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 storm out of the Kinnick Stadium tunnel to "Back in Black" for their season opener against Northern Illinois on Sept. 5. 

Each day has primarily featured an article profiling a current player based on their jersey number that falls on the respective day of the countdown. We had to switch things up on Wednesday because no player currently wears No. 73, but things are back to normal for Day 72. 

READ MORE: Does Playing Iowa State Annually Still Benefit Iowa Football? 

In honor of today marking 72 days until the season opener, we're going to take a look at the man who wears No. 72 - offensive lineman Owen Linder. 

Get to know him here: 

Hometown: Chanhassen, Minnesota 

High School: Chanhassen High School 

Year: Freshman 

Height: 6-foot-6

Weight: 295 pounds 

Other notable players to wear No. 72: This section usually attempts to feature a recent, well-known player, but it was difficult to find for this one. Instead, we're going to use a player from the great Scott Dochterman's 2020 article in The Athletic that discussed the best Iowa football player to wear each number. Dochterman selected former center Bruce Nelson (1999-2002) for his exercise, writing that "Nelson moved to center and anchored one of the best lines in Iowa history." 

Linder is entering his true freshman season this year and one of five offensive lineman in Iowa's 2026 recruiting class. The Minnesota native put together an impressive prep career for Chanhassen High School (a Twin Cities suburb), finishing as a finalist for Minnesota Mr. Football during his senior season, an award that was won by Minnesota commit Roman Voss. 

Though Linder fell just short of receiving the prestigious award, he did earn the Lake Conference Lineman of the Year honor during that same 2025 campaign. 

Linder, a three-star recruit according to 247Sports, received a plethora of Power Four offers from Iowa State, Kansas State, Purdue, Arkansas, and others, but Linder decided to make the trek south and play for the Hawkeyes. Linder did take an unofficial visit to his hometown Minnesota Golden Gophers, but they never gave him an offer. 

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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]