Logan Jones’ six year journey at Iowa football ends near his hometown, and with national recognition

IOWA CITY — Logan Jones had a text message from Robert Gallery (1999-2003) sitting in his phone after practice Tuesday monring. The center listened to a speech Gallery gave Iowa football during the summer, and still remembers getting chills thinking about the message the former Iowa guard shared.

“I mean, it's pretty freaking cool,” Jones said after Tuesday’s practice. “It gave me goosebumps, I'm getting goosebumps right now. Just his presence, and being able to talk to him and just see the way he is and the way he operates.”

The now-six-year Hawkeye is playing in his final regular season game of his career — a collegiate career that’s spanned a position change, 49 career starts and now, national recognition.

Jones was named one of three finalists for the Outland Trophy, honoring the best lineman in college football each season. He’s the third Hawkeye in the last five seasons to be named a finalist for the award, following the likes of Tyler Linderbaum (2021) and Daviyon Nixon (2020).

“To be one of the three finalists, it truly is an honor,” he said. “And what that award stands for, it's not easy to be a finalist, and I'm beyond grateful for you know them to recognize me as a finalist.”

The Council Bluffs-native originally wanted to play for the Cornhuskers. He grew up right along the river separating Nebraska and Iowa, but was told he was too small for what the Cornhuskers were looking for from their incoming class in 2020.

Nebraska offered Jones a day after commiting to Iowa football.

The Hawkeyes recruited Jones as a defensive lineman, but Jones made the switch to center during the 2022 season. He’d redshirted his true freshman season, then missed most of the 2021 season with an injury. The small bits of playing time he did have, he spent as a defensive lineman.

“To me, it's not coincidental or accidental that he’s developed into a really good football player,” Head coach Kirk Ferentz said.

Even now as a sixth-year Hawkeye, Jones has never played against Nebraska in Memorial Stadium. The center who lived just a drive away from both schools missed both of his previous chances with an injury.

Jones still knows how intense, and close, the rivalry gets, even with the lack of playing time against the Cornhuskers. The last seven games between the two porgrams have all been decided by one score — last year coming down to a walk-off field goal by Drew Stevens.

“It's going to be hard fought game, and you look around the country, that's exactly how rivalry week is,” Jones said. “It's going to be tough and we expect it to be that way.”

The Outland Trophy winner won’t be revealed until next month, long after the Hawkeyes face Jones’ final regular season game wraps up in Memorial Stadium, but the award itself helped display the journey Jones has been one in an Iowa uniform.

It doesn’t surprise anyone he’s earned the finalist nod. It does humble the captain, though.

“To think playing college football is easy, you're wrong,” Jones said. “It's a tough thing. Even the best players you know have off games, tough games. You got to battle through injuries, all these things, but it's what you do when you're not feeling 100-percent when you're at maybe 60-percent. Growth isn't always a straight line, right? It's up and down, and that's what makes a man.”

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