Iowa football roster build drawing Indiana, Curt Cignetti comparisons

Spring ball has concluded, and the top 25 rankings are coming out hot and heavy as we enter the summer months before fall camp begins. A million and one things can change before Week 1, for most teams, gets underway, but the rankings are a good jumping point.

The Iowa Hawkeyes continue to flirt with the top 25 rankings, such as coming in at No. 21 in the USA TODAY Sports way-too-early rankings. It's a standard Iowa spot in the rankings. They never are too high, but most outlets sneak them just inside the cut line.

The latest to rank Iowa, also at No. 21, is FOX's Joel Klatt. He is a believer in Iowa, calling them a "staple" in the top 25 rankings, but is questioning an unlikely position group: the offensive line.

"At 21, another staple here, and I understand, they don't know what's going on at the quarterback position, but remember, it's not a quarterback-centric team.

"If Tennessee is a quarterback-centric team, Iowa is anything other than a quarterback-centric offense, so they are going to land at No. 21 for me. That quarterback battle is going to go on. Do we care? Yes, I mean, we kind of do. I'm more concerned that they are replacing some key players off of that offensive line," Klatt said.

The players Klatt refers to are Gennings Dunker, Logan Jones, and Beau Stephens, three offensive line starters for Iowa last year, who each heard their names called in the 2026 NFL Draft, leaving some large spots to replace.

"That O-line was the best in the country, according to the Joe Moore Award that they won. They do have back as their back. Kirk Ferentz is a terrific coach. , their tight end, was a freshman All-American, and he could be the next great tight end for Iowa.