Gennings Dunker will return in 2025, Logan Jones is injured

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With each passing day, excitement grows over Iowa’s 2025 offensive line. Arguably the team’s two most dominant blockers, center Logan Jones and right tackle Gennings Dunker, have now officially announced their return to the Hawkeyes for another season.

However, the O-line’s immediate future became a little murkier when Jones suffered a horrific accident during a recent practice that left him with a broken bone in his right (breaking) hand.

Jones had a hard cast on his right hand during the open practice session at Ensworth High School on Thursday, opening the door for Tyler Elsbury (6-foot-1, 300 pounds) to start his final game as a fifth-year Hawkeye if Iowa takes on Missouri in the Music City Bowl on Monday (1:30 p.m., ESPN).

More:Leistikow’s Music City Bowl thoughts on the future of Iowa football at quarterback and linebacker

“The only good thing about it, in my opinion, is that Logan is coming back (next year) and Els can’t,” left tackle Mason Richman said Thursday after Iowa’s first on-site practice since arriving on Christmas. “The only thing that’s nice about it for me is that Els gets his chance.

“He was waiting for his moment. I think he’s ready for it. He died for it.”

Elsbury is a popular teammate who Richman compares to the kindness of captains Jay Higgins and Luke Lachey. Elsbury certainly could have transferred elsewhere for his senior year, but he always loved being a Hawkeye and came back knowing he would likely be a backup.

Elsbury started two games at left guard (Michigan State, Northwestern) when Beau Stephens was sidelined and is expected to make his sixth career start (and only second at center) on Monday. Anyway, Jones practiced snapping with his left hand on Thursday but wasn’t in the pads. Mike Myslinski was the second-team center.

“He’s probably one of the best backup centers in the country,” right tackle Gennings Dunker said of Elsbury. “It kind of sucks being stuck behind Logan.”

Dunker added: “(Jones’ injury) definitely sucks. But something like that happens. You can’t just get on the bus and drive away because LoJo is hurt.”

Dunker would know. He suffered a practice injury on the Tuesday before the Nov. 23 game at Maryland; He injured his knee trying to edge a block, he said.

“I wasn’t very athletic,” Dunker said, “and I just fell to my knees.”

He missed two games, and sixth-grader Nick DeJong reported to play, and he did so admirably.

Now Dunker is back. And that for more than one game.

He will be back in 2025. This was never in doubt for him personally, but for the outside world it seemed like news. According to Pro Football Focus, Dunker was Iowa’s highest-graded offensive player of the season with a rating of 90.0. Yes, even ahead of consensus All-American running back Kaleb Johnson (86.9). That’s how good Dunker was this season when he learned to be more “fluid,” as he put it, at right tackle.

Dunker said he never gave the NFL a second thought because he loved playing for offensive line coach George Barnett. He added that even if other programs had offered him more money to leave, he wouldn’t have done so because of Barnett – who will return next season as a fifth-year line coach for the Hawkeyes. Jones also credits Barnett for his decision to return for a sixth year.

“Just because of the man he is and how he teaches certain things,” Dunker said. “And it’s not even really football. It’s a bit about how you act and behave as a man. I think that’s more important to me than anything else.”

And suddenly Iowa’s 2025 line looks pretty darn strong.

If the Hawkeyes don’t get another option in the transfer portal, it’s likely Stephens at left guard, Jones at center (obviously a first-team All-Big Ten pick), Kade Pieper at right guard and Dunker at center right side remain right tackle.

So what happens at left tackle? The plan is to keep Dunker on the right side. And Iowa likes the track record of redshirt freshman Trevor Lauck, a natural tackle who was a highly touted recruit out of Indiana. Lauck (6-5, 302) is currently Plan A at left tackle.

“He really got a lot more reps this year,” Richman said of Lauck. “And he’s starting to get in shape a little bit more. I think he’s a really good offseason strength and conditioning player, other than going out there and dominating guys.”

As for Pieper, Dunker has been predicting his rise for more than a year. Pieper played a season-high 41 snaps against Northwestern, rotating with Elsbury at left guard. According to PFF, Pieper (6-3, 275) actually had a season grade of 93.7 in his 107 snaps. This past summer, he also captured Dunker’s title as Solon Beef Days hay bale throwing champion.

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