Tim Lester may just be the Jon Taffer of offensive football. He knows how to clean up a mess, which was exactly the situation he walked into in 2024. In 2023, Iowa finished 2nd to last in FBS scoring offense, and vaulted all the way up to 72nd in Tim Lester’s first year at the helm.

Lester completely changed Iowa’s blocking scheme and engineered one of the best run games in the country. Running back Kaleb Johnson finished as a finalist for the Doak Walker award, and the Hawkeyes ended the season 24th in the nation in rushing.

The passing, on the other hand, was a different story. Between three different starting quarterbacks, an inexperienced receiving core, and the entire offense learning on the fly, Iowa did not do much damage through the air. The Hawkeyes averaged just 131 passing yards per game, 130th in the country.

With a completely revamped quarterback room and receivers who understand the system better, Tim Lester thinks the passing game could take a big step forward in 2025.

“There was a lot of thinking going on last year,” Lester said. “There’s not a lot of thinking going on. It’s just trying to press the issue, especially when you are trying to stretch the field vertically. The ability to run a route and not look back at five yards and don’t look back for 20. Seth has done a good job of that. Dayton is doing a good job of that. It’s been fun because we’re a faster team right now in the passing game because they’re running faster. “

“The plays haven’t changed. They just have run them enough times, finally. They’re starting to see things. I think they’re more comfortable with the system. I’m excited with where they’re at. We have a long way to go, but they are just more confident, and we’re able to make nuances, adjustments really quick.”