IOWA CITY -- Iowa's offensive line has not been up to standard the last several years. Blame whomever you want -- George Barnett, Brian Ferentz or the personnel, but the play upfront simply hasn't been good enough.
Each season, there have been glimmers of hope, though -- Tyler Linderbaum was one of the best OL in the country, last season it was the growth in "maturity" according to Kirk Ferentz, and this year -- well, that's still TBD.
"That's going to be on the agenda for August," Ferentz said at Big Ten Media Days last week. "It's one thing to play, but at some point you have to play. Like, really play. We just haven't been there the last year or two. It's nobody's fault. It's just the way it is."
Ferentz believes there's still potential with the group at hand, and he puts some of the onus on himself to figure things out.
"If there's one thing I know a little bit about, it's offensive line," he smiled. "The next step with this group is playing winning-level football. For us, we have a vision of what that looks like. We're not there yet, but I think we're totally capable."
One thing that's abundantly clear is that the group of 5-7 potential starters on the offensive line have played quite a bit of football. Between the presumed starters (from left to right) of Mason Richman, Beau Stephens, Logan Jones, Connor Colby and Gennings Dunker, that quintet of linemen have started 126 games and played in 150. Throw in Tyler Elsbury and Nick DeJong, who will undoubtedly play this season, and those numbers go to 153 starts and 233 games played.
"George number one, but I think all of us expect more from those guys," Ferentz said. "Maybe we need to do a better job of finishing things, and then there are the little things that make such a big difference in terms of production. That's the beauty of offense -- first, you've got to be able to do it, and then you've got to understand the importance of it."
Once that happens, Ferentz believes the group will reach that winning level.
"If you do those little things really well, that's how big plays typically are born," he added. "If you don't do those things, you leave a lot out there on the table. Lord knows we've done enough of that, so that's what we're trying to overcome right now."
Of course, there's some exciting youth behind the veterans this year, too. One of them is the newest, esteemed Hay Bale Toss champion at the Solon Beef Days -- Kade Pieper.
"Kade is going to be a fun guy to watch," Ferentz said. "He's a guy that really caught our eye last year."
On top of his championship toss, Pieper played in two games during his freshman campaign with the Hawkeyes last season.
"He's got a good attitude, a good work ethic," Ferentz added. "I don't know how many bad players we've had win the Hay Bale contest so far. I think it's a good sign. Hopefully he can move people, too."
