The fourth-year linebacker could see action in a wide-open room this year.
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.
Each day of this countdown has primarily featured an article profiling one of the current members of the 2026 Hawkeyes based on their jersey number. If someone wears No. 33 and there's 33 days until the start of the season, that's the player we're going to be taking a look at.
We've had a problem of no current players being featured over a stretch of numbers, but that's not going to be an issue today. In fact, today marks exactly one month until the season opener, which means it's time to take a look at the man who wears No. 31 - linebacker Nolan DeLong.
Get to know him here.
Bio
Hometown: Durant, Iowa
High School: Durant High School
Year: Fourth-Year
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 231 pounds
Other notable players to wear No. 31: A notable name to wear No. 31 in recent years for the Hawkeyes is former linebacker Anthony Hitchens. Hitchens played for Iowa from 2010-13 and became one of the Big Ten's best linebackers, leading the league with 11.2 tackles per game during the 2012 campaign.
DeLong's career so far
DeLong has yet to make headlines during his college career, but he certainly made them during his prolific high school career with the Durant Wildcats. He was a four-sport athlete in high school (football, basketball, baseball, track and field) but football soon emerged as the No. 1 sport.
Durant wasn't very competitive during DeLong's tenure, but he did help the Wildcats earn a 5-4 mark during his senior season of 2023, where he collected 2,111 yards and 21 touchdowns at running back and 66 tackles at linebacker.
Though he earned a list of distinctions from local newspapers - Muscatine Journal Co-Player of the Year and Quad City Times Player of the Year and All-Eastern Iowa Team - but major programs weren't interested.
DeLong received scholarship offers from Northern Iowa, St. Thomas, and Sioux Falls, but decided to walk on at Iowa instead. He played sparingly through his first two seasons, but earned playing time in all 13 games of the Hawkeyes' 9-4 2025 campaign - earning his first career tackle against Wisconsin on Oct. 11.
Iowa's linebacker room is wide-open this year, so it wouldn't be surprising to see DeLong earn more snaps in 2026 as linebackers coach Seth Wallace evaluates his options.
You Can Win FREE Tickets To Iowa's Season Opener!
HawkeyeRoundtable is giving away TWO tickets to Iowa's season opener against Northern Illinois on Sept. 5!
This is easily the biggest giveaway we've ever done on this site, and it's a great opportunity for two lucky fans to experience the joy of attending a Hawkeye football game at Kinnick Stadium.
Click here to automatically become a member to enter the contest! Additional contest details can be found in our community section, too!
HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at [email protected]
