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IOWA CITY – Ricky Stanzi went under the knife on Monday.

But it will be James Vandenberg who will be under the gun on Saturday.

The freshman quarterback will make his first career start for 10th-ranked Iowa against No. 11 Ohio State at always raucous Ohio Stadium. The good news is he will have Stanzi there with him to provide consultation, inspiration and consolation in a 2:30 p.m. tussle for the Big Ten’s Rose Bowl berth.

Stanzi will be part of Iowa’s travel squad for the game and will serve as one of its captains. He won’t be able to play. Not this week. Probably not next week in the regular-season finale against Minnesota either.

But in the meantime, head coach Kirk Ferentz is counting on him to help nurture his replacement.

“Rick’s role now this week besides his rehab, turns into him being a tutor,” Ferentz said. “Another guy that can talk with James and (third-team quarterback John Wienke). He started that process Sunday night.”

Vandenberg, who won’t turn 20 until a week from Monday, replaced Stanzi early in the second quarter of last Saturday’s 17-10 loss to Northwestern and played the rest of the way. Iowa’s lead had just been trimmed to 10-7 on the play in which Stanzi was injured and the Hawkeyes didn’t score a point with Vandenberg at quarterback.

He saw all his mistakes on video on Sunday, then went over them all again with Stanzi by his side.

“He was so upbeat,” Vandenberg said. “If I had been talking to him on the phone, I wouldn’t have been able to tell he was injured.”

The next morning Stanzi had surgery on his ankle although Ferentz was a little fuzzy on exactly what the doctors did.

“It’s a procedure that just gives you a more predictable outcome,” Ferentz said. “For a severe ankle issue like he had, our medical staff feels that’s the most prudent way to go.’’

Does that mean something was torn in the ankle? Was it more than just a routine sprain?

“I’m not very good on all the specifics,” Ferentz said. “He’s got a bad ankle sprain, I know that. When it happened, I thought it could be worse, so there is good news here. At least after Thanksgiving he’s got a chance to be back with us.”

Actually, Ferentz didn’t entirely rule out the possibility of Stanzi playing against Minnesota. But he said it’s much more likely that the QB who led Iowa to a 9-0 start would come back for whatever bowl game the Hawkeyes go to.

In the meantime, he will carry a clipboard or wear a headset or do whatever he can to help Vandenberg and his teammates defeat the Buckeyes.

“It will be good for him to help cope with the injury and it’s going to help us, too,” tight end Tony Moeaki said. “It will give us an extra set of eyes out there.”

Vandenberg said it will help just to have Stanzi’s enthusiastic demeanor on the sidelines.

“He rubs off on everybody,” Vandenberg said. “He’s a very calm character. You can’t ever tell if he’s rattled. He keeps everything in perspective.

“It’s an unfortunate situation,” the freshman added. “He’s going to get back as quick as he can. But he knows he needs to help me right now.”

INJURY UPDATE: Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said there is a “fair” chance that free safety Brett Greenwood and punt returner Colin Sandeman will be able to play Saturday at Ohio State.

The two former Quad-Cities high school stars both went down with frightening head or neck injuries against Michigan State on Oct. 24 and have seen virtually no action since then. Greenwood played just one series against Indiana and Sandeman has not suited up for a game since the injury.

Ferentz said he expected both players to practice Tuesday.

He also did not completely discount the possibility that running back Adam Robinson could be back. Robinson, who is fourth in the Big Ten in rushing, suffered a sprained ankle at Michigan State and originally was expected to miss the rest of the regular season.

“That would be nice, but we’re not banking on it,” Ferentz said of Robinson’s possible return. “We’ll just see what the week brings.”

SASH WAS SATISFACTORY: If Sandeman returns, Ferentz said he wasn’t sure if he would immediately go back to the former Bettendorf athlete as his punt return man or if he would stay with Tyler Sash, who handled the job last week.

“I thought Tyler did a good job,” Ferentz said. “That was a bright spot. He did a nice job fielding the punts, looked confident and decisive. And Colin’s demonstrated an ability to do that, too.”

NEARLY NATIONAL TV: Saturday’s game with Ohio State will be seen by most of the country on ABC. In those few places where it’s not on ABC, it will be shown on ESPN.

TAMING TONY: Tony Moeaki, once considered perhaps the Hawkeyes’ best bet for All-Big Ten honors on the offensive side of the ball, was held without a single pass reception in the loss to Northwestern and Ferentz admitted teams are starting to gang up on his senior tight end.

“If you’re playing us, that’s what you do. You start right there,” Ferentz said. “Me and my big mouth saying he’s a pretty good football player. But I think everybody’s figured that out.”