Not everyone in black and gold is hoping Sean Lee can't play Saturday.

"If he can go, he's going to go," Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz said Tuesday on his weekly teleconference. "You hate tooting horns of opponents, but I'm a little biased because we grew up in the same town. He's a great young man. I expect to see him on Saturday. He deserves a great senior year."

Both Ferentz and Lee grew up in Pittsburgh and attended Upper St. Clair High School.

But come Saturday, there's a chance both Western Pennsylvania products could be watching the action from the sideline, as Lee will only practice and play if his sprained left knee is fully healed and the doctors clear him.

"It'll be extremely tough for me not playing in a game like this," Lee said Tuesday morning. "Both teams are undefeated and it being our first Big Ten game."

Lee injured his knee when it collided with a helmet in the second quarter of last week's game. He played through the pain until the fourth quarter.

"You get nicked up during games," Lee said about why he continued to play. "You can't come out. You got to keep playing."

While Lee's status is up in the air, Navorro Bowman is looking like he'll be ready to suit up for the first time since Sept. 5.

Bowman has been slowed by a groin injury, but Lee said he looked like his old self at Tuesday's practice.

Jack Ham, the former Penn State and Pittsburgh Steelers' linebacker, said anytime a guy of Lee's caliber sits out, it's going to affect the team.

He also said Bowman hasn't really played football since the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day, and game endurance could be something the coaching staff monitors.

"Even preseason practice you go through, it's a little bit different playing the game," Ham said. "The normal things he's had all of last year, it takes time to get timing back."

Lee anchors the defense, Ham said. If he's absent from the huddle against the Hawkeyes, it's going to affect the team.

But Lee's been resting and rehabbing all week, eager to get back.

"His work ethic is legendary almost," Ham said.