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67 Days Until Iowa Football: Gennings Dunker
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- 67 Days Until Iowa Football: Gennings Dunker
(USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
Trevor Lauck speaks to the media on June 17.
Welcome back to our countdown to the 2026 Iowa football season!
Since May 28, we've been counting down the final 100 days until the Hawkeyes swarm out of the Kinnick Stadium tunnel for their season opener against Northern Illinois on Sept. 5.
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Each day has primarily featured an article profiling one of the current members of the 2026 Hawkeyes based on their jersey number that falls on the respective day of the countdown, but we've been known to mix it up on occasions when Iowa doesn't issue a jersey number that fits the countdown.
READ MORE: 68 Days Until Iowa Football: Will Nolan
Today marks 67 days until kickoff, but we've encountered the aforementioned problem. No current Hawkeye wears No. 67, so that means it's time to take a look at a notable former player that did wear No. 67.
One could call us out for taking the easy route here, but the player featured in this piece just ended his Iowa playing career last season - offensive lineman Gennings Dunker.
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Most of you have probably heard of Dunker, but his career was too memorable not to look back at.
The Rundown
Though Dunker's career ended up as a massive success, it didn't start very well. Though he earned his first career start in Iowa's 21-0 2022 Music City Bowl victory at the end of his redshirt freshman season, the Hawkeyes were uncharacteristically struggling mightily in the trenches.
George Barnett took over as offensive line coach in 2021, but the unit was a mess in 2022 and 2023. Iowa's offense went from bad to really bad in 2023, leading to offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz's firing.
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Barnett's job status was also questioned by disgruntled Hawkeye fans, but Dunker and Co. redeemed themselves in 2024. Kaleb Johnson 's ridiculous season at running back helped, but the offensive line was finally meshing together. Iowa rushed for 200+ yards seven times that year, and the offensive line was named a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award as a result.
Dunker could've opted to enter the NFL Draft after the season, but he decided to come back to the Hawkeyes for a fifth year. The result was another impressive campaign at right tackle. Iowa's offensive line remained stout, which helped the passing game take a huge leap under quarterback Mark Gronowski .
Dunker was awarded first-team All-Big Ten honors by the league media for his performance, and the entire offensive line was awarded the coveted Joe Moore Award as the nation's best offensive line - a remarkable achievement to cap the rebuild in the trenches.
Dunker's strong play made him a trendy NFL draft selection, and the Pittsburgh Steelers selected him with the 96th overall pick in the third round. He'll likely compete for a starting spot on the new-look Steelers in 2026.
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HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at bradschultz@roundtable.io
