Jones is in line to replace Beau Stephens at left guard 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 the countdown has primarily featured an article profiling a member of the 2026 Hawkeyes based on their jersey number. If a player wears No. 65 and we're 65 days from the season, that's the player we're going to be featuring.
Today marks 64 days until kickoff, so that means it's time to take a look at No. 64 - offensive lineman Leighton Jones.
Get to know him here:
Bio
Hometown: Brownsburg, Indiana
High School: Brownsburg High School
Year: Redshirt Junior
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 288 pounds
Other notable players to wear No. 64: Since there aren't a lot of Hawkeyes to wear No. 64 in recent years, we're going to use Scott Dochterman's 2020 list in The Athletic that ranked the best Iowa football players to wear each number. Dochterman used three players for No. 64, but we're going to choose nose guard Dave Haight. Here's a portion of what Dochterman wrote: "No defensive lineman has more tackles than his 346, and Haight was a three-time first-team All-Big Ten selection. Haight was an All-American by different outlets in 1987 and 1988."
Jones' career so far
Much like many offensive lineman in Iowa City, Jones has had to go the patient route and wait his turn to earn playing time. The former three-star prospect according to 247Sports took a redshirt year in 2023 before slowly increasing his playing time in 2024 and 2025, where he appeared in 11 games.
With Beau Stephens graduated and off to the NFL, the path for Jones to take over Stephens' spot at left guard is very possible this year. There's a lot of moving pieces on Iowa's offensive line this year, but offensive line coach George Barnett and Co. probably won't mind playing a man who knows the system.
Only time will tell to see what the Hawkeyes come out with on opening day, but it would be safe to assume Jones will be working hard in the trenches this season.
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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]
