Just under two weeks ago, Iowa landed the commitment of Division II tackle, Bryce George out of Ferris State.
The 6'5", 314-pound OL played right tackle for the Bulldogs but projects to left tackle for Iowa, as Gennings Dunker will presumably start at right tackle again for the Hawkeyes. He has one year of eligibility remaining.
Kirk Ferentz expects George's several years of experience and national title pedigree to help him out as he works to earn a spot on the offensive line at Iowa.
"If you come in with three, four years under your belt, it's a lot faster process learning. The nomenclature is different, different language in most cases, so that's part of it, and the techniques are gonna be different too. They're gonna be really different for him, but I think he's got the physical maturity," Ferentz said following Iowa's open spring practice on Saturday. "I really anticipate, as I look at it right now, we probably have a couple jobs open or jump balls for the offensive line. He'll be in contention for one of those two spots, probably."
After losing Connor Colby and Mason Richman to the NFL Draft, Ferentz and the Hawkeyes are looking to replace their starting left tackle and right guard.
"It's up to him -- we'll see how fast he can move forward, but I think he'll be able to handle it really well," Ferentz added of the transfer tackle. "He was in here for a couple days, which is really good for us to get to know him, and get a feel for just how he thinks, as a player and a competitor. I think it'll be pretty good. There's some benefits to being a little bit older and having done it, even if it's not the same place, same level, and we'll see how it goes. Everybody transitions differently."
George chose Iowa after visiting both Cal and USC while in the transfer portal. Originally recruited as a tight end out of high school, this is the second time the D2 All-American was recruited by Tim Lester, who offered George when he was the head coach at Western Michigan.
"He's a great athlete. It's ironic that when his name came across the desk, I knew who he was, and I knew the family a little bit. He had a ton of success at Ferris," Lester said at the coordinators' availability last Wednesday. "His offensive coordinator was one of my coaches in college -- I called him immediately. He had nothing but great things to say about him and his family, and we're excited to get him into that competition up front."
Like Ferentz said, Lester doesn't consider George a lock for any position, but they've got an idea of where he could fit.
"There's a lot of competition up there," Lester said. "Obviously, I feel really good at right tackle with what we got going, and we've been trying to move with (Trevor) Lauck and (Jack) Dotzler. When he shows up, it's going to be a third amigo in that battle [for left tackle].
"Watching the way Dotz is coming off the ball right now is different than last spring. It's been exciting to watch. Lauck, same way. He's an extremely talented athlete. He has great feet. It's been fun to watch those guys."
Lester and offensive line coach George Barnett have rotated Lauck and Dotzler -- along with the other offensive linemen -- to each of the five difference spots on the OL to find their best fit.
"We'll probably do the same with Bryce, until he really feels that he fits in somewhere," Lester continued. "The left [tackle] is obviously the biggest position we're working on, but there's a lot of different moving parts.
"I'm sure once we get into camp, we're going to start narrowing it down and getting people in the best place to help us."
