CBS Sports thinks Iowa is headed back into familiar territory up front.
The Hawkeyes, fresh off winning the 2025 Joe Moore Award for the best offensive line in the nation, were slotted ninth in CBS Sports’ preseason ranking of the country’s top offensive lines. That’s despite the fact that Iowa brings back two preseason All-Americans in Kade Pieper and Trevor Lauck, along with fourth-year left guard Leighton Jones and fifth-year right tackle Jack Dotzler.
Pieper is expected to slide from right guard to center, while Lauck stays put at left tackle. Right guard, for now, is projected to go to sixth-year lineman Michael Myslinski.
"Pieper is back with nearly 900 career snaps and kicks inside to anchor the line this season, which will fit his skill set better," CBS Sports' Blake Brockermeyer shared last week. "Pieper is scrappy and a fighter, but excels as a run blocker with quick feet and the ability to reach defenders on the front side and cut off defenders on the back side. Pieper is good in space and is a problem on the second level.
Lauck returns to man the blind side and does a nice job mixing up his sets. He is a force in the outside run game with quick feet and good technique.
Jones is expected to be the left guard after logging 125 snaps last year. Jones looks solid as a run blocker, as you would expect.
Trent Wilson is expected to man the right guard position and brings nearly 400 snaps of experience from James Madison. Wilson is a gritty player and should fit in well.
Dotzler, like everyone at Iowa, is a good run blocker and has some work to do in dropback pass protection. Myslinski was granted a sixth year of eligibility and will provide depth at center.
He could also give the Hawkeyes the ability to kick Pieper back out to guard. There is not a ton of experienced depth behind the starters, but Iowa has some big bodies waiting in the wings."
Brockermeyer’s ranking also included other Big Ten teams near the top of the national list. Ohio State checked in at No. 2, Indiana landed at No. 8 and Michigan rounded out the top 10.
Iowa’s spring ball has also featured a quarterback battle between Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski, along with work to piece together the offensive line and integrate new skill-position additions from the portal. The Hawkeyes have been leaning into the kind of depth that has long defined the front five, with Iowa preferring to have eight or nine "starter quality" offensive linemen ready because attrition usually hits hard over the course of a season.
That’s why Jones’ snaps in place of Beau Stephens and Dotzler’s work in relief of Gennings Dunker last year matter, and why younger names like Lucas Allgeyer, Cael Winter and Cannon Leonard could still work their way into the next wave of the rotation.
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