The Iowa Hawkeyes have been an offensive lineman factory over the years and especially in the Kirk Ferentz era.
Ferentz has sent a ton of great offensive linemen into the league, and the latest is Gennings Dunker, who was selected No. 96 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Dunker is a Pittsburgh draft pick through and through. He’s big at 6-foot-5, 315 pounds, and he can best be described as a “mauler.” He also became well-known throughout the draft process for his red hair styled like a mullet and iconic mustache.
Dunker could very well go on to have a stellar NFL career, and the odds are in his favor thanks to what he learned under Ferentz at Iowa.
That doesn’t mean he’s going to forget the Hawkeyes, though. In fact, he’s going to have his attention glued on Iowa City whenever he’s not getting work done for the Steelers.
He believes in Iowa in 2026.
“I’m fired up,” he told On3 when discussing the Hawkeyes’ upcoming season.
It’s no surprise that a famous alumnus of a school is excited about the upcoming football season, so that’s not the story here. What is the story is the insight Dunker gave into the inner workings of Iowa’s football program.
Iowa Hawkeyes stay tight on the offensive line
The Hawkeyes always seemingly have one of the best offensive lines in college football, and that’s because they work on their cohesiveness on the field and off the field.
“I would say how tight-knit we are,” Dunker said, discussing the secret to Iowa’s offensive line success. “So every week we’d have O-line and supper together, so that’d be Thursday night. We’d all have supper together, spend every single holiday together. We’d get gifts for each other on Christmas. We’d do a gift exchange kind of thing, and it was actually real gifts. We weren’t allowed gag gifts.”
Throw in a yearly summer trip to the Ozarks as an offensive line unit, and it’s no surprise that these Hawkeye linemen fight for each other.
“A lot of guys will live together, too,” Dunker said. “So I would just say how close everyone … And it’s not forced, it’s all natural.”
Dunker is the latest in a long line of offensive linemen who have gone from Iowa City to the NFL. Just in 2026, he was drafted alongside center Logan Jones (Chicago Bears, second round) and Beau Stephens (Seattle Seahawks, fifth round).
The legacy runs deep, though. Recently, we’re talking about Tristan Wirfs, Brandon Scherff and Tyler Linderbaum. Let’s not forget about guys like Bryan Bulaga and Robert Gallery, though.
It’s just what the Hawkeyes do.
