By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Iowa football team’s depth chart was released on Monday in preparation for Saturday’s season opener against Albany, and here are few things that stood out.

The battle for the starting left tackle position appears to be ongoing between three players: junior Jack Dotzler, sophomore Trevor Lauck and graduate Bryce George.

Dotzler, a 6-foot-6, 312-pound native of Waunakee, Wisconsin, is listed first on the depth chart, but the word “or” is also listed between his name and Lauck’s name, meaning the competition for the starting spot still is undecided.

The other four starters on the offensive line are senior Beau Stephens at left guard, graduate Logan Jones at center, sophomore Kade Pieper at right guard, and senior Gennings Dunker at right tackle.

Jones and Dunker both made All-Big Ten last season and are listed as preseason All-Americans heading into this season.

The word “or” is listed at three different positions on offense, including twice at running back, and at three different positions on defense.

That isn’t unusual heading into a season opener as some position battles often remain unsettled following preseason camp.

Mark Gronowski, not surprisingly, is listed as the No. 1 quarterback, while Auburn transfer Hank Brown is listed as his backup.

Gronowski played his previous four seasons for South Dakota State where he won two FCS national titles as a four-year starter.

Chattanooga transfer Sam Phillips is listed as a starter at one of the three receiver positions along with Jacob Gill and Seth Anderson.

All three of the starting wide receivers transferred into the program. Gill transferred from Northwestern last summer, while Anderson transferred from Charleston Southern prior to the 2023 season.

The competition to replace 2024 Big Ten rushing leader Kaleb Johnson also appears to be hotly contested, considering that four running backs are listed on the depth chart: They are in order Kamari Moulton, Terrell Washington Jr., Xavier Williams and Jaziun Patterson.

The fact that Moulton is listed first on the depth chart isn’t a surprise, but Patterson being listed fourth is sort of surprise, though it’s always wise not to read too much into a depth chart.

Moulton and Patterson are Iowa’s top two returning rushers from last season as they rushed for 473 and 309 yards, respectively.

Senior Addison Ostrenga is listed as the starter at tight end, followed by junior Zach Ortwerth and graduate Hayden Large.

As for defense, South Dakota State transfer Bryce Hawthorne is listed as the starter at right tackle, ahead of Central Michigan transfer Jonah Pace.

The other three starters on the defensive line are senior Max Llewellyn and graduate Ethan Hurkett at the two defensive end positions and senior Aaron Graves at defensive tackle.

Senior Jaden Harrell is listed as the starting middle linebacker, while senior Karson Sharar is listed as the starter at will linebacker and graduate Jaxon Rexroth is the starter at the Leo linebacker spot.

All three of the three linebackers listed as starters on this week’s depth chart have yet to start a game for Iowa.

Sophomore Zach Lutmer is listed as the starter at the cash position.

Senior Xavier Nwankpa and junior Koen Entringer are listed as the starters at free safety and strong safety, respectively, while senior TJ Hall is listed as the starter at left cornerback and junior Deshaun Lee is the starter at right cornerback.

Senior Drew Stevens is listed as the starting kicker while sophomore Rhys Dakin is listed as the starting punter.