Iowa Hawkeyes NFL Draft Prospects

2026 Season Preview Read full preview »

Iowa Hawkeyes 2026 Preview: Familiar Formula, Unfamiliar Faces

Iowa went 9-4 (6-3 Big Ten) in 2025 and closed the year with a 34-27 win over Vanderbilt in the ReliaQuest Bowl, a 13th straight winning season and a 13th consecutive bowl trip under Kirk Ferentz. The Hawkeyes have now won at least eight games every year since 2015. The story of this offseason is turnover. Iowa returns only six starters, the biggest roster churn of the Ferentz era, and it must replace quarterback Mark Gronowski, who set the NCAA record for career wins by a starter. Ferentz answered with more than a dozen transfers, one of the largest portal classes in program history, yet pointedly did not add a quarterback, a signal that he trusts a successor already on the roster.

Read the full 2026 Iowa Hawkeyes preview »

RANK	Player	Pos	Weight	Height	40YD	AVG POS RANK	AVG OVR RANK	Rating	Summary
26	Trevor Lauck	OT	314lbs	6-5	5.30	4	27.3	86.8 MORE>>	Trevor Lauck was a two-way captain at Roncalli High School in Indianapolis, where he won a state title as a sophomore and was a th...
40	Kade Pieper	OG	298lbs	6-3	5.20	5	31.7	85.8 MORE>>	Kade Pieper played on both lines at Norfolk Catholic High School in Nebraska, where he was a district MVP as a senior with 130 tac...
75	Zach Lutmer	S	203lbs	6-1	4.44	11	58.3	84.8 MORE>>	Zach Lutmer played quarterback and defensive back at Central Lyon High School in Rock Rapids, Iowa, earning Class 2A player of the...
181	DJ Vonnahme	TE	241lbs	6-4	4.65	6	116.4	81.3 MORE>>	Vonnahme took a long road to the spotlight, arriving at Iowa as a preferred walk-on out of tiny Breda, where he played quarterback...
230	Bryce Hawthorne	DT	298lbs	6-3	4.86	35	201.5	80.0 MORE>>	Bryce Hawthorne's father, Ed, was a first-team All-Big Ten defensive lineman at Minnesota and spent time with the Miami Dolphins. ...
263	Cam Buffington	LB	238lbs	6-3	4.59	46	376	79.0 MORE>>	Cam Buffington played eight-man football at Winfield-Mount Union High School in Iowa, where he ran for 1,362 yards, caught passes ...
299	Kamari Moulton	RB	211lbs	5-9	4.51	19	254	77.0 MORE>>	Kamari Moulton won two state titles at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, setting a school record with 18 r...
310	Cael Winter	C	294lbs	6-3	5.17	48	272.5	76.9 MORE>>	Cael Winter played on both lines at Waukee Northwest High School in Iowa, making 5.5 sacks among 10 tackles for loss in his senior...
322	Leighton Jones	OG	288lbs	6-2	5.15	63	341.5	76.0 MORE>>	Leighton Jones was a four-year starter on both lines at Brownsburg High School in Indiana, where his teams went 43-9, and he won t...
490	Will Nolan	OL	313lbs	6-6	5.11	91	487	66.6 MORE>>	Will Nolan was a two-time all-state lineman at John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois, recording 74 pancake blocks...
501	Derek Weisskopf	LB	233lbs	6-3	4.59	54	470	66.0 MORE>>	Derek Weisskopf lined up at receiver, quarterback, safety, linebacker and punter at Williamsburg High School in Iowa and helped wi...
619	Hank Brown	QB	218lbs	6-4	4.85	58	742	59.9 MORE>>	Forty-seven touchdown passes and 3,264 yards as a senior at Nashville's Lipscomb Academy, where Trent Dilfer coached him to a 13-0...

RANK	Player	Pos	Weight	Height	40YD	AVG POS RANK	AVG OVR RANK	Rating	Summary
52	Gennings Dunker	OT	319lbs	6-5	5.18	14	59.5	85.2 MORE>>	Gennings Dunker grew up in Lena, Illinois, where he was a two-way force who helped his team capture state championships as a fresh...
97	Logan Jones	C	299lbs	6-3	4.90	22	97	84.7 MORE>>	State champion in the shot put and discus before ever snapping a football at the college level, Logan Jones arrived at Iowa as a f...
155	Max Llewellyn	DE	258lbs	6-6	4.81	46	161.6	82.5 MORE>>	Max Llewellyn grew up in Urbandale, Iowa, about twenty minutes from Iowa City, and turned into one of the more productive defensiv...
159	Beau Stephens	OG	315lbs	6-6	5.35	35	140.1	82.4 MORE>>	Five-year letterman, two-way lineman, wrestler, basketball player, and team captain from sophomore year on at Blue Springs High Sc...
211	Aaron Graves	DT	295lbs	6-5	5.30	62	250.5	81.1 MORE>>	Aaron Graves committed to Iowa as a high school freshman out of Dayton, Iowa, holding four-star ratings from ESPN, 247Sports, an...
232	TJ Hall	CB	189lbs	6-1	4.59	48	180.6	80.0 MORE>>	Terrence Javaughn Hall grew up in Fresno, California, the oldest son of Monique and Terrence Hall Sr., a former standout wide rece...
233	Kaden Wetjen	WR	193lbs	5-9	4.47	39	211	80.0 MORE>>	Iowa City sits just down the road from Kinnick Stadium, but Kaden Wetjen's path to becoming a Hawkeye was anything but direct. A t...
248	Xavier Nwankpa	S	208lbs	6-2	4.48	69	287.8	79.9 MORE>>	Sixteen interceptions across four varsity seasons at Southeast Polk High School made Xavier Nwankpa the most decorated prep player...
345	Karson Sharar	LB	231lbs	6-2	4.56	45	325	75.0 MORE>>

RANK	Player	Pos	Weight	Height	40YD	AVG POS RANK	AVG OVR RANK	Rating	Summary
46	Kaleb Johnson	RB	225lbs	6-0	4.57	4	54.2	86.4 MORE>>	From his early days at Hamilton High School in Ohio to becoming one of Iowa's most prolific rushers, Kaleb Johnson's journey epito...
86	Sebastian Castro	S	205lbs	5-11	4.59	34	122.6	84.6 MORE>>	The evolution of Sebastian Castro from a dual-threat high school quarterback in suburban Chicago to an All-Big Ten safety perfectl...
186	Connor Colby	OG	310lbs	6-6	5.11	36	190.9	80.2 MORE>>	A homegrown Iowa product, Connor Colby has been the backbone of the Hawkeyes' offensive line since he stepped foot on campus. The ...
207	Jay Higgins	LB	232lbs	6-2	4.82	24	242.4	79.3 MORE>>	Jay Higgins, born in Indianapolis, Indiana, emerged as a defensive powerhouse for the Iowa Hawkeyes. A product of Brebeuf Jesuit P...
213	Luke Lachey	TE	247lbs	6-6	4.77	13	212.6	79.0 MORE>>	Luke Lachey, born June 29, 2001, hails from Grandview Heights, Ohio, where he made his mark as a versatile two-way player at Grand...
238	Jermari Harris	CB	189lbs	6-1	4.56	59	233.7	78.1 MORE>>	Jermari Harris a Montini Catholic standout brought a diverse athletic background to Iowa City, having won a state basketball cham...
446	Nick Jackson	LB	235lbs	6-0	4.65	54	490.5	62.9 MORE>>	Nick Jackson from Lovett High School was rated a 3-star recruit by ESPN and handed a 3-star grade by 247 Sports. After high scho...

RANK	Player	Pos	Weight	Height	40YD	AVG POS RANK	AVG OVR RANK	Rating	Summary
21	Cooper DeJean	CB	203lbs	6-0	4.50	2	22.2	87.8 MORE>>	A dynamic presence in Iowa's secondary, Cooper DeJean emerged from Battle Creek-Ida Grove High School as a highly-touted recruit, ...
127	Erick All	TE	252lbs	6-4	4.80	11	147	83.0 MORE>>	Erick All, a product of Fairfield High School in Ohio, garnered a 3-star rating from ESPN and a 4-star from 247 Sports. Overcoming...
233	Logan Lee	DL	281lbs	6-5	5.05	58	235.2	78.0 MORE>>	Logan Lee from Orion High School was rated a 3-star recruit by ESPN and handed a 4-star grade by 247 Sports. After high school, L...