Nice little read and I know it’s early
- A sputtering offense and angst over coach Kirk Ferentz low-lighted the 2022 season for the Iowa Hawkeyes, but they regrouped and nearly made the Big Ten championship game before an inexplicable loss to Nebraska ended their late-season run.
A little more than a month ago, the Hawkeyes could barely find the end zone, and they are going to need to change some things moving forward on that side of the ball to compete in an improving West division that's seen Wisconsin add Luke Fickell and Nebraska add Matt Rhule in the past week.
While the offensive issues and the need to make changes aren't glossed over by winning a bad division, you can't discount Iowa's gradual progress, and Ferentz hasn't lost his touch on the recruiting trail, either.
In recent years, he's done a better job convincing prospects to come to Iowa City, and though this year's class falls just outside the top 25, the '24 group is off to a great start.
Currently, Iowa has a class ranked sixth nationally, according to 247Sports' composite rankings, and the group of five players consists of a 4-star and four 3-star prospects. It doesn't have a lot of star power, but it's still a good first step.
Instate interior offensive lineman Cody Fox is the bell cow of the bunch so far, a 6'4", 275-pound lineman who could add 40 pounds and be a force in the Hawkeyes' developmental program. This is a kid with an NFL ceiling.
Linebacker Cam Buffington, quarterback James Resar and athletes Derek Weisskopf and Preston Ries (both Iowa natives and both reportedly expected to play linebacker, like Buffington) round out the list.
