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 the countdown has primarily featured an article profiling one of the current members of the 2026 squad based on their jersey numbers. If someone wears No. 90 or No. 60 and the countdown falls on one of those days, that's the player we're going to take a look at (hopefully you've gotten the gist by now). 

READ MORE: 51 Days Until Iowa Football: Luke Gaffney 

Today marks 50 days until kickoff, so that means it's time to take a look at No. 50 - defensive lineman Will Lockhart. 

Get to know him here: 

Hometown: Denver, Iowa 

High School: Denver High School 

Year: Redshirt Freshman 

Height: 6-foot-4 

Weight: 233 pounds 

Other notable players to wear No. 50: One recognizable name to wear No. 50 for the Hawkeyes is former nose guard Hap Peterson. That sentence alone means we're going way back in time to find Peterson's playing career, which lasted from 1981-1985. Peterson earned first-team All-Big Ten honors during his senior campaign, leading Iowa to the outright Big Ten championship and a berth in the 1986 Rose Bowl. 

Lockhart had a solid prep career in the small town of Denver (near Waterloo), earning three letters as an offensive and defensive lineman and collecting 37 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks for the Cyclones. 

Not only was Lockhart a good football player, he also found success in rugby, earning all-state honors in 2023 and 2024. 

According to Hawkeye Report, Lockhart held scholarship offers from St. Thomas (Division I), Peru State (NAIA), Upper Iowa (Division II), and Grand View (NAIA), but once Iowa showed interest with a preferred walk-on offer, he jumped at the chance to stay home. 

“I am excited to represent the town of Denver and what Coach Barrett instilled in me as a football player and most of all as a student," Lockhart told Hawkeye Report after committing. 

It's not uncommon for walk-ons to earn playing time at Iowa, but as a redshirt freshman, Lockhart will likely have to continue proving himself in practice to earn a shot at playing time down the road. 

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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]