At First Glance: Week 5 at Iowa Hawkeyes

Nov 23, 2024; College Park, Maryland, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes defensive lineman Ethan Hurkett (49) celebrates after tackling Maryland Terrapins running back Nolan Ray (not pictured) behind the line of scrimmage during the second half at SECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images Subscriber Content Written by: Ben Gillard (@benjgillard) Week Five: Iowa Hawkeyes Date & Time: Saturday, September 27 at either 12pm, 3:30pm, or 4:00pm Venue: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA TV: FS1 Hawkeyes at a Glance Head Coach: Kirk Ferentz Entering his 27th season as Iowa head coach Record at Iowa: 204-124 (128-88 in Big Ten Conference) Overall Record: 216-145 Last Season: 8-5 (6-3 in Big Ten) Hawkeyes Returning Leaders Passing: Jackson Stratton – 21-of-35 (60.0%), 219 Yards, 1 Touchdown, 0 Interceptions Rushing: Kamari Moulton –473 Yards on 84 Carries, 3 Touchdowns Receiving: Jacob Gill – 35 Catches for 411 Yards, 2 Touchdowns Tackles:– Ethan Hurkett (DE) 56 Tackles (32 solo), 6.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles Names to Know: Mark Gronowski, QB Kamari Moulton, RB Ethan Hurkett, DL Hawkeyes Preseason Predictions Athlon: 27th Nationally Lindy’s: Phil Steele: 31st Nationally SP+: 28th Nationally Impact Newcomers for the Hawkeyes Mark Gronowski, QB (South Dakota State) Sam Phillips, WR (Chattanooga) Shahid Barros, CB (South Dakota State) Jonah Pace, DL (Central Michigan) Biggest Questions Facing the Hawkeyes How will Gronowski play under center? Who replaces Kaleb Johnson at RB? How fast will the young linebackers develop? Program Preview The Iowa Hawkeyes have been one of the better teams in the Big Ten over the past two decades. Since 2013, the Hawkeyes have finished every season with at least 7 wins (excluding the shortened Covid season) and have appeared in three Big Ten Championship games (2015, 2021, & 2023). Despite an offense that seems to be perpetually stuck in the 1940s, the Hawkeyes had another successful season in 2024, finishing with an 8-5 record and a Music City Bowl berth. A large part of the Hawkeyes success in 2024 was thanks in part to the giant steps forward the offense took under new offensive coordinator Tim Lester. While still nowhere near the top of the Big Ten, Iowa had a fairly competent passing game last season, which was complemented nicely by their extremely talented rushing attack. Lester will have his work cut out for him in his second season with the Hawkeyes, as he loses his leading rusher in Kaleb Johnson, who had 1537 yards and 21 touchdowns on 240 carries. In addition to losing Johnson, the Hawkeyes also lost a pair of starting quarterbacks to the transfer portal with the departures of Cade McNamara and Brendan Sullivan. Thanks to this, the success of the Iowa offense rests on the shoulders of South Dakota State transfer Mark Gronowski. On the defensive side of the ball, the Hawkeyes return the majority of their key contributors, including defensive tackle Aaron Graves, defensive end Ethan Hurkett, and safety Xavier Nwankpa. Given the fact that the defense has been the strength of this Iowa program for years, it’s very likely that defensive coordinator Phil Parker fields another strong defense in 2025. Offensive Preview One of the most surprising aspects of the 2024 Iowa Hawkeyes was their offense. Following another dismal performance in 2023, Iowa made the decision to let offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz go before the 2024 season. To replace Ferentz, the Hawkeyes hired former Western Michigan head coach Tim Lester. Lester quickly made his mark on the offense, replacing Ferentz’s outdated fullback-centered scheme with one that employs a lot of pre-snap motion, which seemed to help the Iowa offense find some sort of a rhythm. The biggest question facing the Iowa offense heading into the 2025 season is who will start under center for the Hawkeyes. 2024 saw a carousel of quarterbacks get starts under center, including Cade McNamara (104-172, 1,017 yards, 6 TDs, 5 INTs), Brendan Sullivan (38-53, 475 yards, 3 TDs, 3 INTs), and Jackson Stratton (21-35, 219 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs). McNamara and Sullivan both transferred out following the season, leaving the Hawkeyes with two options at QB for 2025: Stratton and South Dakota State transfer Mark Gronowski. Gronowski won the Walter Payton award in 2023 and helped lead the Jackrabbits to two consecutive FCS titles. Given this impressive resume and the fact that Brendan Sullivan transferred out following the addition of Gronowski, it seems likely that the former FCS superstar will be the starter for the Hawkeyes in 2025. Only time will tell how successful Gronowski will be after making the jump to FBS, but given the state of the quarterback room over the past couple of seasons, any production in the passing game would be a welcome change. Regardless of who the Hawkeyes start at quarterback, the tallest task will be replacing star running back Kaleb Johnson, who rushed for 1,537 yards on 240 carries with 21 touchdowns. Luckily for the Hawkeyes, they got a preview of next year’s running back room during the Music City Bowl, where Kamari Moulton and Jaziun Patterson split carries and looked promising—with 7.4 yards per carry on 23 carries between them. Moulton finished with 96 yards and a touchdown, while Patterson had 74 yards. Moulton and Patterson will have the luxury of running behind an offensive line that returns three of its veteran starters in left guard Beau Stephens, center Logan Jones, and right tackle Gennings Dunker. The Hawkeyes still need to find two other starters on this offensive line, but given the experience and chemistry that these three veterans have, the line is likely to have similar production to that of 2024. Even with new OC Tim Lester, Iowa still remains a run-first offense. This does not mean, however, that the Hawkeyes have no weapons in the air. Iowa returns its leading receiver from 2024 in Jacob Gill. The Northwestern transfer had 35 catches for 411 yards and two touchdowns last season and looks to build upon this in 2025. In addition to Gill, Iowa adds transfer wide receiver Sam Phillips from Chattanooga. Phillips had 49 catches for 803 yards and 3 touchdowns last season and, at 5’ 9”, looks to be an immediate starter in the slot for the Hawkeyes this season. Defensive Preview Defense has been the Hawkeyes bread and butter for the past couple of seasons, as defensive coordinator Phil Parker has built a well-deserved reputation for developing players into bonafide NFL prospects. 2025 will be an opportunity for Parker to showcase just how good of a player-development coach he is, as the Hawkeyes will have to replace large swaths of their starting defense. Along the line, Iowa loses defensive tackle Yahya Black, who was drafted in the 5th round to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Replacing him will likely be Aaron Graves, who had 17 solo tackles, 6 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles in 2024. Additionally, the Hawkeyes did themselves a ton of favors by bringing in a pair of DT transfers in Jonah Pace from Central Michigan and Bryce Hawthorne from South Dakota State. The line also returns defensive end Ethan Hurkett, who had 32 solo tackles, 6.5 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles last year. The linebacking corps is probably the biggest question mark on this Iowa defense, as the Hawkeyes will have to replace both of their starting linebackers in Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson, who combined for 215 tackles in 2024. This will be where Phil Parker will get the chance to show off his ability to develop players, as he will have a trio of returning backups to work with: Jaden Harrell, Karson Sharar, and Jaxon Rexroth. As it stands right now, I would pencil in Sharar and Harrell as the two starters, with Rexroth as a rotation piece, but this will be a position group to watch headed into the season. Like the linebackers, the Iowa secondary looks to replace a lot of key pieces as they lose cornerbacks Jermari Harris and John Nestor. Senior TJ Hall will likely keep his starting spot alongside Deshaun Lee, with sophomore Jaylen Watson and transfer Shahid Barros rounding out the rotation. In terms of the safeties, look for Xavier Nwankpa to keep his starting spot after tallying 41 total tackles (29 solo) and a punt blocked in 2024. Special Teams Preview “I’m just here for the punter!” is a popular refrain in Iowa City on football Saturdays, and for good reason. The Hawkeyes return all three of their specialists, who look to be one of, if not the best, special teams unit in the FBS this season. Punter Rhys Dakin looks to build upon a successful freshman season where he averages 44.1 yards per punt. Kicker Drew Stevens continued to dominate in 2024, going 20-23 on field goals (with a long of 54 yards) and a perfect 40-40 on extra points, while returner Kaden Wetjen fielded 26 kickoffs and 26 punts and averaged 28.0 yards and 12.6 yards, respectively. 2025 FIRST GLANCE PREVIEWS Week One: Old Dominion Week Two: Kennesaw State Week Three: Indiana State Week Four: Subscribe to get access Read more of this content when you subscribe today. Log in

At First Glance: Week 5 at Iowa Hawkeyes

Subscribe to get access

Like this:

Related

At First Glance: Week 5 at Iowa Hawkeyes

Subscribe to get access

Share this:

Like this:

Related

Discover more from Hoosier Huddle