After a busy start to the offseason, we are a month removed from spring football and eagerly awaiting the start of the 2026 season.
Spring football gave us a glimpse at what the squad could look like, but it isn't a full picture. The quarterback situation is still very much in question, alongside the defensive line, but the running back and secondary groups look to be as strong as ever.
Voluntary workouts and walk-throughs begin in July, with practices and workouts ramping up in early August for the season. A short time after spring ball, there are a few best- and worst-case scenarios before the season kicks off in September.
Best-case scenario: It's rinse and repeat for the Iowa offensive line
Traditionally, under Kirk Ferentz, the offensive line has been a strength of the program, and that continued last season. The offensive line was a very veteran-led group, with three of the five members having 25-plus career starts.
Beau Stephens (29), Gennings Dunker (25), and Logan Jones (38) had a combined 92 starts heading into last season, and the unit quickly became the best in college football. That is a ton of experience and talent to replace next season, but the program has an excellent track record of reloading on the offensive line, not rebuilding.
Versatile offensive lineman and All-American, Kade Pieper, returns next season and could play guard or center. Starting tackle Trevor Lauck is also returning, alongside Jack Dotzler, who Lauck beat out for one of the starting tackle positions last season.
The pieces are there, and with Iowa's heavy reliance on the run game and an unknown quarterback situation, the o-line has to reload.
Best-case scenario: One quarterback separated himself as QB1
Iowa's impending quarterback decision before next season has generated a lot of buzz, and in traditional Kirk Ferentz fashion, we still don't know who it will be.
Both Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski received equal starting reps throughout the spring, and the program is keeping the decision very close to the vest. This is not surprising, with history showing that with any Iowa quarterback competition, the coaching staff waits until the last possible second to reveal the decision. We might not even know until the first game of the season.
The best-case scenario for the offense is that one of the two quarterbacks outperformed the other in the spring, and the decision has already been made without the coaching staff officially announcing it. As the old saying goes: if you have two quarterbacks, you have none.
No one is asking whoever gets the starting nod to transform into the best quarterback in the Big Ten overnight, but having one clear winner is important.
Worst-case scenario: The defense regressesed
No one is ever going to question the Iowa defense as long as Phil Parker is in charge, but the unit lost multiple key starters, especially on the defensive line.
Starters Aaron Graves (graduation), Ethan Hurkett (graduation), Max Llewellyn (graduation), and Brian Allen Jr. (transfer) are all gone, leaving massive holes on the defensive line. Iose Epenesa and Kenneth Merriweather appear to have the inside track to starting on the edges, but the interior is up in the air.
The secondary is also without star defensive back Koen Entringer, who transferred to Louisville, and starting cornerback TJ Hall, after he headed to the NFL. The secondary does have a lot of talent returning and added through the transfer portal, but many players will be taking on expanded roles.
It is hard to worry about a Phil Parker-coached defense, but there is some cause for concern coming out of spring ball.
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