www.thestar.com - RSS Results of type article
· collected 2026-08-18 · by John Bohnenkamp The Associated Press
Kirk Ferentz heads into his 28th season as head coach of No. 22 Iowa, which has big holes to fill after seven players were selected in the NFL draft. The team's first three conference games are at Michigan, home against Ohio State, and at Washington. Iowa has talent on the roster to win eight or nine games, but a challenging start to Big Ten play will test the Hawkeyes' depth. Ferentz is concerned about the defensive line and quarterback situation, while new transfers such as WR Tony Diaz and RB LJ Phillips may help fill some gaps.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
No. 22 Iowa, led by head coach Kirk Ferentz, begins its Big Ten play with a challenging schedule, facing off against Michigan, hosting Ohio State, and then traveling to Washington. This season marks Ferentz's 28th year as the team's leader, following his achievement of becoming the Big Ten's winningest coach last season. The Hawkeyes have significant gaps to fill after losing seven players in the NFL draft, but they do have depth in their running back group. Kamari Moulton led the team with 878 yards last season and may contribute another 1,000-yard rusher, while Xavier Williams is expected to take on a larger workload.
Written for “Iowa Football Schedule” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 1018 · logged 2026-08-25
Kirk Ferentz heads into his 28th season as head coach at Iowa and there’s no sign he’s letting up.
asserted
he → head → Iowa
Ferentz, who became the Big Ten’s winningest coach last season, will find out how good his team is in a hurry.
asserted
team → become → hurry
No. 22 Iowa has big holes to fill after seven players were selected in the NFL draft.
asserted
players → have → draft
Ferentz certainly has enough talent on the roster to win eight or nine games and go to a 13th straight bowl (not counting 2020 pandemic season).
asserted
Ferentz → have → season
Strengths include RB
The running back group is deep.
asserted
group → include → RB
Kamari Moulton rushed for a team-leading 878 yards last season and has a shot to give the Hawkeyes a 1,000-yard rusher for the second time in three years.
asserted
Moulton → rush → years
The workload should increase for Xavier Williams, who had 285 yards last season.
asserted
who → increase → yards
DJ Vonnahme led the Hawkeyes in receiving with 29 catches for 434 yards and three touchdowns.
asserted
Vonnahme → lead → yards
He ended last season on a high note with seven catches for 146 yards against Vanderbilt in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
asserted
He → end → Bowl
Addison Ostrenga missed almost all of last season with an injury, but he is expected to be healthy to give the Hawkeyes the bookend tight ends they always seem to have.
asserted
they → miss → ends
Weaknesses include defensive line
asserted
Weaknesses → include → line
The Hawkeyes are starting over on the defensive line.
asserted
Hawkeyes → start → line
All four starters and two key backups are gone.
asserted
starters → go → ?
The departures of Ethan Hurkett (8 sacks), Max Llewellyn (6 1/2) and Aaron Graves (5) put a big dent in the pass rush.
asserted
departures → put → rush
Returning backups Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski are competing for the starter’s job.
asserted
backups → return → job
Brown played 55 snaps and never appeared after the fifth game; Hecklinski got a total of nine snaps over two games.
asserted
Hecklinski → play → games
Iowa must replace its kicker, punter and top return man.
asserted
Iowa → replace → kicker
New faces
WR Tony Diaz (transfer from UTRGV) was sixth in the FCS with 11 receiving touchdowns and drew good reviews from Ferentz in the early days of camp.
asserted
Diaz → draw → camp
RB LJ Phillips (transfer from South Dakota) was the leading rusher in FCS last season with 1,921 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns on 294 attempts.
asserted
Phillips → lead → attempts
K Eli Ozick (transfer from North Dakota State) was an FCS second-team All-American last season after converting 16 of 18 field-goal attempts, including hitting his last 11.
asserted
Ozick → convert → 11
The Chicago Bears’ second-round draft pick started 51 games for Iowa.
asserted
pick → start → Iowa
OT Gennings Dunke started every game last season and was an AP second-team All-Big Ten selection.
asserted
Dunke → start → game
Wetjen led the nation with 1,039 combined kick return yards.
asserted
Wetjen → lead → yards
