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Iowa O-Line named finalist for Joe Moore Award

On3 imageby: Tom Kakert6 hours agoHawkeyeReport

There is no post season college award that has a personal connect to Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz than the Joe Moore Award.

Moore coached Ferentz at the high school level in the Pittsburgh area and served as his mentor during his life. Moore was the coach that gave Ferentz his start in the coaching business at the University of Pittsburgh before Ferentz landed the job as Iowa’s offensive line coach.

The rest, as they say, is history. Moore went on to be recognized as one of the top offensive line coaches in college football and he has quite a tree of coaches that learned under his teaching skills. Over a decade ago, a group of Moore’s former players decided to put together the first team unit award in college football, naming it after him and it was awarded to the top offensive line in the country.

Back in 2016, the Iowa Hawkeyes won this award and it is displayed in the Iowa football complex. They were also semifinalist for the award in 2020 and 2024. On Tuesday it was announced that the 2025 version of the Hawkeyes was named a finalist for the Moore Award.

The award honors offensive line units that display a high level of toughness, effort, teamwork, consistency, technique and finishing. Iowa joins Oregon and Indiana as the three finalists.

“What stood out with these three groups is how connected they were — Indiana’s toughness, Iowa’s machine-like precision, and Oregon’s ability to flip the switch and impose their will. They all played with a shared strain and purpose that separated them from the rest of the country,” said Cole Cubelic, Joe Moore Award Voting Committee Chairman. “These units don’t just block plays; they define who their teams are. And no matter how much skill talent you have, the offense still runs through the identity forged in those OL rooms.”

Iowa’s offensive line is coached by George Barnett and includes center and Outland and Remington Trophy finalist Logan Jones, guards Beau Stephens and Kade Pieper and tackles Gennings Dunker and Trevor Lauck. Iowa  is one of nine teams nationally to have the same five players start every game this season, while Jones, Stephens and Dunker have combined for 120 career starts.

Lauck and Pieper are in their first seasons as starters on the offensive line.

The unit helped Iowa gain more than 200 yards in four games and the line surrendered just 16 sacks. The o-line did not have its first accepted holding penalty until Game 10 at USC (Nov. 15).

The Hawkeyes outrushed nine opponents in 2025, compiling 245 yards in the comeback victory over Penn State (Oct. 18) and rushing for 310 yards against UAlbany (Aug. 30).

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