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...
Former Iowa QB Mark Gronowski Just Got Another NFL Chance
Mark Gronowskis path to the NFL has already had one detour, but the former Iowa and South Dakota State quarterback is getting another shot to keep it moving. Miami brought him in on a three-year deal as an undrafted free agent in April, betting on a player whose college rsum is hard to ignore: the winningest quarterback in Division I history, two FCS national titles and the 2023 Walter Payton Award.
The Dolphins waived Gronowski on Aug. 7, a move that briefly threatened to stall his first summer in a pro quarterback room. But Miami now intends to bring him back, and the timing should let him resume practicing before the Aug. 22 preseason game against the Giants, keeping his chance alive to stay in the mix as camp continues. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa Camp Depth Is Already Being Tested In A Brutal Way
Fall camp had barely settled in before Iowas depth was already getting pushed around. Kirk Ferentz said defensive back Kyler Gerardy and receiver Lance Beeghley have suffered significant injuries, a tough early hit for a roster that is still trying to sort out its back-end depth and find reliable bodies at several spots. Gerardy saw action in four games last season, while Beeghley arrived as a transfer from SMU hoping for a fresh start after not getting game action there.
The larger concern is how quickly the injury list can start to shape the competition tree before the season even begins. Iowa also has transfer safety Tyler Brown working through a muscle strain, which only adds to the sense that camp reps are becoming precious in a hurry. For a program that values accumulation of dependable depth as much as almost anything, this is the kind of early attrition that forces other players into bigger roles before anyone planned on it. [Read more 🡒]
Iowas Latest Roster Update Leaves Two Young Hawkeyes In Limbo
Iowas roster picture for 2026 took a small but notable hit when Kirk Ferentz confirmed that Terrence Smith and Ben Kueter are not currently listed with the football team. For a program that has long valued versatility and development, the status of two young players with upside naturally draws attention, especially as the Hawkeyes continue sorting out depth and long-term plans on both sides of the ball.
Kueters path is already shifting after hip surgery cost him the 2025 football season, and he is now turning his full focus to wrestling. Smith, meanwhile, has enrolled at Iowa Western while working his way back from a health issue, leaving Iowa to monitor where things stand next. For a couple of promising names who once looked like part of the programs future, the next chapter remains unsettled. [Read more 🡒]