For a group of football players who normally don’t ask for the spotlight, the Iowa offensive line comes into the 2009 season providing plenty of intrigue for fans.

While most of the questions revolving around this year’s unit won’t really be answered until the Hawkeyes take the field on Sept. 5 against Northern Iowa, there are a few that can immediately be resolved.

The question with the most obvious answer is about leadership. Junior left tackle Bryan Bulaga is at the helm of the pack. With more than a week until the beginning of the season, the Crystal Lake, Ill., native is being touted as the best offensive lineman in the Big Ten, if not all of college football.

At the team’s media day on Aug. 7, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz compared Bulaga with former Hawkeye left tackle Robert Gallery, who ended up being the second overall pick in the 2004 NFL draft.

“Bryan is an unusual guy. There aren’t many guys that have come on this campus and played well as a true freshman in the offensive line,” Ferentz said.

Someone as highly regarded as Bulaga may not need to make too many adjustments, but one area of his game he said he has focused on is footwork.

“That can help you in both the running game and in the passing game,” he said. “I think that’s one thing all offensive linemen need, good footwork. If you have that, you can be successful at everything.”

From there, though, things get interesting. Senior right tackle Kyle Calloway has been a sure bet to start, and for most of this season, that won’t change provided he remains healthy. However, an OWI in June resulted in a suspension for Iowa’s opener next week against Northern Iowa.

Then, there’s the battle at center. It appears senior Rafael Eubanks will be the most likely candidate to anchor the line, a duty he fulfilled during the entire 2007 campaign. But right behind him on the depth chart are a pair of City High products in junior Josh Koeppel and redshirt freshman James Ferentz.

Eubanks believes he has become a more knowledgeable offensive lineman since former Hawkeye Rob Bruggeman replaced him as the starting center last season.

“I think last year was a good year to kind of see things from a different angle that you wouldn’t necessarily see if you’re on the field playing,” Eubanks said. “You can kind of see different things you can add to your game.”

Also presenting some intrigue to this year’s unit up front is an injury situation. Julian Vandervelde was in position to start once again at guard, but surgery to repair a pectoral tendon in June could result in the Iowa junior missing some game action. A timetable for his return hasn’t been set.

Senior offensive lineman Dace Richardson has been practicing with the first team during the off-season after spending most of his Hawkeye career on the sidelines and in rehab.

He was listed on the most recent two-deep on the first team at guard, but he played right tackle with the first-stringers during Iowa’s Kids’ Day scrimmage on Aug. 15.

For all the uncertainty surrounding the offensive line right now, the experience and depth are both there to help bring about a successful season.

“The biggest thing is that we know we have experience, and now, it’s finding the best five who are going to fit together and play the best out there,” Eubanks said.