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.
6′3″ · 298 lb · Norfolk, NE · Catholic
Recruiting
DL recruit
No. 1814 nationally · Signed with Iowa
No college snaps yet.
His full recruiting profileThe story
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.
Buzz vs Tape
The wider college football conversation reads him warmer than his own fans do — a gap of 28.5 points in belief.
Iowa Hawkeyes football surges with three standout athletes—Kade Pieper, Zach Lutmer, and Kahmari Brown—named to Bruce Feldman’s coveted Freaks List. Could this infusion of elite athleticism transform Iowa’s 2026 season and answer lingering…
Fan claims · every quote verified verbatim
Trevor Lauck and Kade Pieper on the offensive line- but that’s still a ton of turnover for a team that usually relies so heavily on experience
Based on 1 comment from 1 poster across 1 thread · Sep 1, 2026 · via hawkeyes
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.
His career
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.
Written by our staff.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AMERICA
Named All-American (2026)
1 selectors honored him
ALL-BIG TEN
All-Big Ten mention (2025)
Badges
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Kirk Ferentz
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
A three-star recruit at offensive line for Iowa -- now a genuine All-American.
Offensive line play doesn't show up in a box score. Here's what actually tells you whether he's good.
Iowa has produced 8 All-Conference offensive linemen and 3 All-Americans. 11 have gone on to the NFL Draft since 2015. Logan Jones was one of them, an All-American.
Selector Grid · 2026
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.
2026 Outlook
Iowa
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Offensive line · Iowa
Returning around him
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Iowa · Last season: 9-4 · Talent rank #44 · 2026 recruiting class #26