Iowa is set to kick off the season on August 31 against Illinois State. While there are still plenty of question marks surrounding the offense, there are some known quantities on that side of the ball as well.

Between what we know and what we've been told, let's rank each position group on the offensive side of the ball for the Hawkeyes.

They call it TEU for a reason. This season, Luke Lachey and Addison Ostrenga will lead the way. Lachey is far and away Iowa's best player on the offensive side going into the season, and projects to be a top-three round NFL Draft pick next spring. Over the last three seasons, he's caught 46 passes for 662 yards and four touchdowns.

With the injuries to Lachey and Erick All last season, we got a look at what Ostrenga could be as the main option offensively. In 12 games, including six starts, the Wisconsin native put together 31 receptions to tie for the team lead, and took those catches for 192 yards and two scores.

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What's behind the lead duo remains a bit of a question mark, but there is some talent there. Walk-on Johnny Pascuzzi and Zach Orthwerth played quite a bit last season with Ortwerth registerting one catch for 54 yards.

After that, there's a whole lot of inexperience. Gavin Hoffman is certainly an intriguing freshman and Grant Leeper was added late in the 2023 cycle as a project, but those are names to watch beyond the incumbent four. It wouldn't surprise me if Hoffman redshirted this season, though he might also see a lot of playing time on special teams or on the field late in the season.

Leshon Williams and Kaleb Johnson will be expected to handle bell cow duties this season as the team's leading rushers in 2022 and 2023. Between the pair of tailbacks, they've combined for 554 attempts, 2,475 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground over the last two seasons.

With a productive offseason, Kamari Moulton has thrust himself into the RB3 spot as well, gaining 12 pounds and taking advantage of Tim Lester's new offensive scheme.

Right there with him at the fourth spot is Jaziun Patterson, who -- though he spent a good chunk of last season hurt -- did show some strong flashes at different points of 2023. He finished the year with 58 carries for 206 yards and two scores.

Though the tight end group may have the most top-end talent on Iowa's offense, the running back group may be one of the deepest position groups on the team. With four players coming back that likely expect to receive snaps, the group has plenty of options.

Throw in walk-on Max White and true freshmen Brevin Doll and Xavier Williams, and this group also has some fresh faces that it can turn to if necessary as well.

There's quite a gap between the second and third-ranked position groups on the offensive side of the ball, but the personnel under center this season looks better than it was last year, and more than half of the players here haven't even donned the black and gold yet.

At the top of the depth chart is a healthy Cade McNamara, who previously led Michigan to a College Football Playoff appearance in 2021, but is coming off a torn ACL last season and just recently returned to full participation in practice in June. In just four-and-a-quarter games last season, he completed 46-of-90 passes for 505 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions.

Then there's Brendan Sullivan who is the quarterback on the roster who has played a substantial amount of meaningful snaps at quarterback most recently. Between 2022 and 2023, he completed 134-of-195 passes (68.7%) for 1,303 yards, ten touchdowns, and five interceptions for Northwestern. A mobile QB, he also had 129 carries for 257 yards and three scores.

Even if Sullivan doesn't take a snap as Iowa's QB1 this season, he's an excellent insurance policy behind McNamara. If he does see the field, his mobility paired with accuracy could be a notable positive that the Hawkeyes haven't had under center in quite a while.

Finally, there's the crew of Marco Lainez, James Resar and walk-on Colorado State transfer, Jackson Stratton. Though Lainez is the most likely of those three to play, he remains largely unseasoned as he enters just his second year of college football. True freshman Resar is still learning the ropes, and I'd expect Stratton to serve as the team's practice squad quarterback.

The OL is loaded with experience going into this season.

Presumed starters Mason Richman, Beau Stephens, Logan Jones, Connor Colby and Gennings Dunker have started a combined 126 games and played in 150. Throw in Tyler Elsbury and Nick DeJong, who will both play this season as well, and those numbers go to 153 starts and 233 games played.

Whether that experience translates to winning football is the big question to be answered this fall.

Like the offense's overall success, it's fair to put the performance of the offensive line in the "believe it when I see it" category for now. Though the group showed some encouraging things at the open practice in the spring and the scheme that Lester has brought in may help the group, they've struggled in games for too long to not be wary.

Two years ago, one could blame youth for the line's struggles, and last season you could cite Brian Feretnz's scheme, poor quarterback play, or injuries. This year, it's time for this unit to take that much-needed step forward.

Without a single senior among them, the wideouts look like the biggest question mark on the offense more than its weakest link, necessarily. Three of the six receivers listed on Iowa's pre-camp depth chart are redshirt freshmen and haven't logged a single catch in their college careers.

Of the remaining three, two are transfers that have a total of 12 starts with the Hawkeyes and the other is a walk-on. One player not listed on the depth chart (yet) that is expected to contribute this year is Jacob Gill, who transferred to Iowa this offseason from Northwestern.

One of those transfers with experience is Kaleb Brown, who didn't play consistent snaps until the end of the season last year and will miss the first game of the season as a result of an offseason OWI.

While hopes are high for youngsters like Jarriett Buie, Dayton Howard and Terrell Washington, the expectations aren't that they'll step on the gridiron and set the world on fire right away this fall.