If you were to rank Iowa football’s defensive linemen based on how many tackles they made last season, this is what the top five would look like:
None of those five players is in the Hawkeyes program anymore.
Those are substantial losses. Llewellyn was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Graves signed with the Baltimore Ravens after going undrafted. Hurkett was a two-year starter at Iowa. Pace exhausted his eligibility, too.
Of those five, Allen was the only one to enter the transfer portal. He has since joined the Vanderbilt program.
The exodus in the trenches has made Iowa’s defensive line a major question mark heading into the 2026 season.
The Hawkeyes will rely on internal development and transfer-portal newcomers to replenish a unit that lost so many key players.
Iowa clearly prioritized the defensive line in its offseason roster-building, bringing in four transfer-portal additions — Brice Stevenson (Holy Cross), Kahmari Brown (Elon), Emmanuel Olagbaju (North Dakota) and Lance Ingold (Northern Illinois).
“You don’t want to say that when a transfer comes to our program that he’s like a freshman,” Iowa assistant head coach/assistant defensive coordinator Seth Wallace told the Register at a Dubuque County I-Club event on May 21. “But in a sense, they are like freshmen, just because we tend to be a lot different than a lot of other programs. With the young men that we brought in there, second half of the spring, you started to see some traction take place. We lost six kids off of last year’s defensive line. It’s hard to replace six guys. And when there’s a slight gap between veteranness and not veteranness at a position group, you’re relying a lot on those transfers. Those guys, they’ve done a really good job up to this point and will continue to. But again, there’s still a lot of work ahead of us with anybody that we’re expecting to come in and help us next year.”
Perhaps the most intriguing of those four transfers is Brown because of his ability to get to the quarterback. Hurkett, Llewellyn and Graves ranked 1-2-3 in sacks for Iowa last season, leaving a sizeable void in pass-rush production. Brown, who recorded 16.5 sacks combined across two seasons at Elon, including 12 as a sophomore, could give the Hawkeyes some firepower in that area.
“It’s pretty obvious: He’s got some twitch to him,” Wallace said of Brown. “He certainly is how you would describe an edge-type of player in this day and age. He’s got a lot of football under his belt, too. So again, just finding that sweet spot of where you feel real comfortable with the scheme and the techniques and the fundamentals that are being asked, which takes a little bit of time. Then you really start to see the true potential, which hopefully turns into production down the road.”
And then there’s what Iowa has returning.
If that list of Iowa’s top tacklers on the defensive line last season were to be expanded by two spots, it would include Bryce Hawthorne and Kenneth Merrieweather.
Hawthorne made an impact in his first season at Iowa after transferring from South Dakota State. Merrieweather, who is entering his fourth season in the Hawkeye program, was in the rotation on the defensive line as a reserve last season. It would be helpful if those two players took decisive steps forward in 2026.
The same can be said for Iose Epenesa. That Epenesa appeared only sparingly last season doesn’t change how much talent and potential he possesses. Even though he is only a redshirt freshman, Iowa could really use him to become a difference-maker in 2026.
Beyond that, veterans Will Hubert and Luke Gaffney are each entering their fifth season in the Iowa program. It would be a stretch to expect that duo to be All-Big Ten-level performers, but ideally they’d be able to give Iowa some quality snaps. One of the names that defensive coordinator Phil Parker praised in April was Devan Kennedy, who is entering his third season in the program. Another under-the-radar player is Drew Campbell, brother of former Hawkeye star Jack Campbell.
After Iowa’s spring open practice in April, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said of the defensive line’s development: “So far so good, but that’s one of the areas we have a lot to do.”
It’s fair to wonder how much growth is realistic between the start of the summer program and the season opener against Northern Illinois on Sept. 5. The progress of Iowa’s defensive line will be one of the more important storylines to track ahead of the 2026 season.
“I think (defensive line coach) Kelvin (Bell) does an outstanding job with the defensive line, and to include (assistant defensive line coach) Jay Niemann, with building a plan for the summer based on the individuals that we have,” Wallace said. “I would say that’s the case with Phil (Parker) and myself … I went through the same thing when (Seth) Benson and Jack (Campbell) left, and we brought in Nick Jackson. You’ve got to have a plan together to try to accelerate that path, which we’re fortunate to do with more mature individuals. Not necessarily kids that are familiar with our program, familiar with our defense, but they are a little bit more mature than your average freshman that comes in.”
Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at TTachman@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa football defensive line development crucial ahead of 2026 season
Reporting by Tyler Tachman, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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