79 Days Until Hawkeye Football: Jack Plumb

In college sports, the best victories are often those which come at the expense of your favorite team’s biggest rivals. Our countdown to the kickoff of Iowa’s 2022 football season continues with a player who endeared himself to Hawkeye fans by spurning home state Wisconsin as a recruit and reaffirmed his value to the program by playing a key role on the Iowa offensive line last season.

Jack Plumb – RS Senior

Green Bay, WI (Bay Port)

6’7”, 296 lbs.

2022 Projection: Starting right tackle

Despite spending his Hawkeye career oscillating between right and left tackle, Jack Plumb spent most of his prep career playing tight end, the position at which he earned four high school letters and first-team all-conference and all-region honors as a senior in Wisconsin. However, with a 6’7” frame and the nimble footwork of a D1 basketball recruit (Plumb had offers to from UW-Milwaukee and UW-Green Bay, along with interest from several other D1 hoops programs), most schools projected him to eventually transition to the offensive line. While many recruiting experts expected Plumb to sign with the Badgers, Plumb ultimately committed to the Hawkeyes and is now the only remaining scholarship offensive lineman from the 2018 recruiting class which also featured Tyler Linderbaum (formerly a defensive tackle, now with the Baltimore Ravens), as well as Cody Ince and Jeff Jenkins (both retired).

Plumb saw the field sparingly during his 2018 redshirt season but managed to see action in 19 games between 2019-2020, including two starts at right tackle. However, Plumb’s most productive season came during his junior campaign in 2021, in which he started five games at right tackle and two at left tackle. Plumb established himself as an important piece of the Hawkeye offensive line, overcoming some early season struggles to become a more consistent player as the year progressed.

As Iowa looks to steady an offensive line that lost an all-time great to the professional ranks in Linderbaum, the Hawkeyes will rely on Plumb to provide veteran leadership next season and build on his growth from 2021. Plumb should have the first shot at solidifying the right tackle position, the spot at which he spent most of his time during spring practice. Still, Plumb will face real competition there this year; junior Nick DeJong returns after starting eight games at right tackle last season, redshirt freshman David Davidkov has the recruiting pedigree and physical tools to make a push in fall camp, and Connor Colby, one of only a handful of Hawkeyes to start on the offensive line as a freshman under Kirk Ferentz, could easily kick out to tackle if the team finds answers elsewhere at the guard position. Yet fans who doubt the veteran’s ability to hold the starting job would be wise to heed the words of offensive line coach George Barnett: “I wouldn’t doubt Jack Plumb.”