Iowa football way-too-early 2025 depth chart projections: Offense

IOWA CITY — Many things can change for Iowa football in the 204 days until its 2025 season opener against Albany.

Where a player stands in their position room could change after Iowa’s 15 spring practices — a crucial developmental period for a program that prides itself on player development. Players may come and go via the transfer portal during the 15-day spring window as well.

But with the 2025 signing days and the longer, busier winter transfer portal in the rearview mirror, here is a very early projection of what Iowa’s depth chart could look like on the offensive side of the ball in 2025.

Check back on Saturday for The Gazette’s depth chart projections on defense and special teams.

Quarterback

Iowa made a big splash at the quarterback position with the addition of ex-South Dakota State quarterback Mark Gronowski. That splash comes with the caveat that the Naperville, Ill., native will miss time in the spring due to surgery, but he is expected to recover in time for summer workouts.

The duo of Gronowski and Brendan Sullivan — with his 11 career starts as a Big Ten quarterback — puts the Hawkeyes in an enviable position at quarterback at this point in the offseason.

Projected depth chart:

Other projected reserves: Hank Brown, Jackson Stratton, Jimmy Sullivan, Ryan Fitzgerald

Running back

Iowa has to reckon with the loss of consensus All-American Kaleb Johnson, who set single-season program records in rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns and came up 313 yards short of Shonn Greene’s record for rushing yards in a season.

Kamari Moulton rushed for 473 yards while averaging 5.6 yards per carry as a redshirt freshman. That included a 68-yard touchdown run against Maryland in Week 13. Jaziun Patterson, meanwhile, had 309 rushing yards while averaging 4.9 yards per carry.

Projected depth chart:

Other projected reserves: Terrell Washington Jr., Max White, Brevin Doll, Xavier Williams, Nathan McNeil, Braeden Jackson

Wide receivers

Former Northwestern transfer Jacob Gill was the only Iowa wide receiver to have 15-plus receptions in 2024. Reece Vander Zee, when healthy, also was a bright spot as a true freshman.

The room received some help via the transfer portal with the addition of ex-Chattanooga wide receiver Sam Phillips, who had 50 receptions for a conference-high 823 yards in 2024.

X receiver — projected depth chart:

Z receiver — projected depth chart:

Slot receiver — projected depth chart:

Other projected reserves: KJ Parker, Terrence Smith, Alex Eichmann, Apollo Payne, Dylan Stecker

Tight end

The self-proclaimed “Tight End U” once again appears to have plenty of depth at the tight end position. Addison Ostrenga had 15 receptions out of 20 targets in 2024 — an efficient 75 percent reception rate — according to Pro Football Focus. Zach Ortwerth had 11 receptions on 15 targets in his second season as a Hawkeye.

Projected depth chart:

Other projected reserves: Hayden Large (tight end/fullback), Gavin Hoffman, Michael Burt, D.J. Vonnahme, Thomas Meyer, Eli Johnson, Mason Woods

Offensive line

Iowa loses a pair of four-year starters — left tackle Mason Richman and right guard Connor Colby — but retaining center Logan Jones and right tackle Gennings Dunker were major offseason wins for George Barnett’s group.

Iowa could still benefit from another experienced tackle, but that is not an easy (or cheap) task in the transfer portal.

Left tackle — projected depth chart:

Left guard — projected depth chart:

Center — projected depth chart:

Right guard — projected depth chart:

Right tackle — projected depth chart:

Other projected reserves: Kale Krogh, Cannon Leonard, Cody Fox, Will Nolan, Bodey McCaslin, Josh Janowski, Cael Winter, Lucas Allgeyer, Joey VanWetzinga

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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