Special teams win games, especially for the Hawkeyes, but 2026 may need some added patience for this group.A Tigerhawk logo is pictured on the back of the north end zone scoreboard, Wednesday, July 24, 2019, at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa.
190724 Kinnick 002 Jpg | USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectIn this story:Arguably, no team in college football has won or stolen more games via outstanding special teams play than the Iowa Hawkeyes have over the last decade.It's a third of the game Iowa pours more time and resources into than most teams, and have seen the dividends pay off with game-changing plays flipping losses to wins.Entering 2026, Iowa has questions on this unit, which will need some patience paired with growth.Iowa's special teams unit will be brand newKF at the mic. 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/dXhG86rJys— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) July 28, 2026Calling Iowa's special teams unit brand new is not just due to the losses on the field, which we will get to and are abundant, but also due to the coaching staff changes.Iowa lost long-time special teams coordinator LeVar Woods to Michigan State this offseason, creating a big gap for this team. With him, Iowa lost some of its most key players on the field, who they will have to replace.Kirk Ferentz urges for patience on special teams"Probably the most significant portion of our football team that is going to bear watch, our special teams phase, point being there that we lost every specialist that we had. We lost our placekicker. Certainly had a great career, Drew Stevens, did an unbelievable job. We lost our deep snapper, is gone. Have a new punter. Contention there, a battle going for that position. Then Kaden Wetjen is thebest return guy I've ever been around in my career. He graduated, too," Ferentz said about what Iowa has to replace.How important are Iowa's special teams?With the way Iowa wants to play low-scoring games, things naturally end up tight down the stretch, with field position becoming a huge factor. To put it bluntly, special teams are maybe more important to Iowa than any team in America, something Kirk Ferentz knows."Some of the advantages we gained through special teams over the last couple of years, we're going to have to ride the train a little bit this year and exhibit some patience. The new specialists, there's always going to be a little bit of an up-and-down factor. At least that's been my experience.That's an area we're keeping our focus on as well," Ferentz said of the special teams' importance.Predicting Iowa's Special Teams StartersI dug into this unit over the summer and tried to get a feel for what this unit looks like. Entering 2026, there are favorites in certain spots, but a misstep in fall camp is liable to shake things up.Kicker: Eli OzickPunter: Boston EverittLong Snapper: Ike SpeltzKick Returner: Nathan McNeilPunter Returner: Zach LutmerAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollowPublished 37 minutes agoRILEY DONALDRiley Donald, a former NCAA student-athlete, played four years of college football and was a team captain at Augustana College. He has spent nearly five years at USA TODAY Sports covering Iowa football, Iowa men’s basketball, and Iowa women’s basketball, along with a broader coverage focusing primarily on Big Ten football and basketball. Began covering the Dallas Cowboys. Radio guest on several ESPN stations discussing Iowa football, the NFL draft, and more.Share on XFollow rileydonald7
