Ranking Hawkeye Position Groups for '23

How Units Stack Up Heading into Season

IOWA CITY, Iowa - These columns can offend people. Nobody wants to be at the back of these rankings. 

That said, everyone listed competes in Power 5 Football. That's rare. 

We like these preseason exercises as sports fans. If you cheer for Iowa, you're wondering how the Hawkeyes will fare in 2023 with the opener less than a month away. 

I rolled out my game-by-game predictions recently. Hopefully it helped familiarize readers Iowa's 2023 opponents. 

Now, let's take a closer look at the team's position groups. We'll see how they stack up within the squad. 

9. WIDE RECEIVER

Who's Back: Nico Ragaini, Diante Vines, Alec Wick. 

Who's Gone: Keagan Johnson, Arland Bruce IV, Brody Brecht. 

Who's Next: Seth Anderson, Kaleb Brown. 

Outlook: Somebody had to be last. Apologies. I do think there's hope here. It won't take much improvement to top the 74 combined receptions by the position in 13 games a year ago. 

Ragaini accounted for 34 of those catches in '22. Bruce IV, who transferred to Oklahoma State, was next with 19, and Vines had 10. 

The Hawkeyes need transfers Brown (Ohio State) and Anderson (Charleston Southern) to contribute right away. It would also help if redshirt freshman Jacob Bostick can enjoy good health and continue developing. 

Iowa welcomed incoming wideouts Alex Mota, Dayton Howard and Jarriett Buie to camp this month. Sophomore walk-on Alec Wick caught two passes last season and has taken his fair share of key practice reps. 

8. OFFENSIVE LINE

Who's Back: Mason Richman, Connor Colby, Logan Jones, Nick DeJong, Beau Stephens, Tyler Elsbury, Gennings Dunker. 

Who's Gone: Jack Plumb, Justin Britt, David Davidkov. 

Who's Next: Rusty Feth, Daijon Parker. 

Outlook: Iowa likely needs this unit higher on our postseason rankings. If it performs as inconsistently as it has the last two years, it's hard imagining success on offense. 

It will be better if only for the position's collective experience. Richman and Colby come into '23 with a combined 49 career starts. Jones is a second-year starter. DeJong (17 starts) can play inside or out, and Stephens (10 starts) is in the mix at guard. 

Feth, a Miami (Ohio) transfer, should push for time at guard after starting 34 games there and at center for the Redhawks. Parker arrives from Saginaw Valley State competing for right tackle reps. 

Dunker and Elsbury are challenging for time at guard. They have three starts between them. 

7. LINEBACKER

Who's Back: Jay Higgins, Kyler Fisher. 

Who's Gone: Jack Campbell, Seth Benson, Jestin Jacobs. 

Who's Next: Nick Jackson, Jaxon Rexroth, Carson Sharar. 

Outlook: No position on the roster was hit harder by departures than linebacker. Campbell won the Butkus Award last season. Benson and Jacobs joined him on the preseason Butkus Award Watch List. 

I deferred to the depth chart for who's listed here, which could be a mistake, considering the inaccuracy of them. That said, quite a few guys are competing for playing time with Fisher, Rexroth and Sharar, including true freshman Ben Kueter. 

Higgins started two games in the back half of last season. He was listed as the team's starting middle linebacker heading into training camp. Jackson transferred in from Virginia, where he earned All-ACC laurels the last two years. 

Jackson and Higgins are the odds on favorites to start. After that, camp performance will decide the hierarchy. 

6. QUARTERBACK

Who's Back: Joey Labas. 

Who's Gone: Spencer Petras (injury), Alex Padilla, Carson May. 

Who's Next: Cade McNamara.

Outlook: McNarama missed last season at Michigan with an injury. He led the Wolverines to the Big Ten Championship and College Football Playoff the year before. 

Iowa invested NIL resources in McNamara when he entered the portal. All indications were that he's the unquestioned starter heading into '23 despite being limited in spring practice. 

Labas started for the Hawkeyes' Music City Bowl victory in December. He was listed as the backup on the most recent two-deep, but Ferentz indicated at the end of spring that Wisconsin transfer Deacon Hill was No. 2. 

Behind the top three is incoming freshman Marco Lainez, who arrived in June. He is ranked as the No. 45 quarterback recruit nationally in the '23 class, according to the 247 Composite.  

5. RUNNING BACK

Who's Back: Kaleb Johnson, Leshon Williams, Jaziun Patterson.

Who's Gone: Monte Pottebaum, Gavin Williams. 

Who's Next: Terrell Washington Jr., Kamari Moulton. 

Outlook: Williams transferred to Northern Illinois after dealing with injuries and finishing third on the team in rushing last fall. Johnson led the squad with 779 ground yards, the most ever by a Hawkeye freshman. 

Williams ranked second with 440. Patterson showed promise in the bowl game and followed it up with a strong spring. Washington Jr. enrolled in January and Moulton arrived this summer. 

If Iowa receives consistently solid play from its offensive line, this collection of running backs could post impressive numbers. Johnson looks like a star in the making. 

4. TIGHT END

Who's Back: Luke Lachey. 

Who's Gone: Sam LaPorta.

Who's Next: Erick All, Addison Ostrenga, Steven Stilianos. 

Outlook: Losing LaPorta to the NFL would greatly impact most college programs. While that may end up being the case at Iowa, it's better prepared to replace the Big Ten's Tight End of the Year than most other teams in '22. 

Lachey has steadily improved during his three seasons in Iowa City. He took a big step forward toward the end of last year, looking like the next big-time pro prospect from TEU. 

Lachey caught four of the Hawkeyes seven receiving touchdowns last fall and led the team in yards per catch (14.2). He finished second to LaPorta in receptions (28) and receiving yards (398). 

The Hawkeyes scored one of the top transfer portal tight ends in All, who missed most of last season with an injury following a strong '21 campaign at Michigan with McNamara. Ostrenga served as Iowa's No. 3 tight end as a true freshman last fall, and things have started to click for Stilianos, a Lafayette transfer from last year.  

Lachey and All are on the preseason Mackey Award Watch List, given to the nation's top tight end. The Iowa duo accounted for two of the seven Big Ten tight ends on it. 

3. SECONDARY

Who's Back: Cooper DeJean, Quinn Schulte, Jamari Harris, Sebastian Castro, Xavier Nwankpa. 

Who's Gone: Kaevon Merriweather, Riley Moss, Terry Roberts. 

Who's Next: T.J. Hall, DeShaun Lee, Koen Entringer. 

Outlook: Iowa looked for a veteran cornerback in the portal this offseason but did not close on any of its top targets. It's doubtful anyone in college football shed a tear for the Hawkeye secondary, annually one of the country's top units. 

It's led by DeJean, a breakout player from a year ago, when he went from backup Cash/strong safety in the spring to first-team all-Big Ten cornerback and Music City Bowl MVP. He appears on multiple preseason award watch lists. 

Schulte played well in '22, his first as the starting free safety. His 71 tackles ranked fourth on the team and his six pass breakups were third. 

Castro emerged as the top guy at Cash last season. He showed the versatility in handling the coverage and run-support responsibilities there. 

After starting the final six games at cornerback in '21, Harris missed last season with an injury. He was listed as the starter opposite DeJean on the pre-camp depth chart. 

Hall was given a tough assignment in the '22 regular-season finale. The then true freshman replaced an injured DeJean. The Huskers went right at him with star wideout Trey Palmer in a key development for them pulling off the upset in Kinnick Stadium. 

An interesting group rounds out the roster at this position. Its members are inexperienced, but talented, and competing for roles. 

2. SPECIALISTS

Who's Back: Tory Taylor, Drew Stevens, Luke Elkin. 

Who's Gone: TBA 

Who's Next: TBD

Outlook: Unlike No. 1 on the list, there's questionable depth here. That it's still second speaks to the returning starters at punter (Taylor), kicker (Stevens) and long snapper (Elkin). They're among the best at their positions in the Big Ten. 

Junior kicker Aaron Blum worked on punting in the spring and was expected to back up both positions. Then news broke that he allegedly gambled on Iowa Football. He was still listed on the official team roster at the time of publishing, but it appeared unlikely he would be helping the Hawkeyes in a game anytime soon. 

On3's Blair Sanderson reported last week Iowa Western punter Ty Nissen was walking on with the Hawkeyes shortly after the Blum news broke. Backup long snapper Liam Reardon has been in the program for three seasons. 

1. DEFENSIVE LINE

Who's Back: Noah Shannon, Joe Evans, Logan Lee, Deontae Craig, Yahya Black, Aaron Graves.  

Who's Gone: Lukas Van Ness, John Waggoner.  

Who's Next: Ethan Hurkett, Jeremiah Pittman, Max Llewellyn, Anterio Thompson, Jackson Filer. 

Outlook: The quality depth at this position will make it tough for inexperienced players to crack the rotation. Thompson and Filer are listed above because of their experience at Iowa Western, but the competition will be stiff with a talented group of first- and second-year players. 

Shannon's availability, at least early in the season, remains in question as he remains a part of a gambling investigation. Iowa is fortunate Black and Graves are ready to go if Shannon ends up being absent. 

Van Ness and Waggoner are big losses on the edge, but Evans and Craig are high-end starters at this level. Important reps remain behind them. 

I could see Graves or another tackle shifting out at times with Pittman and/or Thompson sliding into the middle. However, Hurkett and Llewellyn could be ready for more run with their strong development. 

It's not a given the Hawkeyes successfully replace Van Ness and Waggoner, but I like their chances. It's the most talented position group on the '23 roster.