Spotlight shines bright on Iowa’s offense at 2024 Big Ten football media days

INDIANAPOLIS — From a literal standpoint, the same bright lights from the rafters of Lucas Oil Stadium shined on Iowa’s offensive and defensive players in attendance for Wednesday’s session of Big Ten football media days.

Defensive players Quinn Schulte and Jay Higgins had the same podium setup that tight end Luke Lachey had on the southwest half of the artificial turf field.

But figuratively, the national spotlight shined extra bright on the offense following a vastly underwhelming 2023 season offensively and a subsequent offseason of change.

Six of the seven questions for Kirk Ferentz during his televised news conference — the first of three media availabilities for Ferentz on Wednesday — focused on the offense.

The answers (and other indicators), so far, have conveyed a sense of guarded optimism.

“We have the potential to be a good offensive football team, but we still have steps to take, not unlike any season probably,” Ferentz said.

Lachey said he is “confident in what we are going to be able to put out there and show everyone.”

“I’m excited for it,” Lachey said. “Obviously there’s a long, long time in our mind before our first game, and so we’ll be able to get it going.”

The offense returns 10 players who started at least five games last season, and that does not even include Lachey (because of his injury) or ex-Ohio State wide receiver Kaleb Brown (because of his late-season emergence).

The Hawkeyes have six offensive linemen returning who have started at least 10 games in their careers — Mason Richman, Connor Colby, Logan Jones, Nick DeJong, Gennings Dunker and Beau Stephens.

“Offensively, certainly a little bit more veteran than we have been, and that’s good news for us, especially up front,” Ferentz said.

Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester has implemented a new Shanahan-style offensive scheme, which heavily utilizes motion and bears some resemblance to what the Green Bay Packers have operated.

“Switching up the looks on defenses will be really cool and maybe getting an opportunity to get open in space and everything like that,” Lachey said.

But scheme by itself only goes so far.

“Every offense has its different styles and whatever, but really to me success in offense still gets down to execution,” Ferentz said. “The guys up front have to block. … People have got to get open. They’ve got to make tough catches, and the quarterback has got to be able to deliver into all sorts of protection.”

Of course, optimism in July does not matter nearly as much as results in September, October and November.

The optimism ahead of the 2022 and 2023 seasons preceded offenses that ranked either second-to-last or dead-last nationally in yards per game.

If the 2024 optimism proves to actually be warranted — and Iowa’s offense is at least competent — the Hawkeyes have a high ceiling in 2024.

The defense has led the country in yards allowed per play in back-to-back seasons, and Ferentz noted the unit is “as veteran as I can remember.”

“A lot of good players back and a lot of guys that have done a great job,” Ferentz said.

Special teams has experienced some change with Rhys Dakin taking over punting duties after Tory Taylor went pro, but the unit has been consistently among the best in the country.

Add an effective offense, and the Hawkeyes could potentially have the recipe for a College Football Playoff team in the first year of the expanded 12-team field.

“If we get to the end of the year and we’ve won the games that we deserve to win, I think we can definitely be a part of those 12 teams,” said Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins, who tied the program record last year for total tackles in a single season.

The Hawkeyes are “prepared” and “ready” logistically to host a College Football Playoff first-round game, Iowa athletics director Beth Goetz said, after having “some navigating to do with December graduation dates on our campus.”

“There certainly was a lot of work on our end to do,” Goetz said, “because when we have an opportunity to host that, we want to do it to the best of our ability and make sure we serve those teams participating and our fans in a really great way.”

Now, it is a matter of whether the Hawkeyes, and more specifically the offense, can hold up their end of the bargain.

“If we’re going to be a playoff team, we need to be a Big Ten championship team, ” Higgins said. “And that’s what we try to do every year. We’re trying to win every game. … Every week is important. Every win counts.”

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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