Kade Pieper
Kade Pieper started every game and made All-American -- as a redshirt freshman. Now Iowa is moving its best lineman to center, the position that runs the whole line. He's already climbing 2027 draft boards.
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.
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.
Career Arc
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AMERICA
Named All-American (2025)
1 selectors honored him
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2025)
All-Big Ten
Awards
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AMERICA
Named All-American (2025)
1 selectors honored him
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2025)
All-Big Ten
How he plays
2026 Outlook
Iowa
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Offensive line · Iowa
Returning around him
- 49% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
- 7 Iowa players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: +7 net (15 in / 8 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Iowa · Last season: 9-4 · Talent rank #42 · 2026 recruiting class #26
Perception vs tape
Kade Pieper started every game and made All-American — as a redshirt freshman. Now Iowa is moving its best lineman to center, the position that runs the whole line. He's already climbing 2027 draft boards.
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.
How he plays
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.
Heisman trajectory
Heisman Trajectory · 2025
Peak #5983
Peaked at #5983 this season.