5 questions for Iowa football ahead of 2025 spring practices

IOWA CITY — Spring football, as Kirk Ferentz sees it, is a “deliberate teaching time.”

“There's no pressure of getting ready for a ballgame on Saturday, or at any point during the spring, we're not trying to get our team game ready,” the longtime Iowa football coach said at the beginning of last year’s spring practices. “We're just trying to watch the guys and see how they're developing, how they're improving and how much they can retain handling new situations, those types of things.”

That teaching time has arrived as Wednesday marks the first of Iowa’s 15 spring practices. It will conclude on April 26 with Iowa’s open spring practice at Kinnick Stadium.

Here are five questions for the Hawkeyes ahead of the crucial developmental period:

What do we see from Iowa’s first-team linebackers?

Whether it be the Jack Campbell-Seth Benson duo or more recently the Jay Higgins-Nick Jackson duo, Iowa has benefited from excellent linebacker play in recent years. (Campbell and Higgins were unanimous All-Americans as seniors.)

Linebacker is somewhat of a question mark for the 2025 Hawkeyes, though, after Higgins, Jackson and first-team Leo linebacker Kyler Fisher all exhausted their eligibility in 2024.

Much of Iowa’s defensive success will hinge on if — and how much of — a learning curve remains for linebackers who could be taking on larger roles such as Jaden Harrell and Karson Sharar, among others.

Harrell has appeared in 27 games over the last two seasons although most of his opportunities have been on special teams. Sharar has appeared in 35 career games, also with the vast majority of his opportunities coming on special teams.

How has Mark Gronowski’s injury recovery progressed? And can the Hawkeyes still retain Brendan Sullivan?

Arguably one of the most influential Hawkeyes for the 2025 season is not expected to be practicing this spring.

South Dakota State quarterback transfer Mark Gronowski needed a procedure for what Iowa described in a press release as a “common football-related injury” and “will not begin on-field workouts until June.”

The former FCS Walter Payton Award winner could be a game-changer for Iowa at a quarterback position that has seen plenty of tribulations in recent years. The Hawkeyes ranked 104th nationally in passing efficiency in 2024 and 130th in 2023.

At the same time, Iowa quarterback Brendan Sullivan has one year of eligibility remaining and could have appealing opportunities elsewhere. Iowa’s 2024 season was a case study for why quarterback depth can be crucial, so retaining Sullivan could make a big difference in the fall.

How does Omar Young put his fingerprints on Iowa’s running backs room?

Iowa has held onto most of its staff in the 2024-25 offseason, with Ladell Betts being the one notable exception. Betts left to take the same job in the NFL with the New York Giants.

Omar Young — a 41-year-old who has held a variety of coaching roles with NFL and college teams — officially joined the staff earlier this month. He will oversee a position group that lost consensus All-American Kaleb Johnson to the NFL draft.

Given that Iowa was 7-1 when rushing for at least 150 yards in Tim Lester’s first season as offensive coordinator, how much Young accomplishes in the spring with Kamari Moulton, Jaziun Patterson and others will be a key for the Hawkeyes in the fall.

How many strides have Iowa’s backup offensive linemen taken?

Iowa’s offensive line picked up a few offseason wins with the retentions of center Logan Jones and right tackle Gennings Dunker — two of the Hawkeyes’ top offensive linemen in 2024.

George Barnett’s group will have some other voids to fill, though, following the graduation of four-year starters Mason Richman and Connor Colby.

Fortunately for Iowa, the 2025 room has some younger players who have shown plenty of promise, including third-year sophomores Kade Pieper and Trevor Lauck.

“He’s really athletically gifted,” Dunker said of Pieper during Iowa’s 2024 bowl prep. “He almost outjumps LoJo (Logan Jones).”

Which cornerbacks break through in 2025?

Iowa benefited from outstanding play from Jermari Harris in his 10 games at cornerback, as the sixth-year senior allowed receptions on only 43.2 percent of targets, according to Pro Football Focus. He also grabbed three interceptions.

Some of Iowa’s other cornerbacks had up-and-down 2024 seasons, though.

T.J. Hall had especially impressive games against Illinois State, Washington and Maryland and allowed receptions on only 52.9 percent of targets. But he gave up big plays in Iowa’s games against Troy and Michigan State.

Deshaun Lee had one interception and four pass breakups, but he allowed receptions on 70.2 percent of targets, per PFF. John Nestor, one of the other cornerbacks to see defensive snaps in 2024, announced plans on Tuesday to enter the transfer portal.

Now with another year to develop under 2023 Broyles Award recipient Phil Parker, Hall, Lee and Jaylen Watson’s progress will be interesting to watch in the spring and summer.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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