After a solid 2025 season, Iowa Football finds itself in a position they aren't in very often. The program is by no stretch of the imagination in a rebuild, but they have more question marks next season than in the past.
The program was a veteran-led squad last season, especially on both lines and at quarterback. Three of the five starting offensive and defensive linemen and starting quarterback Mark Gronowski are all gone, leaving multiple questions on both sides of the ball.
The quarterback situation is very much in flux, but the program may have found an answer to some of its defensive line woes.
Transfer Kahmari Brown has been impressive during his short time with the program
Even though there will be multiple new faces across the defensive line, that does not mean it won't have a talented group. The squad returns Bryce Hawthorne, Iose Epenesa, and Kenneth Merrieweather, but after those three, there are still plenty of snaps to go around.
As the program begins summer workouts and we get closer to the 2026-2027 season, transfer Kahmari Brown has begun to force his way into contention for snaps with his skill set and has impressed some of his teammates along the way.
Bryce Hawthorne on Elon defensive line transfer Kahmari Brown: "He's got crazy finesse moves. He is amazing with his hands. Very quick. Quick off the ball. He just does some things where I'm like, 'How did you do that?'"
— Tyler Tachman (@Tyler_T15) June 17, 2026
Bryce Hawthorne had a solid year for the Hawkeyes last season after transferring from South Dakota State alongside starting quarterback Mark Gronowski. He played in all 13 games, primarily as a reserve, but was productive. Now in his second season with the program, he is projected to play a much larger role, and he has enjoyed watching new teammate Kahmari Brown.
Working alongside him in practice, Hawthorne had nothing but praise for Brown, recently telling The Des Moines Register's Tyler Tachman that he has "crazy" finesse moves, amazing with his hands, and is quick off the ball. He also said that Brown did things that made him go, "How did you do that?"
Brown has only been with the program for a few months, but he is already making a solid impression on his teammates. If he can replicate the production he had at Elon, defensive coordinator Phil Parker and defensive line coach Kelvin Bell might have found a solution to some of the defensive line question marks.
There is no guarantee that Brown will be handed a starting spot or a large role next season, but his development within the program is encouraging. There are multiple other DL vying for snaps, including Joseph Anderson, Devan Kennedy, Chima Chineke, and Luke Gaffney, just to name a few, but if Brown comes in and makes an immediate impact, all the worries about the defensive line will quickly disappear.
Add us as a preferred source on Google