The Daily Iowan
PREGAME
Born to be a lineman, destined to be a Hawkeye Although raised an Indiana fan, Lauck has been ready to play at Iowa for years.
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It only took running back Kamari Moulton 11 minutes to set a career-high in rushing yards on Sept. 5. The fourth-year back rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns in the first three Iowa drives against Northern Illinois. Moulton only took 11 carries and finished with 1 yards, so he’ll be fresh for the rivalry matchup with Iowa State. Moulton will also be the bell cow running back for the awkeyes, as hillips went down with a high ankle sprain in Week 1 and will not return for the Hawkeyes against the Cyclones.
The most hyped transfer for Iowa this season lived up to it in Week 1, catching seven passes for yards and a touchdown. ony Diaz’s score was the first of the season for the awkeyes, causing a raucous reactio from the crowd. Diaz got 13 targets against orthern Illinois, and will likely be looked at many times during the contest against Iowa State. Quarterback Hank Brown had good chemistry with Diaz, and will likely be the starter against the Cyclones, so look for more targets for The Boogeyman.
One of the biggest questions coming into the year was the lack of experience on the defensive line, especially the lack of returning pass rush. Kenny Merrieweather and Iose Epenesa started at the defensive end positions for the Hawkeyes in Week 1. Both saw the field in a limited capacity in 202 , and while they didn’t make much of an impact against orthern Illinois, it was the backup defensive line that stepped up when
rushing the passer. hird-year oseph nderson led the team with 1. sacks against the uskies, and Kahmari Brown and Drew Campbell each registered a 0.5 sack in the opener. Iowa totaled six sacks and seven tackles for loss against Northern Illinois in Week 1.
If there’s been one weakness of Iowa’s defense in recent years, it’s mobile quarterbacks. Iowa State has just that in rkansas State transfer aylen aynor. aynor’s passing performance in the Cyclones’ win over Southeast Missouri State in Week 1, going ust -for-1 for 1 yards and a touchdown, but he made up for it with his legs. aynor ran for 2 yards and two scores. In aynor’s first three seasons with the ed Wolves, he rushed for over 0 yards and three or more touchdowns in each year, including a career-high seven in 2025. Iowa will need to watch out for aynor’s legs, as that could be what Iowa State will lean on offensively.
Iowa quarterback Hank Brown got the starting reps in Week 1, and performed well in his first three drives. Brown led the Hawkeyes to three straight touchdowns, including a throw to Diaz on the first series. Brown finished the day 12-of-20 for 129 yards and a touchdown, and didn’t play the entire second half, which could be a sign that Iowa had seen what it needed to see. eremy ecklinski also got a similar workload, finishing -for-1 with yards, one touchdown, and an interception. Brown’s first three drives each ended in touchdowns, while ecklinski scored on one of his first three. here still isn’t a clear starter, as Brown and eremy ecklinski were again both listed as the starting quarterback on the depth chart and have been splitting reps in practice this week, both will likely see the field against the Cyclones in a similar capacity to last week.
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Born to be a lineman, destined to be a Hawkeye Trevor Lauck’s mom raised him an Indiana fan, but the fourth-year tackle has been ready to play at Iowa for years.
Members of the media gathered in the Hansen Football Performance Center ust days before Iowa football kicked off its 202 season. s revor auck walked in, several reporters ocked toward him, holding bulky cameras on their shoulders while hovering microphones inches away from his sweat-soaked face. Lauck began answering their questions with a smile that e udes confidence. e’s been there before. e knows the drill. Then, he suddenly realized something was wrong.
“Hey, can we pause this for a sec?” Lauck asked, although while said politely, it seemed more like a command. He stood about 15 yards from the posse of media members who watched in amusement. hey laughed as he pulled off his cream-white Indiana acers -shirt, ipping it inside-out before slipping it on backwards. He returned to the cameras and microphones with the Pacers team store tag facing outward on his shirt just below his neck. The Indianapolis native has been an Indiana sports fan his entire life. Eleven years earlier, he had no shame telling his Hoosier-fan dad, David, that he wanted to play for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Lauck, then 11 years old, stood bundled in his black and red
Hoosiers hoodie near the top of Memorial Stadium beside his mom, Kara, and brother, Eli, and it was the away team in black and gold that caught his eye. Lauck looked on, in awe of the size of the towering beasts with Tigerhawks on their helmets. Bigger than most other kids at his age, the Hawkeyes reminded him of himself. “I went home and told my dad, ‘I think I might want to play at Iowa,’ auck said. he awkeyes won, -2 , their ninth win as a part of their 12-0 201 regular season. owever, his love for football didn’t start then. e was born into it.
game that shaped him into the player he is today. “I’ve always been the bigger guy, so it’s been instilled in me since I was young to play for others,” Lauck said. “I’m not always going to be in the spotlight, but that’s alright.” Clashing with defensive linemen in the trenches while blocking for his quarterback and running back became a joy for Lauck. However, sometimes he would want to get in on the fun. His mom recalled an occasion in which Lauck decided to get creative and take matters into his own hands by grabbing and pulling his teammate into the end zone for a touchdown. He even kicked and scored an extra point once. Lauck also had an immense knowledge of the game. Kara recalled instances during high school games in which Lauck’s assistant coach, who also happened to be his uncle, would have to pull him aside and tell him not to correct the referees on certain rules they may have gotten incorrect. Another factor that helped Lauck’s passion for playing football to continue was his grandfather, Charles. Lauck grew up with a close relationship with Charles, who had played football for Notre Dame in the 1960s, winning a national championship in 1966.
of the other schools were more ashy, but Iowa wasn’t, and neither is revor, so it was a good fit. It was made clear to the Lauck family that Iowa football emphasized hard work, player development, and character development. Additionally, the security of head coach Kirk erentz’s ob helped auck feel confident that he’d be playing for the same coach throughout his time as a Hawkeye. Despite only seeing the field in three games throughout his first two years at Iowa, auck stuck around. e was fine with waiting his turn, and saw it as a positive factor for his development. “I took advantage of watching the older guys while I was waiting,” Lauck said. “Now being the older guy, I still try to mock what they were doing and be a leader for the younger guys.”
Kara recalled the mild Sunday afternoon in 2004. Lauck family members came to visit the Wishart Memorial Hospital in downtown Indianapolis. While the Colts duked it out in a high-scoring affair with the Green Bay Packers only two miles away at Lucas Oil Stadium, these Colts fans had only one thing on their minds, and it wasn’t football. They filled the delivery room, surrounding Kara as they fixated their attention on the small TV mounted on the wall in the corner of the room, showing the game on FOX. However, the game had transformed from the Lauck family’s weekly spectacle to a way to pass the time. That night at 12:36 a.m., Trevor Lauck was born. “What’s wrong with his feet?” a family member asked Kara, noticing that the newborn-sized Colts onesie was too small for Lauck, who lay in the hospital bed with his mom. The tightly-fitted onesie was a sign of things to come for him.
While Lauck’s size has helped him excel at the high school and collegiate level, it hasn’t always been an asset for him. Trotting out onto the field with the rest of his Catholic Youth Organization team, a 9-year-old Lauck stuck out. It wasn’t just because of his size, towering over the rest of the players on the field, wearing the same number on his jersey that he does today, 59. It was because of the white stripe stuck onto his helmet. The stripe acted as a label, and even a blockade, for Lauck, who, because of the stripe, was not allowed to touch the ball. Most 9-to-11-year-olds who play football want nothing more than to have the ball in their hands. Without that ability, Lauck was forced to learn valuable lessons of the
“He’s been someone I’ve looked up to my whole life,” Lauck said. “Making him proud is what I’ve wanted to do.” Charles’ college football career has been a lifelong driving factor for Lauck’s pursuit of a football career. However, unlike Charles, Lauck had his eyes set on out-of-state when it came time to decide where he would play in college. The game Lauck attended when he was 11 introduced him to Iowa football, but his official visit alongside his family in June, 2022 cemented his desire to be a Hawkeye.
Lauck had already been on an official visit to Michigan State, while also receiving offers from other Big Ten schools such as Indiana, Purdue, and Michigan. Still, his choice remained clear. “He knew the culture of Iowa fit him,” Kara said. “Some
After winning the position battle for left tackle entering the 202 season, he started all 1 games as a part of an offensive line that won the Joe Moore Award — given to the nation’s best offensive line. The veteran has received plenty of attention from the national media entering his fourth year as a Hawkeye, listed to thlon’s preseason second-team ll- merica and first-team All-Big Ten. Additionally, Lauck was listed on the Outland Trophy watchlist, awarded to the best lineman or interior defensive lineman in the country, and the Lombardi Award watchlist — given to the best lineman or linebacker in the country. When asked if he and fellow offensive lineman Kade ieper ever compare preseason honors, auck laughed it off. Definitely not,’ auck said. It’s not really important. Lauck doesn’t let the attention get to his head. He chooses to block it out and instead focus on his own and his team’s growth. “I’m trying to stay away from the honors and social media, auck added. he bad stuff can really mess with you mentally, but so can the good stuff. He believes that once you think you’ve ‘made it’ as a player, everything will start to go downhill.
Entering the season with a season of starts to his name, he’s approaching the upcoming season differently, which has caught Ferentz’s attention. “He’s the same guy, except now he’s more confident because he’s played,” Ferentz said. “He also understands that when you sit in the front of the room, you have to be one of the guys showing other guys how to do things.” Along with the leadership that Lauck brings comes friendship and camaraderie. This year he’s living with fellow offensive linemen Cannon Leonard, Leighton Jones, and Jack Dotzler. Throughout his time at Iowa, Lauck has lived with every member of this year’s offensive line starters at some point, having lived with Cael Winter and Pieper his sophomore year as well. He attributes last season’s success to the bond that they’ve built over the years. “We hung out so much outside the field that when we were in those tight and crucial moments our connection and brotherhood really got us through the line.”
When asked if they ever get sick of living with each other, Lauck joked: “Yeah, probably a little bit,” which he quickly followed up with, “It’s always fun going back and forth with them. We don’t really get tired of each other.” In addition to his connection with the offensive line, Lauck and tight end DJ Vonnahme have built a rivalry in poker. After Lauck said he enjoys taking Vonnahme’s money, the tight end fired back. “A blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while,” Vonnhame said. “I’m sure he’s taken it once or twice, if that, but I feel like over the long run I get the best of that.” Despite their bitter poker rivalry, Vonnahme praised Lauck’s positive impact as a teammate. “He’s really locked in,” Vonnahme said. “He’s making sure everyone’s staying on track to get to where we want to be.” That attitude ties back to the whole reason Lauck picked Iowa in the first place. For him, the sport has never just been about himself, but about the team and winning.
Lauck doesn’t let football rule his life, however. As Kara describes it, he has a “soft side” when he’s not on the field. She considered him to be an “old soul,” explaining that he
would always enjoy visiting with his teammates’ parents and even referees. “Once he starts getting in football mode, he’s ready to fight and win and push,” Kara said. “Off the field, he’s just this gentle giant where people are amazed at how nice, kind, and humble he is.” Outside of football, Lauck has prioritized staying connected with the people who matter most to him, his family and friends, whether that be making weekly calls to his grandparents or even just checking in with people to see how they’re doing. For Lauck, it meant the world to be able to see his family in the stands wearing black and gold at Iowa’s home game against Indiana in 2025. “I was just super lucky to have them all there,” Lauck said. “My mom has loved [Indiana] her whole life, but I knew there was no chance she was going to be wearing red.” The Lauck family has always bled all things Indiana sports — his brother, Eli, would end up all over Indiana’s social media last January, having sat in the front row of the school’s watch party for the College Football Playoff national championship game. For Trevor, they’ve made an exception.
Hawkeye defensive line playing with something to prove The Hawkeyes lost 77 starts on the defensive front in 2025.
The Iowa Hawkeye defense always starts up front. The four big men with their hands in the dirt set the tone for each game, stuffing the run and getting as solid pass rush and putting hits on the quarterback. Phil Parker’s philosophy for the defensive front is a two-gap scheme, where the defensive linemen engage the blocker and play the two gaps to either side of them, reading the running back’s path. This scheme typically leads to weakened pass-rush success due to the front four defenders playing the run first, but Saturday’s season opener against Northern Illinois told a different story about the new-look 202 group. The Hawkeyes allowed just seven rushing yards against the uskies, the fewest since 201 when Iowa allowed just six yards on the ground to Northern Iowa. Iowa’s defensive line not only dominated the run game but also got after the Northern Illinois quarterbacks, recording si sacks. Seven different awkeyes recorded at least ½ sack on Saturday, with third-year defensive end oseph nderson leading the way with 1 . The Hawkeyes also added seven tackles for loss, with four different players recording at least one. While Iowa’s defensive line stepped onto the field with very little returning production, the domination shown in Week 1 gives them more confidence in their abilities going forward, and it all starts with the basics. “It’s just coaching fundamentals, all the things that are the basics. Things that we’ve worked on since January,” defensive lineman Devan Kennedy said. “Just continuing to be sound on those things, continue to contain the quarterback, and be in the right spot at the right time and show up.” While facing Northern Illinois isn’t nearly the same as battling with top-tier offensive lines like hio State and Michigan, the Hawkeyes showed they have enough pieces on the defensive front to compete. he outside noise has been loud all offseason about the inexperienced defensive line group, as they lost 77 total starts from 202 . The response, however, has been even louder. “I think we responded really well,” defensive lineman
Bryce Hawthorne said after Saturday’s game. “The highlight of my day was seeing those young guys get in there and make plays. How could that not put a smile on your face?” ne of those younger, ine perienced players was the aforementioned Anderson, who totaled two tackles with 1 sacks.
Hawthorne, with a smile on his face, expressed his excitement to see that performance from Anderson and was glad he got to show the world what he can do. “He just has that extra tick that you don’t see from a lot of people,” Hawthorne said. “I’m glad he did what he did today because he was showing everybody what he can do. It’s great.” Iowa’s defensive line has another chance to prove itself on Saturday against a more formidable opponent: instate rival Iowa State. The Hawkeyes will be tasked with slowing down Cyclone quarterback Jaylen Raynor, who rushed for two touchdowns in Iowa State's season opener against S M . Iowa has typically struggled against mobile quarterbacks. The Hawkeyes will face the Cyclones in the 73rd edition of the Cy- awk rivalry game at 0 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12, on BC.
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How Kid Captain Charlie Price Navigates a Rare Bone Marrow Disorder.
Charlie Price was a ball of energy, running laps around the house and throwing himself off of the nearest piece of furniture. When his parents noticed bruising on his arm at age four, they assumed it was from his rowdy playing style. However, when the bruising spread to paint a large portion of his back reddish-purple, his parents took him to the doctor “to be on the safe side.” “We went in just to check him out and all of a sudden we have a room waiting for us at the Children’s Hospital,” Charlie’s father, Michael, said. After doctors found consistent symptoms of leukemia, such as enlarged bruising and petechiae (red pin-pointsized dots on the body), Charlie underwent further testing. Relief washed over the Price family, as no signs of leukemia appeared during the bone marrow biopsy — but the alleviation only lasted for so long. “That was probably one of the biggest gut punches you can feel as a parent,” Michael explained, reliving the day in his mind. “I just felt like I’d gotten the worst news I could about my four-year-old son, and I didn’t even know what it really meant at the time.” Charlie was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia, a condition in which the immune system mistakenly attacks
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healthy blood-forming stem cells; therefore, the bone marrow cannot produce enough red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelets. Although significantly rare, affecting only one in 1,000 people in the U.S., the disorder commonly affects those of old age. In Charlie’s case, however, the rarity struck further. “The doctors told us, like, three kids in Iowa get this a year,” Charlie’s mother, Tanya, said. “There’s only a couple of options you can do. Get a bone marrow donor, or there was medication in trials when Charlie was sick, but because his case was so far progressed, it wasn’t going to work.” To battle the disorder, Charlie needed frequent platelets — cell fragments in the blood that form clots to stop bleeding — and blood transfusions, as well as a bone marrow transplant. As the Price family navigated the diagnosis, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, causing the number of donors to become scarce. When Charlie’s first donor backed out due to the pandemic, it was a living nightmare for the Price family. “I went to the bathroom because Charlie was taking a nap,” Tanya said. “I didn’t want him to hear me. I literally collapsed on the ground and just started sobbing.” However, in May of 2020, in the midst of his 12.4-mile run around Lake McBride, Michael received what he described as the best phone call of his life. “Tanya, her voice cracked a little bit,” he said. “I immediately was like, ‘Oh no, something terrible was happening.’ I could tell she either had been crying or was on the verge of tears, and she said, ‘Charlie has a match.’” Delivered all the way from Germany, Charlie received his transplant as soon as possible. Six years later, the 11-yearold remains his energetic self, thriving in the fifth grade and looking forward to standing on the field this Saturday as the annual Cy-Hawk game Kid Captain. After receiving the news he was going to be a Kid Captain, Charlie immediately brought his Kid Captain cards to school to distribute. “It was sick,” he said. Charlie continues to return to the UIHC Stead Family Hospital for regular check-ups throughout the year, and he now helps raise awareness for others with his diagnosis.
New-look Hawkeyes set for 73rd edition of the Cy-Hawk rivalry Each team has plenty of new faces, with the Hawkeyes still figuring out their quarterback situation.
The buzz can be felt throughout all of Iowa City as large signs of vulgar statements about the Iowa State football team hang from the front of houses on campus. It’s Cy-Hawk week, or more commonly known by students as “Hate Week.” The annual in-state rivalry meeting is considered one of the best in all of college football, and the games over the previous years have lived up to that title. While the Hawkeyes lead the all-time series, 47-25, three of the last four games have gone the Cyclones’ way, including the last two matchups. Iowa State has come away victorious in three of those four games, but the total scoring is dead even over those matchups at 59-59. Kirk Ferentz recognizes how contentious the rivalry has been. “Really, for 20-plus years it’s been a really competitive, tight series,” Ferentz said.
Both squads come into this matchup with lots of new faces on the rosters, especially the Cyclones, who return zero offensive or defensive starters. While the rivalry always brings some extra juice, the Hawkeyes are treating it just like another game, but respecting their opponent while doing so. “We try to treat them all the same,” linebacker Jayden Montgomery said. “Regardless if it’s NIU last week or Iowa State this week,
we try to prepare the same way every week because every game is important.” “They’re a good team, they’ve got a good defense,” wide receiver Tony Diaz said. “They’ve got pretty much a new team, so we’re just going to stick to the game plan we got and keep watching film on them, and then come out and execute our game plan.” Preparing for a team with no returning starters can be difficult, and Iowa had to do so just last week with Northern Illinois returning no starters defensively. Ferentz understands that preparation for teams like that can be difficult, but it’s expected in this age of college football. “It’s early-season, modern-day football,” Ferentz said. “Two things: We have game film to look at, which is really nice. Didn’t have that last week, so that’s at least better. Once we get to October, that won’t be an issue anymore.” With defensive-minded head coach Jimmy Rogers at the helm for Iowa State, the Iowa offense will be tested for the first time this season, and both Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski are expected to play again this week.
Brown started the game against the Huskies in Week 1 and finished 12-of-20 for 129 yards and a touchdown. Hecklinski went 7-for-16 with 76 yards, one touchdown, and an interception. While Brown separated himself in the stat book, the competition is still close given the context of the situations each quarterback was in during the game.
Brown took the first drive, meaning he ran the scripted plays put together by offensive coordinator Tim Lester, while Hecklinski took over later in the first quarter when the game plan may have been changing. Hecklinski also played the majority of his snaps with most of the starting offensive line resting due to the heat, and didn’t have Kamari Moulton with him in the backfield to present the same running threat as when Brown was in the game. “I thought we saw a lot of good things from both guys. Encouraging things, a good start, a positive start,” Ferentz said. “Both of them had a couple of plays they’d like to have back,
like everybody on the team, but [I] thought it was a positive start for both guys.” Ferentz said both quarterbacks are splitting reps this week, just like they did last week, and that they haven’t decided on how they’re going to split the reps in the game. For Hecklinski, his goal is to prepare the same way regardless of whether he’s starting or not. “You prepare as if you’re the starter every day,” Hecklinski said. “Whatever happens on Saturday happens.” Iowa faces off with Iowa State on Saturday, Sept. 12 at Kinnick Stadium at 6:30 p.m. CT on NBC.