IOWA CITY -- When George Barnett took the offensive line coach position at Iowa over three years ago, he knew he'd be handling a rebuild. Between 2021 and 2022, he led a group of first and second-year players who weren't ready for the fire they were thrown into. Other than All-American center Tyler Linderbaum, the group largely struggled.

"I knew it was going to be a tough situation," Barnett said at Iowa Football's Media Day on Friday. "We had a couple seniors, and they were going to be gone. Then there were two or three classes that were basically missing. So, we had to go straight to freshmen."

Barnett, and the young line he inherited (none of whom he recruited out of high school) received ample criticism. Two years later, the kids are all grown up.

"The words confidence, admiration and respect come to mind with them," Barnett said. "That group and myself have been through it all. They got thrown into the mix too early."

Despite the early challenges his unit faced, Barnett could see the vision of potential and payoff of early playing time — even if his players weren't yet ready for the task of facing Big Ten competition.

"I've been through this type of rebuild in five out of my six jobs," he said. "I've seen this. I know what it looks like and what it feels like. That's why I've never wavered from the plan. I don't get affected much by the outside noise."

Barnett knew it wouldn't be as easy for his guys to ignore voices from outside the program.

"For those kids, it was their first time going through it," he said. "I have a ton of respect for those guys after seeing them go through everything. We were talking in '22, saying 'This is going to be really good for you guys. Maybe not right now, but there's going to come a day where the tide turns a little bit and it starts taking off.' We started seeing some signs of it last year and we've seen signs of it this year."

Some of those signs are shown in the unit's consistency and how they respond when they make a mistake on a play or miss an assignment.

"You don't get as many ebbs and flows," Barnett said. "That's really cool right now, because our seven guys who are at the top, you're seeing way more understanding and physicality in their play. Things that used to bother them aren't bothering them anymore."

That, and the little things they're doing every day.

"How they handle themselves on a daily basis, the professionalism in meetings and on the field," Barnett said. "Their competitiveness in practice, the fundamentals are getting sharper and their understanding of the offense is good, so they can pour a bit more energy into the competitive piece, and that's when you start clicking."

Believe it or not, the guys on the depth chart behind the presumed top seven are helping their growth, too.

"We have that next tier of guys," Barnett said. "We haven't really had a next tier of guys for a long time, and we have that now. With Jack Dotzler, Trevor Lauck, Leighton Jones, Kade Pieper -- that crew. You're starting to see those guys go through some ups and downs like the senior class did. They're pushing fast, real fast."

Having that group is invaluable for the future of Iowa's OL. Barnett said it took a vision change and some coordination with other members of the staff to get it fully handled.

"it starts in recruiting," Barnett said. "Tyler Barnes and I devised a plan and we've been in lockstep ever since. We couldn't miss anymore. We had to recruit, retain and develop. We didn't want to get in a situation where a couple seniors leave and then there's a drop to redshirt freshman. We like those kids to sit and cook in the oven a little bit.

"If we can have those guys nipping at the starters heels -- that's what was missing when I got here."

The growth of the (now-)upperclassmen paired with new faces on the rise has crescendoed to this point -- learning a brand new offense and a final year of eligibility for several of the starters up front.

"During the spring, they were getting a feel for what Coach (Tim) Lester wants," Barnett said. "The pace of play, the angles -- there are definitely some differences there. During the summer they went through some film evaluation to catch up a little bit. Then, when we hit fall camp and two or three practices ago you could really start seeing some things click."

For Barnett, that was a sign that the guys are trending in the right direction -- and that his belief in this group from three years ago could soon pay off.

"The pace of play picked up," he said. "When you see that pick up, there's a cohesiveness. They're on the same page. I think we're really just starting to feel that traction [with the new offense]. It's a good feeling. I have so much belief in our group."