Iowa football: Offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs arrested on OWI charge

IOWA CITY, Ia. — Iowa sophomore offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs was arrested early Sunday morning and charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, 1st offense.

Police records show Wirfs was stopped at around 1:43 a.m. Sunday in the 600 block of south Riverside Drive in Iowa City. Wirfs, 19, was later booked into the Johnson County Jail around 3:37 a.m. and was released at 10 a.m. Sunday.

According to the arrest report, Wirfs and two other passengers were on Wirfs’ Yamaha Zuma — a popular motor scooter among Iowa athletes — when police pulled the party over because “passengers laughing and yelling” drew attention to vehicle.  

Police said they observed Wirfs with a bar wristband on, the odor of ingested alcohol and glassy/watery eyes. Wirfs admitted to consuming “a couple of alcohol beverages throughout the night," according to the report.

He failed the field sobriety test with a .129 blood alcohol level, according to the report.

"While we are currently gathering additional facts, I am disappointed in Tristan's decision-making based on the information that's already been confirmed," Iowa athletics director Gary Barta said in a release. 

"He is subject to the rules and regulations of the UI Student Athlete Code of Conduct, and the rules and regulations of coach Kirk Ferentz and his program."

One of the top-ranked recruits in Iowa’s 2017 class, Wirfs played 10 games during his freshman season and started the last eight. He was listed as the starting right tackle on Iowa’s two-deep depth chart released during Big Ten media days.

With a suspension of some length inevitably coming, the Hawkeyes will have to shuffle their offensive line a bit to start the season. Iowa opens fall camp this week, with its Sept. 1 season-opener against Northern Illinois nearly a month away.

Wirfs is the second Iowa lineman who was recently arrested. Defensive tackle Brady Reiff was booked on a public intoxication charge in the early hours of July 21. He has been suspended for the season-opener.

Dargan Southard covers Iowa and UNI athletics, recruiting and preps for the Des Moines Register, HawkCentral.com and the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.