The current offensive line unit still has one more game to go in the 2024-25 season -- against #19 Missouri in the Music City Bowl on Monday, December 30 (1:30 PM CT, ESPN) -- but the future of that offensive line unit was a hot topic of discussion during media availability sessions this week.
Gennings Dunker, Iowa's starting right tackle, announced his plans to return to Iowa for the 2025 season earlier this month and plans to stay at right tackle. "I'll probably stay at right tackle because I don't know if I can get into a left hand stance I don't know if I'm athletically gifted enough to do that," he joked.
More seriously, Dunker, who was Pro Football Focus' top-rated performer among the starting five on the Hawkeye offensive line in 2024, had a lot of praise for some of Iowa's up-and-coming young talent on the offensive line. Trevor Lauck, a redshirt freshman out of Indianapolis, has been the backup left tackle for most of the current season and projects to be the favorite to win the starting job there next fall.
"I think he's really talented," Dunker said. "He's more talented than I am, just physically gifted. He just has to put a couple things together and he'll be ready to roll. He's a big kid, too. He's really big -- he's probably 6'5", 315 or so."
"I'm excited to see how he does [next year]. I want him to really do well and I'm gonna be hard on him in practice, in spring ball, and in weight training because I want him to do well and be good for the line. The better everyone is in the [offensive] line group, even if they're not starting, the better the starting line's gonna be. I'm excited for him."
Mason Richman, the current starter at left tackle, also had a lot of praise for Lauck and his development. "This year he's really got a lot more reps, I think, and he's starting to get in shape a little bit more," he said. "I think he's one really good offseason of strength and conditioning from really going out there and dominating guys."
Kade Pieper was actually the highest-rated Iowa offensive lineman by Pro Football Focus this season, earning high marks in run blocking and pass blocking. A redshirt freshman Norfolk, Nebraska, Pieper saw action at every position on the line except right tackle, but the vast majority of his snaps (77 of 107) came at left guard. All of those left guard snaps came in a three-game stretch against Michigan State, Northwestern, and Wisconsin.
Pieper is a favorite to work his way into Iowa's starting five next season, likely at one of the interior guard positions. Dunker likes what he's seen from Pieper of late.
"He's definitely improved a lot -- he's gotta eat a little more," he joked. "He looks good, he's really athletically gifted -- he almost out-jumps [Logan Jones]. He's probably the most gifted [guy] in the [offensive line] room, he's got a lot of tools and just has to put it together."
Dunker also elaborated on his praise for Pieper's physical skills and what makes him so athletically gifted.
"He can jump and he can run," he said. "I think he has the guard record for a straight vertical jump. So he can jump and he can run and hang clean -- those are pretty important things if you're gonna play offensive line."
Dunker also praised the efforts of Cael Winter, a redshirt freshman from Waukee, Iowa. "He's doing a really good job," he said. "I think he's on scout this week, but we'll see how he progresses through winter training and spring ball. He's got the biggest quads I've ever seen, he has massive legs -- that's a good thing."
On the topic of the future of the offensive line, Richman discussed the developmental journey that unit has been on in recent years -- and what comes next for them. "It's a big offseason for them," he said. "Just the way they play, I think is gonna be expected to get better no matter what. It's really easy as a person to climb out of a hole when you're down so low like we had been the last few years."
Iowa climbed out of that hole and experienced some success this season -- the Hawkeyes led the Big Ten in rushing for the first time since 1960 and the offensive line was named to the midseason honor roll for the Joe Moore Award, which honors the top offensive line in the nation each season. The next question is how the unit handles that success and how they continue to improve.
"I'm really excited to see with this group, going forward, when the time comes, how they respond to success -- that really tests how we are as a team, especially as a unit on the offensive side of the ball," Richman explained.
Finally, Dunker highlighted the work of the man behind the offensive line's development -- offensive line coach George Barnett. "I've been trusting him for four years," Richman said. "Even if I was hearing certain things about different [NIL] options, I would have stuck with him because I've trusted him for this long, so why not keep trusting him? It's an honor to get to play for him and especially play for Coach [Kirk] Ferentz, so that's kind of what means the most to me [in terms of] playing next year and even this game."
Barnett's impact on Dunker and the rest of the offensive line goes beyond on-field x's and o's and technique as well. "Just kind of the man he is and how he teaches certain things," Dunker said about what he's learned from Barnett. "It's not even really football, it's kind of like how to act and conduct yourself as a man."
Dunker, Richman, and the rest of the offensive line have endured several highs and lows during their careers in Iowa City. On Monday, they'll have one more opportunity to play together as Hawkeyes and end their seasons -- and careers, in a few cases -- on a high note.
