The Iowa Hawkeyes have prided themselves on their strong defense for much of the Kirk Ferentz era, but the problem is they lost a ton of key players on that side of the ball this offseason.

Perhaps most notably, Iowa lost all three of its starting linebackers from 2024, which includes Butkus-Fitzgerald Award winner Jay Higgins.

Iowa has managed to piece things together in previous years after losing strong talent, so there is no reason to believe that the Hawkeyes won’t be able to do it again, but in this new NIL era, it may become considerably tougher for Ferentz and Co. to make significant moves.

Well, evidently, Iowa has identified a linebacker that it truly wants on its roster moving forward: three-star Georgia product Billy Weivoda.

The Hawkeyes just made an offer to Weivoda, and now, he will be visiting Iowa City for three days between June 13 and 15.

Weivoda is a class of 2026 recruit, so he obviously won’t be able to suit up for Iowa for a couple of years, but at least the Hawkeyes are getting ahead of things by trying to lock down a linebacking corps for the future.

The Alpharetta, Ga. native is the 56th-ranked linebacker in the country, via 247 Sports’ composite rankings. He is also the 78th-ranked player in the state of Georgia overall.

Weivoda also has upcoming meetings slated with Appalachian State, Jacksonville State and Virginia Tech, so Iowa may certainly have an edge from a prestige perspective. He already took a visit with Georgia Tech back in January.

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The Iowa State men’s basketball team will face Northwestern in the Cyclones’ second exhibition game of the year on Sunday, October 26, 2025, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. The game will be the first in a two-game “home-and-home” exhibition series over the next two years, with the teams facing off again in Evanston, Illinois, in October 2026.

The Cyclones recently announced they will hold a similar style exhibition series with Creighton, which kicks off at CHI Health Center Omaha on October 17, 2025. A second exhibition game at Hilton Coliseum is scheduled for October next year:

Their 2025 exhibition schedule represents Iowa State’s ambitious preseason plans, featuring multiple games against high-major opponents. The last time the Cyclones played multiple exhibition games was in 2009, when they convincingly defeated both Black Hills State and UNC Pembroke.

Creighton and Northwestern are expected to be significantly more competent opponents, offering Iowa State an excellent opportunity to assess their team and set expectations before the start of the regular season.

Expectations are high for an Iowa State team that was ranked in the AP Top 25 throughout the 2024-25 campaign. They finished the season ranked No. 17 after amassing a 25-10 record, but exited both the Big 12 tournament and the NCAA tournament earlier than supporters had hoped. The Cyclones were ranked No. 13 in ESPN’s Way Too Early Top 25 in April and maintained that position in CBS Sports’ Top 25 rankings last week.

The Creighton Bluejays compiled a strong 25-11 overall record during the 2024-25 season, earning second-place finishes in both the Big East regular season standings and conference tournament.

Northwestern finished 17-16, technically earning their third straight winning season, but the narrow margin reflected a disappointing campaign for the Wildcats.

Hawkeye fans hope the riddle at quarterback has finally been solved with Mark Gronowski. After all, he’s a two-time FCS national champion with the size and makeup to operate a pro-style offense, and he was highly sought after in the Transfer Portal.

But why would such a quarterback want to come to Iowa? It’s cold, most online discussions about the offense have to be translated from memes, and the program hasn’t sent a capable quarterback to the NFL in quite some time.

Well, Gronowski answered that question on a podcast hosted by former Hawkeye defensive lineman Louie Stec. For the former Jackrabbit, it was about culture and scheme fit.

“I was kind of just more watching just to get a more flavor of Iowa football,” Gronowski said. And I know we played against him a couple of years ago… So, it was good to just get a flavor of like who’s on the team, the guys on the team, and how the offense really flowed and the plays that were called and during different situations. And it was interesting to see a lot of similar concepts that we were running at South Dakota State offensively. And after talking with [Tim] Lester and going on that actual official visit and learning about the offense, yeah, I really kind of fell in love with it.”

Gronowski also revealed that he only visited Iowa during his Transfer Portal recruitment. Other programs, notably Miami and Washington State, were interested but ultimately couldn’t draw his attention from Kirk Ferentz’s program in Iowa City.

“I was supposed to go on another visit to Miami, and I ended up just deciding, like I think Iowa was the best spot for me, just culturally wise,” Gronowski said. “The people that were there, the winning culture, the opportunity with Lester being a former NFL coach and assistant in the Packers offense, and bringing that NFL offense to get me to that next level is huge.

“After talking with everyone else, I just felt like Iowa was the best spot.”

No Money Talk—Just Football: Gronowski’s Approach to Recruitment

Even with the prevalence of NIL money, Gronowski didn’t want to be swayed by cash; instead, he chose the best fit for himself, personally and as a football player.

“Yeah, I mean I didn’t want to talk about money or anything like that when I was getting recruited throughout that entire process,” Gronowski said. “I want to talk football because, I mean, that’s what we’re playing at the end of the day. We’re out there to play football, to build that culture with the guys that are around you.”

While Iowa fans will have to wait a few months to see if he can turn the offense around, they can at least appreciate his mentality and approach in coming to Iowa. At the very least, Gronowski’s words position him to be a cultural cornerstone in the locker room, which, if coupled with solid play, could go a long way in reviving Iowa’s image in the college football landscape.