In April I went to the Iowa football open spring practice with the intent of seeing what Iowa’s new offense might look like. I knew it wouldn’t be a great look at it because Deacon Hill was running the first team with Cade McNamara not healthy and the offense wasn’t fully installed at that point. My interest was to see if there were noticeable changes in structure and scheme that I could pick up on, mission accomplished. When Iowa fired Brian Ferentz and we knew they would be changing coordinators I tempered my expectations because Kirk Ferentz is still the coach and he’s never going to change his philosophy of ball control offense and great defense and special teams. I said then, the offense only changes as much as Kirk allows, apparently, he’s allowing the structure to change considerably.
What new offensive coordinator Tim Lester’s offense would look like was a mystery and to a certain extent, it still is. However, from what I saw, it’s very different. The biggest difference is the amount of motion. I wasn’t charting plays or anything but if you told me the number of plays with motion that day was 80%, I would say you were underestimating it. This isn’t motion just for motion’s sake, that was a staple of the previous offense. Using motion in certain situations and always using it in the same way makes your offense predictable, this isn’t that.
Predictability kills an offense before the play even starts. Tim Lester uses motion so much, it simply throws the defense into chaos. He was even doing it to Phil Parker’s very talented and veteran defense, that’s good news. Most people think of motion in football as something you use in the passing game, it helps identify coverages. That’s very true but Lester uses it in the run game too to make defenses play off balance. Get them going one way and then run the other. Motion, misdirection, and simplifying the passing game will go a long way to fix what has been wrong with Iowa’s offense for so many years. This team isn’t going to put up 35 points a game (that would be wonderful but one step at a time) but they are going to make teams have to actually prepare for Iowa’s offense.
The other reason I didn’t write about this team sooner was the transfer portal. There needed to be changes, mostly at QB, and that took some time. Deacon Hill has moved on. We should thank him for sticking around all spring and helping install our new offense and then really thank him for leaving and opening up a scholarship at QB. Hill probably wasn’t the worst player to ever play QB in a Division I football game but you would have a hard time convincing me there’s ever been a guy who started nine games who was worse. Generally, when you’re that bad, your team puts any else in the game. Thanks for helping out this spring Deacon, enjoy Utah…Tech.
Despite the doom and gloom that so many fans still feel about Iowa’s offense, I have some reasons for optimism. First, the QB situation looks much improved. Second, the offense structure is going to help the passing game be more efficient, the run game to be more effective, and it should help the offensive line by putting them in easier situations. The spring practice only showed a very small amount of the offense, by design. There is more to come as Cade McNamara gets healthy and more offense gets installed. This team doesn’t need the offense to be great, they need it to be functional. In year one under Tim Lester, I think that’s possible. Let’s take a look at some of the changes (this is almost entirely on offense) that should really help and how things should get better.
The Quarterbacks
Kirk Ferentz made it clear that Cade McNamara is the starter heading into the summer and as long as his rehab goes well, it’s his job to lose in the fall. It would be great if he could stay healthy and help the new offense take hold. He fits what Tim Lester wants to do, he has the ability to make quick decisions, high level accuracy, and the leadership qualities you want in a QB. That’s the good news. The better news is if he gets hurt next season, Iowa has a legitimate option to replace him.
The depth chart got a lot better after spring practice starting with the addition of former Northwestern starter Brendan Sullivan. Sullivan isn’t a star by any means but compared to Deacon Hill, he’s John fucking Elway. He can run Tim Lester’s offense, Lester tried to recruit Sullivan to Western Michigan out of high school when Lester was the head coach there. Sullivan is going into his fourth year of college so he’s older and more mature than Marco Lainez who is still getting used to being in college. They also added another transfer in former Colorado St. QB Jackson Stratton who was a scholarship QB there but will be a third year walk on at Iowa. I don’t expect true freshman James Resar to factor in at all but the depth looks far better heading into 2025 than it did coming out of 2024. Cade McNamara, Brendan Sullivan, Marco Lainez, Jackson Stratton, and James Resar. If this were Jeopardy the answer would be Who are five guys I’d rather have playing QB than Deacon Hill?
The Running Backs
While the QB situation in the spring practice wasn’t good and the Hawks have to wait to see what they really have there, the RB situation looks to be in awesome shape. Leshon Williams sat out the practice but Kaleb Johnson looked healthy and explosive, Kamari Moulton looks like he’s ready to break out, and Jaziun Patterson has some pop. Johnson had a lower leg injury early last year and just never looked quite right, he looks right now. I think he’s the most talented RB Iowa has had in many years and he’s a dynamic runner. With the scheme built to keep the defense off balance, I see Johnson’s ability to get outside and break a big run coming in very handy. He has elite RB traits. Williams is tough and reliable and Kirk still loves that and he’ll still be used but Johnson has star level talent.
The more noticeable change was Kamari Moulton looking like a breakout player. Jaziun Patterson was the third back last season and got more usage when Johnson was out but Moulton looked more comfortable in the new offense. Moulton is bigger going into his second year and he ran with more decisiveness than Patterson and better vision. Patterson is still a very talented back but he has some work to do to earn carries. Moulton gives Iowa a very skilled third back for now. Terrell Washington is splitting time between RB and WR but I think he ends up as a WR next season, he’ll be more valuable as a slot receiver than as the fifth RB.
The Wide Receivers
This is the group with the most question marks and the group that needs Tim Lester’s schematic changes the most. Lester had success at Western Michigan with WRs like Skyy Moore and Dee Eskridge and the hope is that he can use the Iowa guys the same way. Kaleb Brown is easily the most talented WR of the group. He’s short but fast and might fit the Moore/Eskridge mold the best. Lester has talked about getting the playmakers the ball, Brown is his best playmaker at WR. Seth Anderson was another transfer in last season and has spent a lot of his time at Iowa injured but they have to hope he gets healthy because they need him outside. Kaden Wetjen is the other WR who looked good in the spring game and he brings speed and elusiveness to the position that should work well in the new offense.
Brown, Anderson, and Wetjen are the early favorites to be the starters in the fall but Brown is probably the only one of those you can safely write in pen. The coaches like Wetjen but he really hasn’t played WR in a game and Anderson needs to be available. That means the team is open to anyone looking to grab a job. Enter Terrell Washington, the RB/slot hybrid. Washington looks like a slot receiver and has all the skills to excel there. It seems Lester is intrigued by that idea and Washington will get every chance to play receiver. Jarriett Buie was a true freshman last year but he’s one of the few guys Iowa has with legitimate size to play outside, he’s first in line for a promotion if Anderson’s injury issues persist. Dayton Howard is another redshirt freshman to keep an eye on, he offers even more size than Buie. The other name to remember is Northwestern transfer Jacob Gill. He’s small and speedy and while he wasn’t a star at Northwestern, he does have legitimate playing time in Big Ten football games and that’s experience that Iowa is sorely lacking.
The Tight Ends
Not much to talk about here. Luke Lachey was back and healthy and Addison Ostrenga will the TE2. These two look ready to continue the TE tradition at Iowa. Zach Ortwerth got in some games last year backing up Ostrenga once Erick All and Lachey were both hurt so he should be the third TE. Walk-on Johnny Pascuzzi and Hayden Large add depth. If they have injuries hit hard like last season, true freshman Gavin Hoffman was an early enrollee so he at least got an early start on learning the offense and would be a depth option.
The Offensive Line
This is the other piece of the puzzle that Lester’s offensive scheme needs to help fix because it’s the same cast of characters for now and the only positive change is hopefully these guys are healthy. LT Mason Richman dealt with an injury all last season and hopefully that explains why he was so bad last year. The Hawkeyes need him healthy because there is no obvious replacement to be found as the coaches clearly don’t trust Jack Dotzler and no one should want Nick DeJong there. I can’t believe I still have to talk about DeJong, I guess we can always hope the sixth year is the breakout year (Kirk Ferentz just can’t quit that guy).
Beau Stephens is penciled in at LG and that may only last a few games given his injury history. He’s fine when he plays but getting like a four-game stretch out of him seems nearly impossible. Connor Colby is back at RG and hopefully he’ll be a steady presence in his fourth year. There’s a couple of young guys in Kade Pieper and Trevor Lauck as the backups for now and Pieper looked good in limited playing time as a true freshman last year. If Stephens gets hurt again it’s completely possible Pieper is the guy who steps in.
C Logan Jones and RT Gennings Dunker were out during the spring and while I don’t think Dunker has anything to worry about when it comes to his starting job (his fill-in was DeJong), Jones has a more tenuous hold on the center job. Jones has not had the development you would hope after moving over from defensive tackle, let’s face it, there’s only one Tyler Linderbaum. Elsbury was pretty good as Jones’ replacement last season and the line looked it’s overall best with him, not with Jones. It is usually pretty hard to get Kirk Ferentz to replace a guy who he seems so committed to but maybe a new set of eyes, say offensive coordinator Tim Lester’s, will point out some things to Kirk. Besides just Elsbury, walk-on North Dakota transfer Cade Borud might also put some pressure on Jones.
Like I said, Dunker doesn’t have much to worry about at RT, DeJong is simply a fill-in and Dunker was one of the few bright spots on the line last season. Also, Iowa hasn’t developed any real OT depth. Jack Dotzler and Kale Krogh are the two non-freshman OTs on the roster besides the starters and neither one has put any level of pressure on the starters and are more likely going to be trying to hold off the freshmen from taking their backup jobs. Trevor Lauck and Cannon Leaonard are redshirt freshmen that Iowa needs to develop if Dotzler and Krogh don’t make meaningful progress this season.
If Iowa can get an offensive line of LT Mason Richman, LG Beau Stephens, C Logan Jones or Tyler Elsbury, RG Connor Colby, and RT Gennings Dunker healthy and playing in Tim Lester’s system, I think we see major improvement. Lester’s offense is less predictable and has more quick hitting action which generally asks the offensive line to have to hold up for less time. That would be a welcome change for a unit that struggled a lot last year.
The Defense
I’m not going to dive deep into Phil Parker’s defense, they’re going to be good. DT Yahya Black, DE Deontae Craig, MLB Jay Higgins, LB Nick Jackson, CASH Sebastian Castro, CB Jermari Harris, SS Xavier Nwankpa, and FS Quinn Schulte were all starters last season for almost the whole year, that’s eight returning starters. CB Deshaun Lee started multiple games when Harris was out to start the year and then when Cooper DeJean got hurt late in the year. So almost nine full-time starters if we’re being honest. DT Aaron Graves steps in as a starter, he’s got big shoes to fill replacing Logan Lee but if anyone is up for it, it’s Graves. It’s the DE spot that is the real question. Ethan Hurkett steps in for Joe Evans, the best pass rusher Iowa had. It won’t all fall on Hurkett, Deontae Craig has to be better than he was last year and they need Brian Allen and Max Llewellyn to really step up as rotation guys.
Higgins and Jackson are one of the best LB duos in the college football, you can argue they are the best duo. The secondary is elite overall even without Cooper DeJean. Sebastian Castro plays the hybrid LB/S spot known as the CASH but he’s arguably the best defensive back in the Big Ten. Nwankpa could be the breakout player in the secondary as he goes into is second full season as a starter, he has elite physical talent and Phil Parker defensive backs only get better with age. Quinn Schulte is a super-super senior and the brains of the defense. He makes sure everyone is where they are supposed to be and then he covers up any mistakes. Jermari Harris, Deshaun Lee and John Nestor are not going to be DeJean but the three of them can be a very capable trio of corners and I’m never betting against Phil Parker getting the absolute best out of his secondary.
This team won 10 games with the worst offense I’ve ever witnessed that wasn’t coordinated by Matt Patricia. Even if the defense misses DeJean and Evans a bit, the offense should be improved enough to make up that difference. If the Tim Lester offense fails, the end of the Kirk Ferentz era will begin quite quickly. If there’s progress with the offense, Kirk Ferentz can go out on his own terms some time in the next few years.
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