By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Football is considered the ultimate team sport because success requires 11 players working cohesively, aggressively and skillfully on the field together.

Just one little mistake by one player can be enough to derail a play.

But even with this team-first dynamic, some players still are more indispensable than others.

This article ranks the 10 most indispensable players on the 2026 Iowa football team, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the 10 best players on the team, though in some cases, success on the field was a key factor in determining importance.

The word indispensable means something or someone that is 100 percent necessary; an item, tool, or person that you cannot live, work, or manage without.

In picking this list, player position was a big factor, along with depth at certain positions, though that also worked both ways.

For example, there isn’t a running back on the list, but that’s mostly because running back is arguably Iowa’s deepest position.

Kamari Moulton is a terrific running back for the Hawkeyes, and well established at this level. But there is also a wealth of talent behind him, including South Dakota transfer LJ Phillips Jr., who led the FCS with 1,921 rushing yards last season.

It would be awful to lose any of the running backs for any length of time. But if it were to happen, there are plenty of reinforcements, making each of the running backs less indispensable if that makes sense.

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Iowa’s 10 most indispensable players

10. Jayden Montgomery, linebacker, fifth year: This ranking is based partly on the position he plays, but also because of his experience and leadership skills, and because of the circumstances at linebacker.

Iowa will rely on several younger and mostly untested linebackers this fall, so to have Montgomery leading the pack as a highly respected fifth-year player is crucial in so many ways.

He might only be listed at 5-foot-11, but he can stuff the run, shed blockers and make plays.

Montgomery replaced an injured Jaden Harrell as the starter at middle linebacker midway through last season and more than held his own.

The son of former Iowa defensive lineman Jerry Montgomery also excels in the classroom, having made the Dean’s List throughout his Hawkeye career.

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9. Cam Buffington, linebacker, third year: The Winfield native received this ranking partly due to his immense potential, but also because of the position he plays, which was hit hard by graduation.

Iowa needs this new wave of linebackers to rise to the occasion this fall with so many talented linebackers from the past two seasons having moved on, including Karson Sharar, who led the team in tackles last season.

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8. Reece Vander Zee, wide receiver, third year: The receiver position is rarely a strength for Iowa, and that might be the case again this season.

But with the 6-4, 215-pound Vander Zee, Iowa has a big and talented wide receiver that when healthy is highly effective.

The addition of receiver Tony Diaz from the transfer portal has been the hot topic this offseason, and he could prove to be more indispensable this season.

For now however, Vander Zee is more established at this level after having shown the ability to make difficult catches in traffic. He just has to stay healthy.

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7. DJ Vonnahme, tight end, third year: Few offenses rely on the tight end position more than Iowa does.

So Vonnahme already had that working for him in making this list.

Combine the position he plays with his breakout season from a year ago, and there is certainly reason to believe that the former walk-on from Carroll Kuemper is poised to become Iowa’s next great tight end.

The return of veteran tight end Addison Ostrenga from injury probably cost Vonnahme a few spots in the rankings.

Ostrenga suffered a season-ending Achilles injury against Iowa State in the second game of last season. His injury created an opportunity for Vonnahme, who would go on to seize the moment in spectacular fashion.

But with Ostrenga now healthy again, Vonnahme, as good as he is, becomes slightly less indispensable.

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6. Tanner Philpott/Boston Everitt, punter: If either of these two punters were established at the power-conference level, this ranking would be higher.

Former Iowa All-America punter Tory Taylor was arguably the most indispensable player on the team for his final two seasons as a Hawkeye, and he was near the top in his first two seasons.

Iowa relies heavily on special teams to help shift field position, and no position impacts field position more than the punter does.

Taylor was a master at shifting field position in Iowa’s favor, and his punts were often the difference between winning and losing.

Both of Iowa’s top candidates at punter are unproven at this level with Tanner Philpott having transferred from Division III Simpson College, and with Boston Everitt being a freshman from Australia.

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5. Zach Lutmer, defensive back, fourth year: One of the more versatile defensive backs to play for the Hawkeyes as he’s capable of playing both safety positions, cornerback and the cash position. He plays with finesse, and with physicality, and he has great anticipation and superb ball skills.

The Rock Rapids native started at the cash position in all 13 games last season, collecting 71 tackles on the season (44 solo, 27 assists), including 5.5 tackles for a loss of 16 yards, one quarterback sack, three interceptions for 72 yards and one touchdown, seven pass break-ups, and one recovered fumble on the season.

He also made second-team All-Big Ten last season.

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4. Trevor Lauck, offensive left tackle, fourth year: The Indianapolis native developed into one of the best left tackles in the Big Ten last season as a first-year starter.

He has the massive responsibility of protecting the quarterback’s blindside since all of Iowa’s quarterbacks are right handed, while also playing a key role in the run game. He made third-team All-Big Ten last season.

Iowa having to replace three All-Big Ten offensive linemen from last season makes Lauck even more indispensable, on and off the field.

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3. Kade Pieper, center, fourth year: The Norfolk, Nebraska native has shifted to center after playing guard at a very high level last season, earning third-team All-Big honors.

He was the only offensive lineman to make the 2026 Big Ten Preseason Honors list, which consists of 12 players.

Iowa’s top priority on offense is always to establish the run in order to create play action, and it starts up front with the offensive linemen.

And when you play multiple positions as well as Pieper does, that makes him highly indispensable.

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2. Hank Brown/Jeremy Hecklinski, quarterback: And while there is always justification in ranking the quarterback as the most indispensable player on any football team, the fact that Iowa has two quarterbacks, both with little game experience, in a hotly contested battle for the starting position sort of works against both of them in this case.

Brown started two games for Auburn in 2024 before transferring to Iowa last season, while Hecklinski barely has played at the collegiate level after spending his freshman season at Wake Forest in 2024 and his redshirt freshman season at Iowa a year ago.

Brown played in three games for Iowa last season, including almost the entire fourth quarter against eventual national champion Indiana after starter Mark Gronowski was injured.

However, Brown struggled against the Hoosiers, completing 5-of-13 passes for 48 yards and one interception in a 20-15 loss at Kinnick Stadium.

Hecklinski appeared briefly in two games last season, completing 2-of-2 passes for eight yards. He also had a 6-yard touchdown run in mop up duty against Minnesota.

In 2024, he took three snaps for Wake Forest against North Carolina.

By the end of last season, Gronowski was arguably Iowa’s most indispensable player as a dual-threat quarterback, and as a team leader.

If either Brown or Hecklinski were to first win the job and then play well for an extended period, Iowa’s quarterback would once again be the most indispensable player on the team.

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1. Eli Ozick, kicker, fourth year: As important as the punter is to Iowa’s success, the place-kicker is probably even more important since it scores points that are sometimes the difference between winning and losing..

Eli Ozick has the daunting task of replacing multi-year starting kicker Drew Stevens, who scored 352 career points (124 PAT, 76 FG), which ranks second in school history. Ozick converted 16-of-18 field goals last season for North Dakota State with a long of 54 yards at Indiana State. He also made his final 11 field goal attempts of the season, and made multiple field goals in three games.

Iowa has a history of playing in close games under Kirk Ferentz, which makes the place-kicker even more important.

There is no experience behind Ozick at kicker, and even his experience at the power-conference level is limited.

Iowa had a glaring need for an established place-kicker and turned to the transfer portal for help.

Some of Iowa’s biggest wins under Kirk Ferentz came from field goals in the final seconds.

Iowa needs for Ozick to be consistent and reliable because how he performs could be the difference between finishing 7-5 or 10-2.

That’s a lot of pressure to put on one player.

But that’s also why Ozick tops this list as Iowa’s most indispensable player, at least for now.