Griffin Riddle received a medical redshirt and will no longer count toward Iowa State's official scholarship total.
Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz oversees a defensive drill during practice in Celebration, Fla., Dec. 28, 2023, in advance of the 2024 Citrus Bowl. (John Stepp/The Gazette)
IOWA CITY — Any talk about Iowa State football's depth chart, especially as of March, comes with a disclaimer. Take a word from Kirk Ferentz himself.
“It's March 26th, so it doesn't really mean much. I told the players that in the first meeting,” Ferentz said of the depth chart. “Nobody knows what's going to happen on September 1st. So for now, just worry about getting better and worry about your performance.”
With that said, here is a graph of Iowa State's spring depth and some notes from the roster.
- Iowa State offensive lineman Griffin Riddle is on a medical redshirt and has been removed from the Hawkeyes' roster, Iowa State Sports Information confirmed. Riddle, a former three-star recruit in the 2021 recruiting class, didn't see game action in his three years with the team. This move, and the expected departure of Kaydin Proctor, will reduce Iowa State's scholarship number to 90 (this number will need to drop to 85 by the start of the 2024 season).
- Five redshirt freshmen earned spots on the offensive line chart. Cade Pieper and Trevor Lauck are second-team guards, Jarriet Bouye is a second-team wide receiver, Marco Lynes is a third-team quarterback and Rusty VanWetzinga is a first-team fullback.
- Bo Stevens is currently listed as the starting left guard, but he's certainly not a lock to replace Rusty Fess. Ferentz mentioned Nick DeJong and Tyler Ellsbury as other options for the position. Ellsbury has been playing center in the spring while Logan Jones recovers from an injury that required surgery.
- Luke Gaffney is a sophomore walk-on and former Linn-Mar standout who is one of Iowa's second-team defensive tackles. Iowa lost a lot of depth at the position with the graduation of Logan Lee and Noah Shannon and the departure of Anterio Thompson via the transfer portal.
- Ferentz said Tuesday that Hayden Large is playing both fullback and tight end. The walk-on transferred to Iowa from NAIA-level Dordt College in 2023 and was Iowa's first-team fullback last year.
- The spring depth chart released Monday was another reminder of his extensive experience on the defensive side of the ball. Iowa State has eight starting seniors/grad students on the defensive end. That's nine if you count Sebastian Castro and Kyler Fisher as separate starters in the Leo/Cash spots.
- Tight end Gavin Hoffman, offensive lineman Josh Janowski and punter Rhys Dakin are on-scholarship early enrollees at the University of Iowa this year. Hoffman will wear No. 89, Yanofsky No. 63 and Dakin (like his predecessor) No. 9.
Iowa State's full depth chart is available here.
Comment: john.steppe@thegazette.com
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