We’ve got about 60 days until Iowa plays South Dakota State in the season opener on Saturday, September 3.
The Hawkeyes have had some great offensive players since Kirk Ferentz took over in 1999.
I’m going to break down my top 15 players not including lineman.
I’ll have a top six lineman at the end.
15. D.J. Koulianos
DJK would be listed a lot higher but his off the field problems put him down on the list.
When DJ finished playing in 2010 he was the all-time leader in receiving yards (2,616) and receptions (173). Now Marvin McNutt holds the receiving yard record (2,816) and Kevonte Martin-Manley has the most receptions (174).
DJK is the third player in Iowa history to lead the team in receiving three straight years.
In DJK’s redshirt freshman year, he led the team with 38 catches for 482 yards.
As a sophomore, DJ led the team with 44 receptions and receiving yards (639).
In his junior year he led the team with 45 catches and 720 yards. He also led the Hawks in kickoff returns (12-378). DJK was named second team all-Big Ten and had a 99 yard kickoff return against Ohio State.
DJ’s senior year, he was second in receptions with 46 but was suspended from the Bowl win over Missouri.
Marvin McNutt led Iowa that year with 53.
Great talent, but a wasted opportunity.
14. Keith Duncan
Keith had a wild ride as a Hawkeye.
The former North Carolina prep played as a true freshman and kicked the game winning field goal against Michigan as the clock hit zero in the thrilling 14-13 win.
Keith redshirted in 2017, did not play at all in 2018 and was a consensus All American in 2019.
2019 saw Keith make 29-32 field goals and was 32-32 on extra points.
Keith was one of three finalist for the Lou Groza award and is the only Hawkeye to make 20 field goals of 20 yards or more. The walk on from Carolina made 52-63 (.825) field goals which is a school record for field goal accuracy.
I probably should have put Keith a little higher but this was a lot harder than I thought to pick the top 15 Hawkeyes on offense under Kirk Ferentz.
13. Noah Fant
This is another player that probably could have been rated higher.
Noah caught 19 career TD passes which is the most ever for a Hawkeye and third best among tight ends in Big Ten history.
Noah played as a true freshman in 11 games, caught 11 passes for 70 yards and one touchdown.
In his sophomore season, the 6-5, 240 pound tight end, caught 30 receptions for 494 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Noah was named 3rd team All-Big Ten in 2017.
In 2018, Noah had 39 catches, 519 yards and seven touchdowns.
The former Omaha prep was named first team All-Big Ten and third team All American by the AP.
Noah played three years for the Denver Broncos, had 170 receptions for 1,950 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was traded to Seattle this season.
12. Ricky Stanzi
Ricky finished his Iowa career with a 26-9 record as starting quarterback for the Iowa Hawkeyes.
The 6-4, 230 pound QB from Ohio won 21 consecutive games for the Hawks which is a school record.
Ricky started 11 games in 2008 throwing for 1,956 yards, 14 TD’s and nine interceptions.
As a sophomore (2009) Ricky won the MVP award for offense throwing for 2,417 and 17 touchdown passes.
Ricky started 11 games that year and was named honorable mention All-Big Ten.
In his senior season (2010), Ricky started all 13 games, passed for 3,004 yards, 25 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Ricky is the only quarterback to win three games against Penn State with Joe Paterno as head coach.
Ricky is also the only Iowa quarterback to win three straight Bowl victories.
11. Marvin McNutt
Marvin came to Iowa as a 6-4, 195 pound quarterback from St. Louis and left as the all-time leader in career yards with 2,816 and the most touchdowns caught with 28.
Marvin also tied Kevin Kasper with the most receptions in a season (82).
As a redshirt freshman in 2008, Marvin completed 1-3 passes against Florida International.
Later in the season, Marvin caught his first pass against Indiana.
2009 saw Marvin with 34 receptions for 674 yards (19.8) and eight scores including the game winner against Michigan State. Marvin was honorable mention All American that season.
In 2010 Marvin led the team in receptions (53) and yards (861) and was named second team all-Big Ten.
As a senior, Marvin tied the school record with 82 catches and set school records with 1,315 yards and 12 TD’s. Marvin was all-Big Ten that year and the Hawkeye MVP on offence.
Top Offensive Linemen
Robert Gallery
When you talk all-time great offensive lineman in the history of Iowa football you have to put Robert in the conversation. I would go with Cal Jones, Duke Slater, Alex Karras and Robert.
Cal is the only two-time consensus All American at Iowa.
He also won the Outland Trophy as the nation’s top lineman in 1955.
Duke Slater (6-1, 216) was a 3-time all-Big Ten selection (1920-22) helping Iowa to a 7-0 record in 1921 including a 10-7 win over Knute Rockne’s Notre Dame team that had a 20 game winning streak.
Alex was a consensus All American in 1957 and won the Outland Trophy that year.
All three of those players played on both sides of the ball.
Robert won the Outland Trophy and was named the top lineman in the Big Ten and was the No. 2 pick in the 2004 NFL draft by the Oakland Raiders.
Brandon Schreff
Brandon was a quarterback for his high school team as a sophomore at Denison, Iowa where he passed for 1,200 yards.
As a junior, Brandon had 200 receiving yards and scored five touchdowns.
Brandon played offensive and defensive line his junior and senior years and was all state as a senior.
Brandon started his last 26 games as a Hawkeye.
The 6-5, 320 pound tackle was unanimous All American as a senior, won the Outland Trophy Award and was named the top lineman in the Big Ten.
Brandon was picked No. 5 in the first round of the NFL draft by Washington in 2015 and has started 89 straight games. He is now playing for Seattle.
NEXT WEEK: I’ll look at No. 10 to No. 6 and also have a Solon Spartan as one of my top linemen.
