Kyler Schott and Tristan Wirfs are the epitome of friendship.

The Hawkeye offensive linemen live with each other, wrestled each other, and worked with each other over the summer moving boxes at the IMU.

Now, they’re starting on the offensive line. 

After preseason All-Big Ten tackle Alaric Jackson sprained his knee against Miami (Ohio) on Aug. 31, Schott was thrust into action. He enters Week 2 as the starting right guard as the offensive line shuffles around, with Wirfs being moved to left tackle and Levi Paulsen getting inserted at right tackle.

Now, Wirfs and Schott — the best friends — get to play next to each other.

“Getting to play next to him — I’m getting all giddy,” Wirfs said after Iowa’s win over the RedHawks on Aug. 31. “Getting to play next to him is pretty special. We do everything together. We worked together over the summer, we wrestle together. That was around our breaks when we need to lose some weight.”

Schott feels the same way. The exact same way, actually.

“He’s my best friend,” Schott said. “We live together, we had a job this summer together, we pretty much do everything together, we play video games together. I would like to say we’re best friends.”

The duo, along with the rest of Iowa’s offensive line, had a game to remember Aug. 31.

Despite the injury to one of the offense’s best players, the Hawkeyes put up 465 yards of total offense. Mekhi Sargent and Toren Young each scored a touchdown while combining for 139 yards on the ground touchdown, and Nate Stanley threw for 252 yards and 3 touchdowns behind the new line.

Schott joined the program as a walk-on in 2017, and he saw action in one game in 2018 after redshirting his first year in Iowa City. 

The Coggon, Iowa, native had a chance to see snaps this season and was likely going to play against the RedHawks even without Jackson’s injury. He’s now a key piece of the line.

“He’s practiced and prepared well,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “He’s done it kind of quietly. He did a lot of good things last year, but really has improved physically. He’s a little bit more mature now, been around the program a little bit longer, and he’s one of those guys that I don’t want to call him nondescript, but he’s not flashy, but if you watch him closely, he just does a lot of things really well and consistently, and he’s certainly done that this August.”

Schott’s first-career start will likely come against Rutgers on Saturday in his first Big Ten game. 

During camp, Ferentz said Schott went up against defensive tackle Cedrick Lattimore and blocked him as well as anybody. Although he didn’t win every battle — no one does — that’s quite a bit of praise from a coach widely regarded as an offensive line guru.

It paid off on Aug. 31.

“I knew I was ready to go if my name was called, which it was, unfortunately because A.J. got hurt,” Schott said. “But I would be ready to, and I was ready I believe.”