IOWA CITY, Iowa – Nobody on the Iowa Football team has bigger shoes to fill than Logan Jones. The sophomore from Council Bluffs (IA) Lewis Central is replacing 2021 Rimington Award winner Tyler Linderbaum as the team’s starting center.

The Rimington goes to the country’s top player at the position. Linderbaum is considered one of the best to ever play center at Iowa, a school with a great history on the offensive line. He’s starting this season for Baltimore in the NFL after the Ravens chose him in the first round of the last draft.

Linderbaum arrived at Iowa as a defensive lineman before transitioning to the other side of the ball. Jones made the same move at the end of last season. Before leaving for Baltimore, Linderbaum tutored Jones.

Jones took a step forward last week in a 10-7 loss to Iowa State. He struggled in Week 1 against South Dakota State.

“I was just playing very timid,” Jones said. “I was nervous, but now I’m starting to get in the groove of things.”

Jones has made great strides when you consider he was playing defensive tackle at this time last year. He dealt with injuries in 2021 and appeared in just one game.

Fast forward to Sept. 3 against South Dakota State, and he’s starting in front of a packed Kinnick Stadium.

“I was very nervous going into that. Walking in to 70,000 people, it’s like whoa,” Jones said. “But now I’m starting to learn things, play a little bit more free. I felt like I was playing a lot more confident (against Iowa State).

“Obviously, execution wasn’t always there. I’m not going to be perfect in any game. But I felt a lot better going into the second game.”

The center takes on a lot of responsibility as the signal caller for the offensive line. He identifies defenses in conjunction with the quarterbacks.

Linderbaum mastered the art. Jones has spent a lot of time in the film room working in improving in that area.

“It varies from week to week with different fronts, but I have two guards around me that know what they’re doing; two tackles that can help me out,” Jones said. “I watch film with my coaches throughout the week, so they help me develop confidence in those calls. So, I’m getting a lot more confident.”

Beyond that, Jones said he’s still working on the basics.

“Whether it be in the run game or the pass game, I still lack a lot of the fundamentals I need to work on. Getting those down can make the game a little bit easier,” he said.

Iowa is working through ups and downs on an offensive line with two new starters and only one player (left tackle Mason Richman) at the position he played a year ago. Connor Colby is at right tackle after playing guard last season. Nick DeJong is starting at guard after lining up at tackle in ’21.

“We learned from the first game. We learned from the second game, and we’re going to keep learning,” Jones said. “It’s only a loss if you don’t learn anything from it. So, I’m really excited for what’s going to happen in the future.”

Ideally, Iowa would like to run the ball to set up the pass. The Hawkeyes are averaging just 1.9 yards per carry. This week’s opponent, Nevada, yields 3.1 per attempt.

“I think we’re definitely getting closer. I think it’s just about execution at this point,” Jones said. “We all know what we’re supposed to do and now it’s just about doing it, getting it done.”