Fight for Iowa - Hawkeye Football Defense

About this episode

The episode discusses the new era of the Hawkeye football team, focusing on the defensive rebuild and player integration ahead of the Big Ten season.

With a roster reshaped by NFL departures, graduation and the transfer portal, the 2026 Hawkeye football team enters a new era with plenty of opportunity across all three phases of the game. This week on Fight for Iowa, head coach Kirk Ferentz discusses the importance of integrating nearly 30 new players into the program as Iowa prepares for summer workouts and the start of another demanding Big Ten season. We take a closer look at the Hawkeyes’ defensive rebuild, where longtime defensive line coach Kelvin Bell is tasked with developing the next wave of talent up front following the departures of Aaron Graves, Max Llewellyn and Ethan Hurkett. Bell shares his thoughts on the progress made during spring practice and the mentality of Iowa’s young defensive front. Linebacker Jayden Montgomery reflects on stepping into a larger leadership role after learning from Hawkeye greats like Jay Higgins, while rising sophomore Cam Buffington talks about the growth of Iowa’s young linebacker group and the culture that continues to produce standout defenders. Plus, All-Big Ten defensive back Zach Lutmer discusses his breakout season, the possibility of handling kick return duties this fall, and…

People in this episode

Host: Kirk Ferentz

Guests: Jayden Montgomery, Cam Buffington, Zach Lutmer

Topics covered

• Hawkeye football
• defensive rebuild
• Big Ten season
• player integration
• leadership in sports

Keywords

• Hawkeye football
• defense
• Kirk Ferentz
• Big Ten
• Kelvin Bell
• leadership
• Jayden Montgomery
• Cam Buffington
• Zach Lutmer

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Hawkeye football, Big Ten, Iowa

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• Fight for Iowa - New Iowa MBB guard Ty'Reek Coleman · May 15, 2026 · 12 min
• Fight for Iowa - New MBB Center Andrew McKeever · May 8, 2026 · 11 min
• Fight for Iowa - Bennett Stirtz + Spring Football · May 1, 2026 · 13 min
• Fight for Iowa - Spring Football · April 24, 2026 · 11 min