With spring practices completed and most of the spring transfer portal shuffling finished up, analysts have a clearer picture of what each squad will have headed into the 2025 college football season.
247Sports’ Carter Bahns unveiled a post-spring Big Ten football power rankings. Iowa football garnered a middle-of-the-pack ranking from 247Sports.
The Hawkeyes check in at No. 9 in the 18-team Big Ten power rankings.
It takes a lot of trust in defensive coordinator Phil Parker to project a strong year for Iowa, as the defense is chock-full of new starters. His system is as proven as they come, though, so the Hawkeyes deserve at least some benefit of the doubt. The other major question is whether incoming quarterback Mark Gronowski is truly the upgrade most expect him to be. The former FCS standout underwent shoulder surgery in January and will not be at full speed until fall camp, but once he is ready to roll, the dual-threat weapon might be a perfect fit in the Tim Lester offense. – Bahns, 247Sports.
Iowa does return five starters defensively. That group includes defensive tackle Aaron Graves, defensive end Ethan Hurkett and defensive backs TJ Hall, Deshaun Lee and Xavier Nwankpa.
The Hawkeyes are replacing both starting linebackers in Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson. Iowa will turn to some combination of Jaden Harrell, Karson Sharar, Jaxon Rexroth, Derek Weisskopf, Jayden Montgomery and Preston Ries.
Though Higgins and Jackson depart and take 215 tackles out the door with them, Iowa showed in recent times with that duo that it can replace a Butkus Award-winning linebacker in Jack Campbell and a strong running mate in Seth Benson and still field one of the Big Ten’s and nation’s better defenses.
Still, as 247Sports noted, so much attention with Iowa will be on whether or not South Dakota State transfer quarterback Mark Gronowski can deliver a spark offensively for the Hawkeyes under center that has been absent over the past half decade.
Gronowski joins Iowa for his final season of eligibility after a decorated career with the Jackrabbits that saw him tie for the most career FCS wins by a quarterback with 49. He guided South Dakota State to consecutive national championships in 2022 and 2023.
During his time at SDSU, Gronowski passed for 10,330 yards and 93 touchdowns and he rushed for an additional 1,767 yards and 37 scores.
If Gronowski is as advertised early next season, the Hawkeyes could shoot up rankings like this in a hurry.
Penn State topped 247Sports’ post-spring Big Ten power rankings. The rest of the top five featured No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Illinois and No. 5 Michigan.
Here’s a look at 247Sports’ complete post-spring Big Ten power rankings:
247Sports Big Ten football post-spring power rankings
- No. 1 Penn State
- No. 2 Ohio State
- No. 3 Oregon
- No. 4 Illinois
- No. 5 Michigan
- No. 6 Indiana
- No. 7 Nebraska
- No. 8 USC
- No. 9 Iowa
- No. 10 Minnesota
- No. 11 Washington
- No. 12 Michigan State
- No. 13 Rutgers
- No. 14 Wisconsin
- No. 15 UCLA
- No. 16 Maryland
- No. 17 Northwestern
- No. 18 Purdue
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