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Last season, George Barnett completed his offensive line turnaround when Iowa took home the coveted Joe Moore Award.
Led by three future NFL draft picks, the Hawkeyes excelled up front in 2025. That unit helped Iowa put together its best offensive season this decade. Now, the attention shifts to repeating as Joe Moore Award winners in 2026.
With Gennings Dunker, Logan Jones, and Beau Stephens now playing in the NFL, there's a lot of work to do when it comes to replacing that production. Kade Pieper and Trevor Lauck are a great starting point, but the rest of the line is still mostly unproven.
Despite that, the college football world is still very high on Barnett's unit entering the new season.
CBS Sports released its top 10 offensive lines in the nation list on Friday, ranking Iowa's offensive line as the ninth-best in the country.
The Joe Moore Award-winning group from 2025 returns two starters. Kade Pieper is back with nearly 900 career snaps and kicks inside to anchor the line this season, which will fit his skill set better. Pieper is scrappy and a fighter, but excels as a run blocker with quick feet and the ability to reach defenders on the front side and cut off defenders on the back side. Pieper is good in space and is a problem on the second level.
Trevor Lauck returns to man the blind side and does a nice job mixing up his sets. He is a force in the outside run game with quick feet and good technique. Leighton Jones is expected to be the left guard after logging 125 snaps last year. Jones looks solid as a run blocker, as you would expect. Trent Wilson is expected to man the right guard position and brings nearly 400 snaps of experience from James Madison. Wilson is a gritty player and should fit in well.
Jack Dotzler, like everyone at Iowa, is a good run blocker and has some work to do in dropback pass protection. Mike Myslinski was granted a sixth year of eligibility and will provide depth at center. He could also give the Hawkeyes the ability to kick Pieper back out to guard. There is not a ton of experienced depth behind the starters, but Iowa has some big bodies waiting in the wings. - Blake Brockermeyer, CBS Sports
Brockermeyer ranked Iowa as the third-best offensive line in the Big Ten, behind Ohio State and Indiana. Even with some inexperienced question marks, it's clear he believes the Hawkeyes still possess an elite group of talent.
It's not going to be easy, but Iowa has the talent, pedigree and coaching needed to repeat as Joe Moore Award winners. Barnett and Kirk Ferentz have completely rebuilt the offensive line factory in Iowa City. Fans should have faith in this unit to step up again next season.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: CBS ranks Iowa football OL among nation's top 10 units
