Potential for more offensive improvement has Iowa Hawkeyes football team excited

IOWA CITY – It came at the very end of his remarks Friday during his team’s media day.

Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz was asked about the potential for another jump offensively this season for his Hawkeyes. No question one was made in 2024, though the bar from the previous couple of seasons was set incredibly low.

Like a few inches off the ground low.

Ferentz responded typically, pointing out how it’s all about winning, no matter how you do it. His program always has been built on playing great defense, that Iowa will never be Ohio State on offense, despite how upset that may make fans.

Then there was a but, a caveat.

“A little bit of luck, I think things are coming together offensively a little bit,” the 27th-year Iowa head coach said. “But who knows. Tidal wave hits or whatever, and all of a sudden you just never know what it's going to be. So you've got to be prepared to do what's best each and every week with the guys that can get to the game and play.

“Yeah, it's exciting right now just because I think we have a chance to have a little bit more balanced offensive football team than we've had over the last several years.”

The reasons for that are multiple.

It’s the second year for the Hawkeyes in offensive coordinator Tim Lester’s system. There are guys up front who are dudes, such as all-Big Ten Conference center Logan Jones.

There isn’t a Kaleb Johnson in the backfield, but multiple guys with multiple skill sets. The wide receiver group seems to be better and deeper than it has been in awhile.

And, of course, there’s Mark Gronowski, the South Dakota State transfer quarterback with two FCS championships under his belt and four years of starting experience. After offseason shoulder surgery, he’s self-proclaimed healthy and ready to lead this offense.

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“It’s as good as I’ve felt so far,” Gronowski said.

Iowa has released some fall camp video on X that includes Gronowski throwing a bomb to receiver Reece Vander Zee and scrambling out of the pocket and pinpointing a sideline dart to receiver Kaden Wetjen. That’s Hawkeye Nation salivating over those videos.

But it’s more than playmaking, according to Lester. Much more.

“Changing protection,” Lester said. “That’s a big part of this, and we didn’t do that last year. I mean, we gave the quarterback the opportunity to do that. But I mean he’s changed protection. Today he missed a touchdown throw by an inch, but he saw it, a high-pressure situation, adjusted protection, bought himself two seconds instead of one, was able to let our tight end get behind coverage and then … It would have been the best end of practice ever. But the part about being at the line of scrimmage and understanding blitzes and understanding how to buy yourself more time so you just don’t have to throw hot all the time. That’s the beauty of the offense.

“Once you start learning protection, you can actually protect yourself and instead of just throwing hot, maybe rip a seam down the middle if you bought yourself an extra second. You can be efficient with young guys, but, man, when you have a veteran … You talk about peeling back layers. What he has been able to do with his experience of seeing blitzes and understanding protection, was really an aha moment for me.”

Who plays a lot at the skill positions has yet to be determined. The rest of the practices leading into the Aug. 30 opener against Albany will help determine that, including Saturday’s Kids Day practice at Kinnick Stadium.

Kamari Moulton, Jaziun Patterson and Terrell Washington Jr. all have different levels of experience at running back. Jacob Gill (last season’s leading pass catcher) is among a number of wide receivers who want to make Iowa’s passing game more than just a national punchline.

“I’m not going to change it, the whole receiving group is going to change it,” said Sam Phillips, a Chattanooga transfer with over-the-top receiving ability. “I feel like we’ve been working really hard this offseason, we’ve been making explosive plays in camp. We’re going to be good.”

“I feel like we’ve got playmakers everywhere on the field,” Moulton said. “It’s not just one person. Everybody on the field has their own little flair, their own little thing. I feel like we all mesh well together, especially it being the second year under Tim Lester. So I feel like we have a lot of firepower in different ways we can bring this year.”

Iowa’s defense always will be good under coordinator Phil Parker. Linebacker certainly is the largest question mark on that side of the football, with the graduation loss of Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson.

Guys like Karson Sharar and Jaden Harrell will be looked upon first to replace them, though there are younger ‘backers such as Williamsburg’s Derek Weisskopf and Monticello’s Preston Ries chomping at the proverbial bit to get playing time.

The Hawkeye D returned virtually everyone last season, though regressed statistically and uncharacteristically gave up some big plays to opponents.

“I guess our standards keep on getting higher,” Parker said. “So that’s the hard part the kids have to understand. They’ve got to keep on raising the bar.”

Interviews from coaches and players at 2025 Iowa Football Media Day

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