As No. 23 Iowa football prepares for ReliaQuest Bowl, the offensive line continues its upward trajectory

IOWA CITY — It’s a rebuild that lasted all but a few seasons.

No. 23 Iowa football’s offensive line was young just a few seasons ago. Though the Hawkeyes have found lengthy success in developing its linemen, the coaching staff had to start somewhere.

That somewhere became one of the best offensive lines in the country by the end of the 2025 regular season.

It clicked. The offensive line started blending together last season, then simply upped the ante this year. Now, Iowa has its second Rimington Trophy winner in center Logan Jones — and he became the program’s 34th consensus All-American on Tuesday morning.

He played nearly every snap this season, and the Hawkeyes had the same starters all season long up front.

“It means everything, especially when you have three seniors that were that reliable all season,” Iowa offensive line coach George Barnett said on the Joe Moore Award’s live show on Dec. 12. “We had a couple of young guys fill in as we went, and we didn't miss a beat. But the consistency is so important.”

Jones received AFCA All-America honors — along with returner/wide receiver Kaden Wetjen earning a second-team nod — to record his third first-team All-America honor this year. Jones was also an All-Big Ten first-team selection as one of three Hawkeyes who earned the conference nod.

Jones, Beau Stephens and Gennings Dunker all earned conference honors, marking the first time since 2002 that Iowa had three members of the offensive line receive Big Ten recognition.

Topping it all off, Iowa is one of three finalists for the Joe Moore Award, recognizing the best offensive line in the country. All three finalists are from the Big Ten, including No. 1 Indiana and No. 5 Oregon.

“We believe in development, we preach it, and most importantly, we practice it,” Barnett said.

The offensive line doesn’t record statistics, but the individual effort of the five Hawkeyes stands tall. Iowa’s offensive line recorded a 94.3 PFF grade this season — well above any other program in the country.

The Hawkeyes likely won’t take another three seasons to reach high marks again, either. Trevor Lauck and Kade Pieper both still have a few more years of eligibility remaining.

Iowa faces No. 14 Vanderbilt in the ReliaQuest Bowl on New Year’s Eve. Head coach Kirk Ferentz said following the bowl’s announcement Dec. 7 that he anticipates the entire team to play in the game against the Commodores, but that it’s also an opportunity for younger players to get repetitions and potential game experience before spring football begins in 2026.

“In some ways, it's like a bye week extended,” Ferentz said. “Just being mindful of the guys that have played 400, 500, 600, 700 snaps. We want to get them back, just let them recharge and kind of keep them in football shape, and then work the guys that haven't played those several hundred snaps.”

For the three seniors who helped rebuild the offensive line in the last three seasons, the ReliaQuest Bowl is one final chance to make a case that Iowa’s front five is the best in the country.

Then it’ll be time to see how Barnett chooses to reload.

“The thing is we're really interested in everybody's development, but quarterbacks, both lines ... what are the younger guys doing? What do they look like? How can they progress?” Ferentz said. “And then it’s trying to move them forward so when spring ball comes around, they're able to compete.”

Comments: madison.hricik@thegazette.com, sign up for my weekly newsletter, Hawk Off the Press, at thegazette.com/hawks.