Iowa has built a habit of turning centers into headline players, and the latest example only sharpens the question hanging over the Hawkeyes now that Logan Jones is gone.
The program has claimed two of the last five Rimington Trophies, with Tyler Linderbaum winning it in 2021 and Jones taking it in 2025. Linderbaum went on to become a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, while Jones was selected in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft. That kind of track record says plenty about how Iowa has developed the position.
So who steps in next?
Kirk Ferentz still doesn’t have a final answer, and he isn’t pretending otherwise. Iowa’s starting offensive line remains unsettled, but that uncertainty comes with a good problem: options.
“It’s a good, healthy competition and we may have some rotation going on,” Ferentz said on July 28. “I’d rather not have multiple centers.
Kind of like quarterback, you’d rather kind of get settled there a little bit. But I think it’s too early right now to make a decision.”
That uncertainty sits inside a much bigger story for Iowa’s front. Under position coach George Barnett, the Hawkeyes rebuilt the line into the 2025 Joe Moore Award winner, given to the most outstanding offensive line in college football. Even after losing three starters - all three of whom were picked in the 2026 NFL Draft - there’s still belief this group can hold its standard.
“George really nurtured that room and brought them along, much like Reese Morgan years ago with our defensive line,” Ferentz said. “So just a great job of coaching, and it goes beyond the football part of it.
There’s a lot going on. So, I can’t say enough about the job George has done.
We’ve got some challenges in front of us, some newness, but I think those guys are really prepared for it and anxious to see how that unfolds equally as much.”
Kade Pieper is the most obvious candidate to slide into the middle. He started all 13 games at right guard last season and picked up 2026 Big Ten preseason honors, the only Iowa offensive lineman on the 12-player list. That alone tells you how highly he’s regarded.
Still, Ferentz isn’t looking at center in a vacuum. He’s trying to figure out the entire five-man puzzle, not just one spot.
Trevor Lauck, who started all 13 games at left tackle last season, is back alongside Pieper. But Iowa still has production to replace after losing those three starters, and Leighton Jones and Jack Dotzler are among the players expected to take on bigger roles in 2026.
“Kade would be an outstanding center,” Ferentz said. “He’s already a pretty good guard.
So it depends how it shakes out with the other guys. Are we better off having Cael Winter at center or guard?
But that’s assuming he ends up being one of the five. Right now, I just don’t know if we can predict it.”
Winter, entering his fourth season at Iowa, stood out in spring practice. Michael Myslinski, back for a sixth season in the program, can line up at center or guard. That flexibility is part of why Ferentz isn’t rushing to lock in a decision.
Even with Pieper’s ability to handle the job, the coach said it’s not as simple as dropping him into the middle and moving on.
“We graduated three really good players,” Ferentz said of Iowa's offensive line, “but I think we've got a pool right now of seven, eight guys, maybe nine, that have a chance to play significant reps right now. Just not sure where they're going to end up, what positions. We'll figure that out as we go along.”
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