McKewon: Iowa haunts Nebraska's dreams, but Hawkeyes have holes to fill in 2026
LINCOLN — Usage of college football’s transfer portal is so ubiquitous that even Iowa approached the pool this offseason.
Not a toe dip, either. Fifteen guys spread across eight positions, including kicker and punter. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz could see 10 in the team’s two-deep chart. Nine of the 15 were bargain additions from the FCS, including three at a position where the Hawkeyes excel — defensive line.
Iowa lost six of its top eight there. And three members of the Hawkeyes’ terrific offensive line — including Council Bluffs Lewis Central graduate Logan Jones — went in the first five round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
“You can't microwave experience,” Ferentz said in a late March press conference. “You can't microwave girth.”
Iowa kicker Drew Stevens? In the NFL. The punter, Rhys Dakin, followed his special teams coach, LeVar Woods, to Michigan State.
Getting the picture? The developmental program has some developing to do.
Iowa had one of its strongest teams in 2025, a 9-4 squad that lost its four games by total of 15 points but also humiliated Big Ten rivals Wisconsin, Minnesota and Nebraska by scores of 37-0, 41-3 and 40-16. Rivalries matter to the Hawkeyes, and it shows in their performances.
The last of those blowouts triggered a swift series of changes from NU coach Matt Rhule, who dumped his defensive coordinator and defensive line coach in the days after the defeat and hired defensive coaches whose 4-2-5 system bears some resemblance to the Hawkeyes’ approach.
If nothing else, Iowa sets a standard. The best teams — Indiana and Oregon last year — exceed it. Bad teams get bludgeoned by it. Based on their portal activity, Iowa has enough holes to fill that 2026 could be a rebuilding year. But it’s Iowa. The standard finds a way.
Even when the Hawkeyes struggle to identify a starting quarterback.
No such issues last season, when Mark Gronowski overcame a sluggish start and a penchant for conservatism to throw for 1,741 yards and, more importantly, rush for 545 yards and 16 touchdowns. Unspectacular numbers? Sure. It was also Iowa’s best quarterback play since 2019.
Gronowski’s 2025 backups, Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski, are battling for the 2026 starting job. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Brown, who started his career at Auburn, is the safe-and-steady option. The 5-11, 188-pound Hecklinski, whom Ferentz compared to former Iowa starter Drew Tate, is more of a gunslinger — Iowa’s version of Anthony Colandrea, if you will.
“Hank is super efficient,” said Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester days before the Hawkeyes’ final spring practice. “He's on time with everything. He's like a machine.”
Hecklinski, Lester said, has to “operate within the offense and not take every single chance with a ball.”
The race will “definitely” go into training camp, Lester said.
“It could go into the season,” Lester said. “I don't even know.”
Yes, the developmental program has some developing to do on offense. Iowa’s offensive line needs to come along — Norfolk Catholic’s Kade Pieper appears poised to take over for Jones at center — and transfer receivers like Tony Diaz (UTRGV) and Evan James (Furman) have to contribute.
But Iowa has some pieces, too. The backfield returns Kamari Moulton (878 rushing yards) and Xavier Williams (285) while adding South Dakota transfer Lendon Phillips. Tight ends DJ Vonnahme (434 yards receiving) and Addison Ostrenga (114 yards in 2024) make a good 1- 2 combo. Modest quarterback play gets Iowa where it wants to go, in part because Iowa’s defense always shows up.
Cornerback Zach Lutmer is one of the nation’s best coverage guys, and he could take over Kaden Wetjen’s kick and punt return role. Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker tends to plug-and-play linebackers; just when you think Iowa lost a superstar like Karson Sharar, there’s another one.
Defensive line is a larger concern — maybe the biggest on Iowa’s roster. The Hawkeyes need legacy Iose Epenesa — son of Eppy, younger brother of A.J. — to step up as a redshirt freshman.
“There are sometimes you sit there and say, ‘hey, I wish he was farther along,’ but I think he keeps on working,” defensive coordinator Phil Parker said in an April press conference. “It's not like we're playing a game this Saturday.”
Starting with a typically tough-minded Northern Illinois this fall, Iowa will get tested quite a bit. NIU, rebuilding Iowa State and Northern Iowa all visit Kinnick Stadium before a nasty stretch has the Hawkeyes playing at Michigan, vs. Ohio State, at Washington, at Minnesota and vs. Wisconsin, with a bye week in between.
That’s a lot of physical, one-score games to play in a row without a Maryland or Rutgers to break it up. In November, Iowa goes to Northwestern and Illinois while hosting Purdue and Nebraska. The Hawkeyes tend to have at least one more play in the tank than the Huskers. We should learn the Black Friday kickoff time next week.
Little about Iowa’s situation suggests this is a breakthrough year — closer to 6-6, actually, than 10-2. But you underestimate the Hawkeyes at your own peril. NU fans, at this point, don’t.
So perhaps Ferentz’s thoughts at the quarterback position should double for the rest of the team, too.
“Overall, I think we’re gaining ground,” he said. “There’s some things that give you room for optimism.”
Take a look inside Memorial Stadium as Nebraska football hosts Iowa.
sam.mckewon@owh.com, 402-540-4222, twitter.com/swmckewonOWH
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