Welcome back to our countdown to the 2026 Iowa football season! 

Since May 28 - the 100-day mark until kickoff - we've been releasing a daily article primarily featuring a current member of the Hawkeye football team. Players are featured based on their jersey number, so whenever their jersey number falls on a day in the countdown, they will be posted on HawkeyeRoundtable.com at 6 a.m. CT on their respective day. 

READ MORE: 87 Days Until Iowa Football: Addison Ostrenga 

Football teams issue their bigger numbers to the men in the trenches - lineman and tight ends - and that recurring pattern is continuing in today's piece. Today marks 86 days until Iowa storms out of the tunnel to take on Northern Illinois, so it's time to take a look at No. 86 - tight end Eli Johnson. 

Get to know him here: 

Hometown: River Falls, Wisconsin 

High School: River Falls High School 

Year: Redshirt freshman 

Height: 6-foot-5 

Weight: 245 pounds 

Other notable players to wear No. 86: If the past is any good indication of the present, Johnson is in great shape. The most notable Hawkeye to don No. 86 in recent years is tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz. Fiedorowicz's best seasons came in a down era of Iowa football era, but the 6-foot-7 behemoth was always a steady presence in the offense, especially in red zone situations. Fiedorowicz led the Hawkeyes with six touchdown receptions in 2013 and finished his Iowa career with 899 receiving yards before embarking on a four-year NFL playing career with the Houston Texans. 

Though Johnson hasn't taken a snap for the Hawkeyes yet, he does have a productive high school career under his belt. He was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball, and track and field during his tenure at River Falls High School in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro. Football was obviously his top sport, and he helped guide the Wildcats to a pair of state playoff appearances while earning first-team all-state honors as a senior. 

Iowa's tight end room is absolutely loaded in 2026, so it's unlikely Johnson will see playing time ahead of DJ Vonnahme, Addison Ostrenga, and Zach Ortwerth. Learning from them this year won't be a bad thing for Johnson's development, though. 

Looking for some cool Hawkeye swag to wear during the summer months? Look no further! HawkeyeRoundtable.com will be giving away prizes to lucky members throughout the summer and all you have to enter is follow these very easy and quick (under a minute) instructions to join. 

Click here to join the contest! 

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]