whatever we asked Marshal to do when he was here, he did it pretty well. He wasn’t necessarily flashy or an eye-catching guy. Testing-wise, all that kind of stuff, height, width, all those types of things. He really blocked guys well, no matter where we put him. We put him at guard and tackle.

"In that regard, Sean’s like that. Wherever we move him, he seems to handle it really well. He’s not 6’6" and 330 pounds or any of that stuff, but he’s just a really good football player, really productive on the field. We make a living off players like that, really that type of guy. He’s got an unbelievable attitude."

Ferentz also announced Tuesday that Humboldt native Brady Ross had switched from linebacker to fullback.

“In December, we toyed with him a little bit on offense and he’ll lineup at the fullback position,” Ferentz said of the 6-foot-1, 240-pound Ross, who was redshirted last season as a walk-on.

FASTER THAN YOUR AVERAGE KICKER: Former Iowa kicker Marshall Koehn raised a few eyebrows by running the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds at the NFL Combine in February.

That’s considered very fast for a kicker, almost unheard of for at player at that position.

Ferentz was asked Tuesday if he knew Koehn was that fast.

"We knew he was fast," Ferentz said. "We don’t time our guys in 40s. So I don’t know if I would have predicted that. I don’t know that I wouldn’t have.

"I’m not surprised. He’s really fast. Plus, he got paid for it. That’s even better."

Koehn was a multi-sport star at Solon High School before joining Iowa as a walk-on kicker.

TERLOUW MOVES ON: Ferentz said reserve defensive lineman Kyle Terlouw has decided not to play as a fifth-year senior. Terlouw appeared in nine games as a walk-on last season and had three tackles.

NO OMAR: Ferentz wasn’t asked on Tuesday why defensive back Omar Truitt is not listed on Iowa’s 2016 spring roster. Truitt would be a redshirt sophomore next season.

The Fort Washington, Md., hasn’t appeared in a game for Iowa.

Truitt was charged with drunken driving in February, but it’s unclear if that has anything to do with him not being on the current roster.