IOWA CITY - The wait is over for Iowa football.
Training camp opens Aug. 5, and with it comes the real beginning of the 2026 season. Iowa enters fall camp ranked No. 22 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, and the next four weeks will go a long way toward showing whether that preseason spot holds up.
There are plenty of moving parts already. The Hawkeyes have position battles to settle, a new coordinator to sort through and expectations hanging over the roster. Questions about a 10-win season and where Iowa fits in the Big Ten are already in the air, but camp is where the answers start to take shape.
One of the first encouraging signs is health. Kirk Ferentz said at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago that he expects Iowa to be healthy when camp begins, including tight end Addison Ostrenga, who has been coming back from an Achilles tear suffered during last year’s Cy-Hawk game.
That matters even more this August because so much is unsettled. Quarterback, the defensive line and parts of special teams are all up for grabs, and the Hawkeyes can’t afford to lose key pieces while they try to sort everything out.
The biggest theme of camp will be development. Iowa has to decide between Jeremy Hecklinski and Hank Brown at quarterback, rebuild the entire defensive line and keep bringing along young players in the linebacker room and receiving corps. The roster has talent, but it also needs time.
Ferentz has made it clear the job now is to stack good days together. The players who earn starting roles have to keep improving in practice and then carry that over when the games start.
That growth matters before Iowa opens against Northern Illinois on Sept. 5. Fans will get an early look during Kids Day on Aug. 15, which should offer a first glimpse of the progress the staff wants to see.
And make no mistake, this is going to be a different-looking group. Iowa does have important returners, but after a huge senior class moved on last year, new faces are going to have to step into major roles.
That creates opportunity for players like Luke Gaffney, Cam Buffington and Cael Winter. All three have been waiting for their chance and turned heads during spring practices, and camp gives them a chance to keep pushing forward.
For Iowa, the anticipation is finally turning into action. Now the work shifts from talking about the season to building it on the field.
In Other News...
Iowa May Be Closing In On A Needed Frontcourt Answer
Iowas search for frontcourt help has been a real theme as the program looks ahead to roster changes that could leave it thin around the basket. One of the names now worth tracking is Khalia Hartwell, a highly regarded post player in the 2027 class who first picked up an Iowa offer in September 2025 and has built a reputation as a strong defensive presence with room to grow offensively.
Hartwell has now lined up an official visit to Iowa in September 2026, a sign the Hawkeyes are staying aggressive in the race for one of the countrys top post prospects. For a program trying to protect its size and balance in the years ahead, getting her on campus matters, even if the bigger picture of where Iowa stands in the pursuit is still developing. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa Camp Battles Will Decide How Fast Key Newcomers Can Deliver
Fall training camp is where Iowa will start sorting out how quickly its newer pieces can matter, and the opener against Northern Illinois is close enough that the urgency is real. The Hawkeyes enter camp with notable roster turnover, especially up front on the defensive line and in the secondary, and the staff has brought in transfers to help shore up the depth while the competition plays out.
Iose Epenesa, DJ Vonnahme, Tony Diaz, Tyler Brown and Jayden Montgomery are among the players to watch as they push for larger roles. For Iowa, the big question is not just who wins jobs, but how soon those battles produce reliable answers in spots where the team has already lost proven production. [Read more 🡒]