No position for Iowa has been subject to more questioning and criticism than its offensive line during the off-season.
Then again, when a team loses players the caliber of Bryan Bulaga and Kyle Calloway — who were both selected in April’s NFL draft — along with Dace Richardson and Rafael Eubanks, the challenge of replacing such talent is glaring.
Head coach Kirk Ferentz — who once served as an NFL offensive-line coach under Bill Belichick — knows how crucial a sturdy line is.
When asked if there was one position most key to the Hawkeyes’ success this season, Ferentz said, “Getting our [offensive] front where we want it. Again, because of the two-year graduations that we have had, that would probably be the place I would start as much as any.”
Iowa’s returning offensive linemen account for a combined 36 career starts — 35 of which come from senior Julian Vandervelde and sophomore Riley Reiff.
Reiff and Vandervelde are the Hawkeyes’ only “sure things” at the position.
The true question mark lies in whichever three men line up next to them. According to Iowa’s preseason depth chart, those vacancies will be occupied by juniors Adam Gettis (right guard) and Markus Zusevics (right tackle), and either senior Josh Koeppel or sophomore James Ferentz, who were listed as co-starters at center.
Kirk Ferentz compared this season for Gettis and Zusevics with defensive tackle Karl Klug’s situation entering last season — a player who had been in the system for three years, and once he received his opportunity on the playing field, he ran with it.
Despite starting only one game in his career (last year against Arizona), Gettis possessed the apparent confidence of a veteran at Iowa’s media day.
In fact, the Frankfort, Ill., native said he treats outsiders’ doubts as a motivator. With Iowa’s penchant for producing top-notch players along the offensive front, Gettis feels no worry.
“[This] is pretty much an O-line factory,” he said. “All we have to do is listen to the coaches and work hard, and that pretty much gets you where you need to be.”
Beyond coaching, the group’s biggest asset may be the men they’re asked to compete against on a daily basis — the Hawkeyes’ defensive line, which many expect to be among the nation’s best.
Senior starting defensive tackle Christian Ballard has no doubts about his offensive counterparts. He called them a very strong, physical, and focused group.
“They’re very in-tune to what’s going on, more so than I can say about previous years,” Ballard said. “Don’t get me wrong — the previous years had very good offensive lines. … But I think that this group is kind of gelling like how we did when we first got here, and they can definitely make a lot of improvements to be a great offensive line.”