Offense
Love him or hate him Brian Ferentz is back as the offensive coordinator for the Hawkeyes. I’m not going to get into the off season stuff because at this point he’s still here and the team is moving forward. As a play caller, Brian has gotten better over the years and if he can build on the success of what he did in the bowl game against USC, Iowa is in good shape. This team has the best collection of skill position players of any Iowa team I can remember, that includes both Kirk Ferentz teams that won a share of the Big Ten title and the Rose Bowl team. Finding playmakers is not going to be an issue for the Hawkeyes. The offensive line has the potential to be fantastic if everyone is healthy and they find some continuity. The success of the Hawkeye offense is going to come down to one position, QB. Spencer Petras, you’re up.
Quarterback
Starter: Spencer Petras (Soph)
Petras is a third-year sophomore who saw some minor action last year as the backup to Nate Stanley. No QB on the roster has any meaningful playing time which means we have no idea what anyone will look like when the games actually count. Petras won the battle to be the backup last year and while he hasn’t had much practice time to win the job so far, he seems to have it anyway. There was no spring practice and fall camp started late, then that was interrupted and even stopped for a time. During all of this I’ve heard nothing but good things about Petras stepping up as a leader and organizing workouts with his receivers and trying to build some chemistry. He has serious potential. He has the size and arm strength you look for in a starting QB. He is a smoother athlete than Stanley was and I think the ceiling on what Petras can be is actually higher than Stanley’s. That’s saying a lot considering what Stanley accomplished at Iowa but if Petras can find the week-to-week, game-to-game consistency that Stanley never seemed to have, this offense could be electric.
Backup: Alex Padilla (RS Fr), Deuce Hogan (Fr)
Petras has stepped into the role of starter because he was essentially being groomed for it for the past year or so but that doesn’t mean the other two scholarship QBs on the roster are going to just accept it. They will fight for the starting job but truthfully they are fighting each other for the backup role and the chance to be Petras’ eventual replacement. Alex Padilla is a redshirt freshman who was supposed to push Petras during spring practice since he was the only other scholarship QB on campus back then. Of course, that all changed when there was no spring practice. Padilla is much smaller in stature compared to Petras and Hogan but he was a highly accomplished high school QB in Colorado and he can throw it all over the place. He would certainly bring a different look to the position and while he has an extra year on campus compared to Deuce Hogan, he’s going to face a challenge. Hogan is a much ballyhooed 4-star recruit out of Texas who really fits the Iowa QB mold of a big, tall pocket passer with a big arm. He has already shown strong leadership skills in his recruitment of players in his class. Hogan and Padilla should have a heck of a battle for the backup job.
Running Back
Starter: Tyler Goodson (Soph)
The Iowa Hawkeyes uncovered a foundational piece for their offense last year in true freshman RB Tyler Goodson. He didn’t begin last year as the starter but he started to take over the bulk of the carries mid-season and never looked back. Goodson is a special talent and you don’t have to be a football expert to notice. He has a different gear running the ball but his real talent is his patience and ability to set up his blocks. He’s a perfect fit for the Iowa offense and he should enjoy a great year behind a more consistent offensive line. It has been too long since Iowa had a RB with this kind of talent.
Backups: Mekhi Sargent (Sr), Ivory Kelly-Martin (Jr)
If you doubt how good Goodson is just look at who he is starting ahead of on this team. Sargent and Kelly-Martin have both been starters for the Hawkeyes in their careers. Sargent was the starter to begin last season and was eventually replaced by Goodson. Kelly-Martin was a starter a couple of years ago and lost his job to Sargent because of injury. He actually played a little last season coming back from his injury and then decided to sit out and take a redshirt season since Iowa had enough backs to not need him. Sargent has proven to be a valuable piece in the offense as a runner and a pass catcher. He should continue to spell Goodson to keep him fresh. Kelly-Martin is a bit of an unknown because he has essentially missed the last two seasons. Before the injuries he was a multidimensional back with game breaking ability. We will see if any of that ability is still there. These are two very talented players who have had success running the football and they will try to find ways to contribute as backups to Goodson.
Depth: Shadrick Byrd (RS Fr), Gavin Williams (Fr), Leshon Williams (Fr)
The Hawkeyes have some nice young depth with these three freshmen. Byrd is a bigger back with some power and a year of practice under his belt. I would say he has a shot as the short-yardage back but there is no way Iowa is taking Goodson off the field when they need a yard or two. Williams and Williams are a pair of true freshmen we haven’t seen at all but they are talented young guys.
Fullback
Turner Pallissard and Monte Pottebaum are two sophomores that look the part of typical Iowa fullbacks. They have the unfortunate luck of playing FB in what seems like a new era for the Hawkeyes. Certainly, there will be times Iowa lines up in their traditional I-formation but this team has way too much WR talent to not use a 3-receiver set a lot and Brian Ferentz still likes his two-TE sets too.
Wide Receiver
Starters: Ihmir Smith-Marsette (Sr), Brandon Smith (Sr), Nico Ragaini (Soph)
I certainly cannot remember a time when I could say the Iowa Hawkeye WR corps is the strongest and deepest position on the Iowa roster. It may be that the Hawkeyes start with only two WRs during any game (it would be Smith and Smith-Marsette) but essentially the best lineup has three WRs on the field. Smith-Marsette (aka ISM) is the deep speed guy who is one of the most dynamic playmakers in college football. He lit up USC in the Holiday Bowl last year and he’s looking to build on that performance. He’s also looking to show NFL scouts that he’s one of the top WRs in college football. ISM is also an excellent kickoff returner so he has value all over. Brandon Smith is the big, physical receiver who likes to play outside and can be a monster in the red zone. Smith is hard to handle because of his size and strength. The offense is better when he’s lining up opposite ISM because their skill sets complement each other so well. He also has NFL type talent. Nico Ragaini is the perfect inside slot receiver with reliable hands, quick feet and knack for finding open space. These three will take the bulk of the snaps and they offer Spencer Petras the opportunity to have an outstanding year. If Petras just gets the ball to these guys as much as possible the offense is in good hands.
Backups: Tyrone Tracy Jr. (Soph), Max Cooper (Sr)
I’m only listing two guys as backups because Iowa is most likely to only use these five guys in any formations unless one of the younger guys forces their way on to the field with their play. The young guys are going to have to play exceptionally well to break in to this rotation. Tyrone Tracy started quite a bit last year with injuries to multiple starters because he happens to possess the skill to fill in at any of the WR positions. That’s a great skill to have when you’re looking for playing time. Tracy played well in almost all situations and while he sometimes drops an easy ball, he makes up for it with his playmaking abilities. Getting Tracy the ball more would be a great idea if it didn’t mean taking it away from the top three guys. Max Cooper is a guy who has fought some injuries but when he returned last season he took over as the punt returner and that’s not a job the coaching staff trusts to just anyone. He can play the slot and gives the coaches a solid backup to Ragaini, in case Tracy is busy filling in one of the other spots.
Depth: Desmond Hutson (RS Fr), Calvin Lockett (Soph), Diante Vines (Fr), Charlie Jones (Jr)
Desmond Hutson impressed the coaches last season as a true freshman but they just had too much depth to consider playing him and burning his redshirt season. Calvin Lockett is a sophomore who has simply been waiting his turn behind some very talented WRs. Hutson and Lockett are the bigger receiver types. Diante Vines is probably going to be in the same boat as Hutson was last season, a highly talented player who simply won’t be needed. Vines is a dynamic playmaker but he’ll have to wait for Smith and ISM to graduate to open up some playing time. Charlie Jones is a transfer from Buffalo, I’ve heard some good things but he might have to make his mark on special teams. True freshman Quavon Matthews isn’t listed because he needs at least a year to get physically ready for B1G football.
Tight Ends
Starter: Sam LaPorta (Soph)
LaPorta was a true freshman last season and while it took some time for him to get going, he finally stepped into the void left by Hockenson and Fant once Shaun Beyer couldn’t seem to fill it. LaPorta is a very good athlete who still hasn’t filled out physically so he can still get even better. It will be interesting to watch him develop his chemistry with Petras and see if he becomes his security blanket. He has a knack for getting open and he has the athleticism to threaten teams down the seams and make them pay when they double the guys outside.
Backup: Shaun Beyer (Sr)
Beyer is getting one more shot at this thing. He dealt with injuries early in his career and had to sit behind the ridiculous duo of TJ Hockenson and Noah Fant, those things weren’t his fault. Last year was supposed to be his chance and he got banged up again and lost the top spot to LaPorta. Iowa likes to use multiple TEs so he still has a chance to become a big contributor but he needs to stay healthy and take advantage of every opportunity. Talented kid, who deserves things to break his way his senior year (assuming he doesn’t take an extra COVID year next year. Yep that’s going to be a thing).
Depth: Josiah Miamen (RS Fr), Elijah Yelverton (Fr), Luke Lachey (Fr)
These three guys are the reason Beyer will have to step it up this year. LaPorta can’t do it all on his own and these are three talented athletes who can all bring something to the table. They don’t have Beyer’s years of experience in the Iowa offense but they can make plays and that’s what will matter. Oh, and they are young and healthy.
Offensive Line
Starters: LT Alaric Jackson, LG Mark Kallenberger, C Tyler Linderbaum, RG Kyler Schott, RT Coy Cronk
While the Hawkeyes lost the most talented offensive lineman from last season, Tristan Wirfs, this unit has a chance to be better overall, let me explain. The biggest issue with last year’s unit was consistency. When Alaric Jackson got injured to start the year it threw the line into chaos as Wirfs moved back and forth from RT to LT and back and guys came in and out of the lineup at guard. By the end of the year, Jackson was back, even if he wasn’t 100%, and Kallenberger and Schott had stepped up and solidified the guard spots. Coy Cronk isn’t going to be Tristan Wirfs at RT but he doesn’t have to be for this line to be excellent.
Jackson returned to college instead of turning pro because he wanted to get healthy, dominate and show the NFL scouts how good he can be. That’s a scary proposition for the rest of the B1G. Coy Cronk is a transfer from Indiana who started at LT for three years before missing last season with an injury. He came to Iowa to get healthy and prove he’s still a force in the conference. He moves to RT and gives Iowa a pretty solid replacement for Wirfs. The unsung star of this offensive line is Tyler Linderbaum at center. He stepped in as a redshirt freshman last season, after being a defensive tackle his first year, and was fantastic. He was so good NFL teams are already looking at him as one of the next top center prospects and he’s only been at the position a year.
The two guard spots went through some issues last season and when Jackson got hurt and Wirfs moved, that moved a Paulsen twin to RT and others moved around and it was a mess. When Kyler Schott stepped in, he played well and stabilized the RG spot. Of course, then he got hurt. More movement and more instability happened. Once he came back at the end of the year he played well when he was healthy. Mark Kallenberger did some shuffling too, playing guard, playing some RT and even playing some LT. He finally settled in at LG next to Jackson and he played well. He was though to be the next RT until Cronk transferred in and now, he should settle back in at LG. With Schott and Kallenberger flanking Linderbaum on the inside it could actually because a strong point up front.
Backups: OG/C Cole Banwart (Sr), OG Justin Britt (RS Fr), OT Jack Plumb (Soph), OT Nick DeJong (RS Fr)
I’m only listing four backups because in reality the Hawkeyes would only like to have to play eight if necessary and that’s the five starters with Banwart and Britt rotating inside and Plumb maybe getting some time at OT. Nick DeJong is a redshirt freshman walk-on the coaches really liked last year so he’s next. The truth is, if the team needs to, plenty of these guys are cross trained to play multiple positions. For example, if one of the starting OTs gets injured the likely first step is to slide Kallenberger outside to that spot and insert Britt or Banwart at LG. At this moment, I’m not sure the coaches know who the backup center is given that last season’s backup center Jeff Jenkins left the team. If I were a betting man, I would say Banwart would be the first choice because as far as I know he’s the only player to really take snaps at center other than Linderbaum. Justin Britt actually started for a bit last year as a true freshman but got banged up and ended up taking his redshirt. He’ll be in a dogfight with Kallenberger, Schott and Banwart to start at guard, and who knows maybe the team trains him at either center or even OT. Plumb is a third-year sophomore who is finally filling out his frame and looking like a legitimate OT prospect. He better play like one too because there are some guys coming up behind him. The team has a ton of young talent coming up to keep the offensive line rolling for years but I’m not sure the coaches have decided where they all will play. The backups even include two redshirt freshman and a sophomore.
Depth: Coy Kirkpatrick (Jr), Cody Ince (Soph), Tyler Endres (RS Fr), Noah Fenske (RS Fr), Josh Volk (Fr), Tyler Elsbury (Fr), Mason Richman (Fr)
I’m not sure it’s clear who the 10th, 11th, 12th, and so forth, offensive linemen are but Coy Kirkpatrick and Cody Ince have more time in the program than the others. Endres and Fenske join Britt and DeJong as redshirt freshmen while Volk, Elsbury and Richman are true freshmen this season. Throw in the 2021 recruiting class and Iowa’s offensive line future is very bright. I didn’t list positions on these guys because they are young and Iowa likes to develop guys a bit before they decide if a guy is going to be a guard, a tackle or a center and they usually train them at more than one spot early on anyway.
Kicker
Starter: Keith Duncan (Sr)
I don’t usually talk about kickers much but Duncan is an interesting story. He hit a big kick to win a big game when he was a true freshman and then spent two years behind Miguel Recinos. Last year he won the kicking competition and proceeded to have one of the best years ever for an Iowa kicker. He should have won the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s best kicker but got screwed out of it by that dude with the googles from Georgia. One guy I’m really happy gets to have this season, even if it’s shortened is Duncan because he deserves a chance to win the award his year.
Kickoff Specialist: Caleb Shudak (Sr)
Shudak considered transferring from Iowa but has returned and should handle kickoffs again, he’s excellent at that particular skill.
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