Tim Lester expecting Iowa’s offense to run smoother in year two

IOWA CITY, Ia. — After helping Iowa improve in several statistical categories during his first year on the job, the Offensive Coordinator believes his unit is ahead of schedule approaching the summer.

Tim Lester is making it a priority to have the Hawkeyes playing at a level high enough for their fans to appreciate. He even  gave a glimpse of his potential, and made an immediate impact last season. After all,  Iowa scored 12 more points per game, and averaged 94 additional yards than what the offense produced under the leadership of Brian Ferentz in 2023.

Lester played musical chairs with the quarterbacks, in which Cade McNamara, Brendan Sullivan and Jackson Stratton all started at least one game in Big Ten play. Iowa’s ground attack was his most-notable achievement, and Kaleb Johnson broke the program’s single-season record for rushing touchdowns. Not to mention the offensive line finished with three All-Big Ten performers.

With spring ball officially in the books, every position group has made strides in Lester’s eyes, despite a few new faces in different places.

“The spring has been productive, and our guys have been chipping away, getting better,” Lester said. “Year two is a totally different animal than year one, in a good way, as far as teaching and them understanding what’s expected of them and really just taking the next step.”

Although highly-touted South Dakota State transfer Mark Gronowski is still rehabbing his injury, and didn’t participate in scrimmages during practice, Lester finds the competition in the quarterback room encouraging. Auburn transfer Hank Brown, true freshman Jimmy Sullivan and Stratton have all caught Lester’s attention in different ways. There’ll be no depth chart post spring, but each gunslinger has to feel positive about where he fits in the scheme.

Gronowski and Brown played at different college teams in 2024, but Lester admires the skills that they bring to the offense. Lester is looking for qualities at the position like taking control of the huddle, making others around the quarterback better and having knowledge of the playbook.

“My plan is for you to come in and compete, so some of them love that word, and some of them don’t,” he said. “If they don’t, then you probably won’t fit in very well here because everyone is going to have to earn their spot.”

The offensive line appears to be a team strength again, considering the return of Logan Jones, Gennings Dunker and talented newcomer Bryce George. The Hawkeyes only allowed 1.31 sacks per game last year, which ranked 26th nationally. Protection will be vital this fall, and Lester plans on airing it out more with the offense.

Johnson is off to the NFL, and leaves big shoes to fill in the running back room. Junior Jaziun Patterson has the most experience of the bunch, with 515 rushing yards and four touchdowns over the past two seasons.

Lester emphasized how he wants the offense to be more balanced in year two though. That means the wide receivers and tight ends will have to be more involved. It’s no mystery that the Hawkeyes finished 129th in the FBS in passing offense, so there’s plenty of room for improvement.

Wideouts Kaden Wetjen and Seth Anderson are looking the part, and Apollo Payne is raising eyebrows with his explosiveness. Lester thinks they all have a high ceiling too, from route-running, blocking and getting separation from defensive backs.

“I’m excited with where they’re at, and have a long way togo, but they are just more confident,” the 48-year old said. “We’re able to make nuances, adjustments really quick, then they can go out there on the next route and it’s fixed.”

Tight end Luke Lachey was a staple for the position, but DJ Vonnahme has been impressive throughout practice, and poised for greatness. Nothing is set in stone as far as starters, but Lester has a good feel for where everyone stands, and believes the best is yet to come.

“Every position has different steps they need to take, and they’ve been working hard, so I do see a lot of growth in different areas, areas that we need to focus on, but we’ve been successful with what we’ve had to work with.”