Iowa football pre-spring position breakdown: Offensive line

IOWA CITY — Iowa’s offensive line will boast a rare level of experience in 2024.

Three players have started six-plus games in three straight seasons. Another four have starting experience (to a lesser extent) in a Hawkeye uniform. Another one started every game as a true freshman in the SEC.

Here is a closer look at where the offensive line stands ahead of 2024 spring practice as the Hawkeyes hope that experience translates into improved results:

Who’s gone

Rusty Feth is the most notable loss for the Hawkeyes on the offensive line after exhausting his college eligibility. Feth, after transferring from Miami (Ohio), started nine games at left guard and was an all-Big Ten honorable mention.

Daijon Parker and Asher Fahey are among the other departing offensive linemen. Parker, who transferred from Division II-level Saginaw Valley State, saw action in two games in his lone season as a Hawkeye. Fahey did not see any game action in his four years at Iowa.

Further attrition — via medical scholarships or the transfer portal — is possible as the Hawkeyes whittle their scholarship count down from 92 to 85 ahead of fall camp.

Who’s back

Four of Iowa’s starters are expected to return — left tackle Mason Richman, center Logan Jones, right guard Connor Colby and right tackle Gennings Dunker. Nick DeJong, who also has starting experience, will use his extra COVID-19 year of eligibility in 2024.

Tyler Elsbury and Beau Stephens will be among the other veteran players coming back. Elsbury has three career starts, including one at center when Jones was injured in 2023. Stephens started 10 games in 2022.

Michael Myslinski, whose Iowa career has largely been sidetracked by injuries, will be a junior in 2023. Griffin Liddle will be a junior as well after not seeing any game action in his first three years on campus. Sophomores on scholarship include Jack Dotzler and Kale Krogh.

Kade Pieper, who will be a redshirt freshman in 2024, earned rave reviews and worked his way onto the depth chart as Colby’s backup in his first year in Iowa City. He did not use a year of eligibility as a true freshman, nor did classmates Cannon Leonard, Leighton Jones and Trevor Lauck.

Who’s joining the mix

The Iowa offensive line received a major boost via the transfer portal with the commitment of former Alabama offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor. The former five-star recruit started every game for the Crimson Tide as a true freshman.

Another four scholarship players will join the Hawkeyes as incoming freshmen in 2024 — Will Nolan, Cody Fox, Bodey McCaslin and Josh Janowski. Nolan and Fox have four-star ratings from 247Sports, and McCaslin and Janowski have three-star ratings.

Fox is from Winthrop while the other three are from the Chicago suburbs.

Way-too-early two-deep projections

The addition of Kadyn Proctor could shuffle things around on an offensive line that otherwise will have plenty of continuity in 2024.

Left tackle

Left guard

Center

Right guard

Right tackle

Outlook

With all but one starter returning and Proctor joining the mix, there are plenty of reasons for optimism on the offensive line. This appears to be Iowa’s most experienced and most talented offensive line since George Barnett took over as position coach in 2021.

How well the rest of Iowa’s offense improves could determine how high the ceiling is for the offensive line. The position group often faced difficult circumstances in 2023 as a result of predictable play-calling and a lack of passing threat.

Editor’s note: This is the seventh of a nine-part series breaking down where each Iowa football position group stands at this point in the offseason.

More Iowa football offseason position breakdowns

• Quarterback

• Running backs

• Tight ends

• Defensive line

• Defensive backs

• Special teams

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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