IOWA CITY — The Iowa football offensive line took a trip to the Ozarks this offseason.
Quarterback Mark Gronowski and tight end Zach Ortwerth also joined. The excursion included going out to eat and playing golf. There was also a high-dive platform, about 15-20 feet off the ground, that they could use to jump into the water.
Logan Jones was conservative when it came to doing any tricks, keeping it relatively simple with cannonballs and pencil dives.
“If it was a little lower, I would’ve probably tried to do something,” said Jones, who is listed at 302 pounds, “but it was so high. It actually kind of hurt when you jumped in there.”
That trip isn’t the only way Iowa’s offensive line builds relationships. They also have regularly scheduled group dinners on Thursdays.
“To see guys come in, embrace the room, be a part of the room, it’s just so gratifying, almost just to see these guys buy into our room and the importance of it,” Jones said. “Understanding if you guys are close off the field, it makes things easier on the field. Understanding where guys come from and things like that. Just understanding who’s next to you and their story, I think, is super important.”
This is the type of culture that offensive line coach George Barnett knew was important when he took the job at Iowa in 2021.
“When you first walk into a job and you get into a room, the first thing you have to build is that chemistry,” Barnett said. “And the coach doesn’t necessarily build it. You have to make the kids understand how important that is, especially when you’re playing a position where all five guys have to be on the same page all the time. Our room — it’s a tough room to penetrate because of that. I don’t know how many meals a week they do together. They’re always together. But it has to be that way.”
The results have been difficult to deny.
Iowa’s offensive line finally returned to the program standard with a breakthrough 2024 season. But the momentum didn’t stop there. The Hawkeyes have sustained that dominance in 2025, further validating the job Barnett has done rebuilding the unit.
“We have one of the best offensive lines in the country,” Gronowski said. “They’re creating big holes for us up front (in the run game). They love running downhill. They’re an athletic bunch. They’re super strong. So they’re moving guys up front, too.”
At Big Ten Media Days in 2023, head coach Kirk Ferentz said, “George (Barnett) is an unbelievable line coach.” For a unit that was facing heavy criticism at the time, plenty of Iowa fans may have disputed that. But the struggles Iowa’s offensive line went through, particularly in 2022, were part of a process that Barnett signed up for.
“When I came in ‘21 and surveyed the land and what needed to be done, you kind of know the steps before they happen,” Barnett said. “You don’t know exactly how it’s going to go. But you learn to appreciate those steps, and it helps you stay focused as a coach. Because the last thing those kids need is a coach that’s waffling. The last thing those kids need when you’re going through that early adversity is a coach without a spine.”
Ferentz has seen Barnett be that stabilizing figure.
“You name the challenge, he just has really been rock steady with the guys, and he’s an excellent technician, all that part of the stuff, it’s there for him,” Ferentz said of Barnett. “He’s got that part. But the mental component is really important, too, and I can’t imagine anybody better to do the job that he’s done.”
Improvement from 2022 to 2023 set the stage for the unit’s breakout 2024 season. Running back Kaleb Johnson and the Hawkeyes’ O-line helped generate optimism in offensive coordinator Tim Lester’s first season with the program.
But bridging that success between 2024 and 2025 was not a guarantee. Iowa lost some major pieces from last season, most notably Connor Colby and Mason Richman, who combined to start more than 100 games in their Hawkeye careers.
But Iowa has replaced those veterans seamlessly. First-time starters Trevor Lauck and Kade Pieper have fit right in with a trio of returning starters — Logan Jones, Beau Stephens and Gennings Dunker.
Even without Johnson, one of the best running backs in program history, Iowa’s rushing numbers have not dropped off much. The Hawkeyes are averaging 192.7 rushing yards per game this season, as opposed to 197.2 last season. That ranks 34th in the FBS this season. In pass protection, Iowa is allowing just 1.29 sacks per game in 2025, compared to 1.31 in 2024. That’s tied for 32nd in the FBS this season.
Jones is the highest-graded center in all of college football so far this year, according to the PFF (Pro Football Focus). Meanwhile, Pieper and Stephens are the highest-graded guards in the Big Ten by PFF.
Not only did Iowa’s offensive line return to being a formidable force, but it is now performing at that level consistently.
“What it reemphasizes is that it’s done with people,” Barnett reflected on the rebuild of Iowa’s offensive line. “It’s done with people. It’s not done with playbooks, it’s not done with plays, it’s not done with X’s and O’s, it’s not done with fancy stuff. It’s done with getting the right people together and helping empower those people and build layers up in an offensive line room to where one group can learn from the next group that learns from the next group and they can mature at the proper pace.”
Evidence of that comes in the form of Pieper and Lauck, who have thrived in elevated roles this season.
Iowa has come a long way since 2022, a time when the offensive line was a shell of what is expected from the program. But even though the Hawkeyes made such meaningful improvement, Barnett knows that this isn’t the end of the journey.
“There comes a day where you have to understand that the work is never done,” Barnett said. “‘Cause the last thing you want to do is go backwards. Not saying you’re not going to have a tough play, a tough day. Those happen. This is an imperfect game played by imperfect people, coached by imperfect people. But that’s part of it, too. Helping young kids learn about adversity and how to respond to adversity is probably the biggest piece of being an O-line coach, in my opinion. And I think our kids have done a tremendous job over the last three years, four years of understanding that.”
Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: After breakthrough 2024 season, Iowa football offensive line is sustaining dominance
Reporting by Tyler Tachman, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
