IOWA CITY, Iowa — When one strips away the wins, the accolades and the fancy facilities, what Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz stakes his reputation upon is how he molds offensive lines.

From 1981 to 1989, Ferentz built the Hawkeyes’ offensive line into one of the nation’s best units. As an offensive line coach with the Baltimore Ravens, Ferentz helped develop Jonathan Ogden into a Hall of Fame offensive tackle. Under Ferentz, the Hawkeyes have had six offensive linemen selected in the first round of the NFL Draft — second most among college football programs — in the last two decades. Ferentz’s best Iowa protege, Marshal Yanda, is a likely Pro Football Hall of Fame selection and was a third-round pick in 2007.

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That history built a foundation but didn’t block anything besides a legacy last fall. Iowa’s offensive line was ravaged by inexperience, attrition and injuries. Only 13 starts came from upperclassmen and just five from an original scholarship lineman. The center flipped over from defensive tackle, the left tackle had lingering issues with a dislocated kneecap and inconsistency plagued every position. It led to 38 sacks — a 15-year high — and 2.92 yards per carry.

But one step at a time, the offensive line has grown. Left tackle Mason Richman had surgery in January to repair the ligament around his kneecap and it has bolstered his confidence. Center Logan Jones no longer has to think like Rimington Award winner Tyler Linderbaum; he now can react like the first-rounder. The lumps the offensive line has taken in games against Big Ten defenses have aided its development of more than a thousand scout-team reps.

“We’re not there yet by any stretch,” Ferentz said. “But I think we’ll have a chance maybe to play a level where it kind of meets the standard we’re looking for. And it’s not because I haven’t tried. There are a million things that factor into it.

“That’s one area I know a little something about in football: That’s about it. I’ve been saying you really can’t microwave maturity. You just can’t do it. That is a position where maturity really shows up.”

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For a developmental program like Iowa, the ideal situation up front is to start at least three multiyear upperclassmen, perhaps a talented sophomore and then rotate a senior or junior with an underclassman. Then one of Ferentz’s late-blooming “good stories” would emerge. For the better part of a generation, that philosophy served Iowa both in annual competition and program maintenance.

But in 2021, the pipeline tapped out. Iowa’s 2018 and 2019 recruiting classes struggled to produce capable linemen. The two most promising candidates — the late Cody Ince and Justin Britt — suffered career-ending injuries. Others either didn’t reach expectations, transferred or both. Then injuries shredded the unit. At best it looked ordinary. Against good defenses, the line was exposed.

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Last year, the Hawkeyes faced seven of the nation’s top 14 statistical defenses. Any upward trajectory was muted by the quality and growth of its opponent.

Offensive line coaches often deal with numbers because position flexibility is expected. Iowa wants at least seven, maybe eight, linemen available to play winning football every Saturday. Offensive line coach George Barnett walked into a depleted room in 2021 “having a couple of headliners and then patches.” There was Linderbaum, a unanimous first-team All-American, flanked by several linemen seeing action for the first time. It was even worse in 2022 when the youngsters forced to play too early in 2021 still were developing and there was no All-Big Ten lineman to help in a pinch. Injuries were rampant.

“I think you block people and play winning football with juniors and seniors,” Barnett said. “I think there’s a maturation process at that position the closer you get to the ball.”

But for the first time since 2020, Iowa might have a unit with enough depth and talent to compete the way it wants. The Hawkeyes return five players up front with double-digit career starts, plus two grad transfers who were multiyear starters. In addition, there are rotational linemen from last year with spot starts making a push.

“I think we have some competition in the group, which we haven’t had,” Ferentz said. “We’ve been trying to survive. Now we’ve got competition, and maybe with a little bit of luck, we’ll probably be able to play at the tempo we want to play at.

“That’s our goal. We’re not there yet, but I feel a lot better.”

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Jones (6 feet 3, 290 pounds) is the linchpin to Iowa’s resurgence up front. A knee injury cost Jones all but two games of the 2021 season. Ferentz sought Jones to switch to center and potentially replace Linderbaum. A deep pool at defensive tackle made the flip easier to handle.

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With a program-record 700-pound squat, Jones has uncommon strength for an average-sized body. He also has rare explosiveness, but it became an issue for him last year. Teammates and coaches mentioned Linderbaum’s quickness off the ball, and Jones strived to match it. That caused several bad snaps as he developed muscle memory and a better mental approach.

“I’m a lot more comfortable with what I’m doing and the calls that I’m making,” Jones said. “I know what I need to do now. I know how I need to do it, why I need to do it, just everything that I didn’t really know last year. I know the why conceptually of our offense: why I need to get there; why I need to get vertical; where the backs are hitting, just things like that.”

“Logan probably should get a medal for the way he played last year,” Ferentz said. “Because what he did was so difficult, moving him in March and then starting every game. He played pretty well last year. Everything he does is just at such a high level. So to think he’s not going to be better this year and next year, like seriously?”

Richman (6-6, 312) has 25 starts at left tackle, which included 12 games in 2021. In previous eras, Richman would have rotated at guard that season, and perhaps kicked outside last year. Instead, he received an education against some of college football’s top defensive ends over the last two years. Losing those one-on-one matchups, combined with fighting a lingering knee issue, dipped his confidence.

“He can be an overthinker because he’s really intelligent,” Barnett said. “He cares so dang much. He’s starting to play with a little more rhythm and feel and not worrying about this and worrying about that.”

This offseason, Richman doubled down mentally and physically. He was unable to compete in spring football, but he battled quarterback Cade McNamara each morning to arrive first at the facility, always before 5 a.m.

Connor Colby (6-6, 311) started 11 games at guard in 2021, the most ever for a true freshman under Ferentz. Last year, Colby kicked out to right tackle but struggled in his sets and shifted to left guard for the final six games. A four-star prospect, Colby has opened 24 career contests.

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“Nobody wants to hear it, but we’ve had injuries,” Ferentz said. “We’ve had some unusual personnel situations. Connor Colby is a great example, in my opinion. Connor was a really good prospect, and he’s a really good young man, and he’s going to be a really good player. But we threw him in there two years ago, and he wasn’t ready.”

Others have dealt with their own trials. Nick DeJong (6-6, 305), a senior who began his career as a walk-on, has 17 starts over four different positions. Now a sophomore, Beau Stephens (6-6, 319) opened 10 games last year at right guard. Tyler Elsbury (6-5, 312), a junior, and Gennings Dunker (6-5, 320), a sophomore, combined for three starts last year. They’re joined by a pair of grad transfers. Rusty Feth (6-5, 310) had 34 starts at Miami (Ohio), and Daijon Parker (6-5, 315) opened 19 games at Division II Saginaw Valley State.

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Now, they’re all experienced. They’re all battle-tested. They compete daily against one of the nation’s top defenses but no longer become the daily party favor. There’s better chemistry and execution in their outside zone and they genuinely like one another. That doesn’t mean this unit will become a dominant force like some of its predecessors, but it should look more like an Iowa unit than the last two seasons.

“It’s been the best it’s really been in my four years here,” Richman said. “I think a lot of it’s due to guys just buying into what we’re trying to achieve here.”

“They’re really hungry,” Barnett said. “They got a good look in their eye. They’re showing up every day, and we had that last year, too. The difference this year is we have competition.”

(Top photo of Nick DeJong: Reese Strickland / USA Today)

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