The Iowa Football program continues to prepare ahead of next season. After spring practices ended and the spring transfer portal window closed, Kirk Ferentz and his staff are piecing together their roster for next season.
The Hawkeyes did not make a big splash in the transfer portal, adding nine players and losing thirteen. On3 Sports ranked Iowa's transfer portal haul as No. 15 in the Big Ten and No. 57 overall.
Ferentz has repeatedly stated that he would rather build from within and did not use the transfer portal to make many additions. His coaching resume speaks for itself, and he can take lightly recruited players and turn them into All-Big Ten performers.
A chunk of those lightly recruited players comes from walk-ons. Walk-ons are players who join a team after not receiving an offer or athletic scholarship.
Ahead of fall camp, the Hawkeyes have accrued five walk-ons, three of whom play on the offensive side of the football. Over the weekend, the Hawkeyes added one more preferred walk-on to the roster.
Will Lockhart, a six-foot-four, 230-pound lineman from Denver, Iowa, made his college decision after accepting a preferred walk-on offer from the Hawkeyes. Lockhart was a two-way star for Denver High School, playing on the offensive and defensive line.
During his senior year, Lockhart tallied 37 tackles (11 for loss) and 2.5 sacks.
Lockhart is an above average athlete and is extremely quick for his size. He also competes and rugby and track and field, and runs a 4.9 second forty yard dash.
Before committing to the Hawkeyes, Lockhart had offers from Grandview, Peru State, St. Thomas, and Upper Iowa. He also received interest from Iowa State, Northern Iowa, North Dakota State, and South Dakota.