Kade Pieper

#58 · OL · 4th-year · Iowa6′3″ · 298 lb · Norfolk, NE · Norfolk Catholic

Kade Pieper is a three-star recruit from Norfolk, NE, out of Norfolk Catholic (No. 1,814 in the 2023 class) who has not played in Iowa's 8 games this season.

Where Pieper comes from

  • Norfolk, NEHometown
  • Norfolk CatholicHigh school
  • About 300 miles from Kinnick StadiumDistance
  • Three-star, No. 1,814 in the 2023 class.Recruiting profile
  • On the Iowa roster since 2023Roster

Where Pieper fits

Iowa lists 19 offensive linemen this season.

The team’s line is 66th in the country in line yards this season (a team number).

Iowa is 6-2, No. 21 in the AP poll (week 10). Next: at Northwestern, Sat Nov 7.

Similar players

Same class and position

Also from Norfolk, NE

What’s being said

5 stories in the last 30 days, from 3 outlets.

Oct 6: 1Oct 14: 1Oct 15: 1Oct 18: 1Oct 22: 1W 41-24 at WashingtonWL 10-13 at MinnesotaLW 30-0 vs WisconsinWOct 6Nov 4Most in a day: 1
Oct 6: 1Oct 14: 1Oct 15: 1Oct 18: 1Oct 22: 1W 41-24 at WashingtonWL 10-13 at MinnesotaLW 30-0 vs WisconsinWOct 6Nov 4Most in a day: 1
Stories per day. W and L: the team’s results.

Iowa football OL Kade Pieper named Sporting News midseason All-American

Hawkeyes Wire Oct 22

All 18 stories this season

The story

As of

Pieper's 2025 was a rare freshman season up front: an All-American and third-team All-Big Ten nod while starting all 13 games at right guard, the kind of debut that usually takes veterans years to earn. The unusual part is his age — a redshirt freshman playing like a finished product. For 2026 Iowa is moving him to center, handing its best lineman the pivot that sets protections and runs the front. The forward stakes are a draft trajectory: he already tops some 2027 interior boards, and a clean year at center — the hardest interior job — would cement first-round status. He's the young anchor an offense gets to build around for years.

Read the rest of the story

Update (Oct. 28, 2026): Iowa lost 13-10 at Minnesota on Oct. 24 as a 7.5-point favorite and is 5-2. A Hawkeyes Wire headline from Oct. 22 says Sporting News named Pieper a midseason All-American.

Sources

Style of play

Style of play

Play style

Pieper is a technically advanced interior lineman whose game is well beyond his years — an All-America season at right guard as a redshirt freshman is the headline trait by itself. The move to center for 2026 is a vote of confidence in his football IQ: the position calls protections, makes the line's pre-snap reads, and snaps under pressure, and coaches don't hand it to a player they don't trust to run the front. He's a powerful, smart, low-mistake blocker with the kind of early production that 2027 draft boards are already noticing. The projection is steep and the floor is high.