Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 40-0vs Northern Illinois | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 16-13vs Iowa State | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 3 tackles |
| Total | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#51
Luke Gaffney
Senior defensive lineman on Iowa's 2026 roster.
6′2″ · 288 lb · Robins, IA · Linn-Mar
Returning to Iowa for 2026
The numbers
0
sacks · 2026
4 tackles
2 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 3 tackles, vs Iowa State
His career numbers, season by seasonLuke Gaffney
Third year in the Iowa defensive front, same address the whole way. The receipt on tape: 3 tackles against Iowa State, Week 2, 2026.
4 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- seasons on the roster
- game log
Career arc
HS
Recruit
—
CFB
College
Iowa
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coach2024–2026
Iowa
Played his entire career under Kirk Ferentz.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
3 seasons under Kirk Ferentz — 19-9 over that span.
2024Iowa8-5HC: Kirk Ferentz · Run-heavy, slow tempo
2025Iowa9-4HC: Kirk Ferentz · Run-heavy, slow tempo
2026Iowa2-0HC: Kirk Ferentz · Balanced
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 2.0 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Kirk Ferentz
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 16–13
vs Iowa State
3 TOT
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 3 at home.
With B. Everitt — 44 AVG · 4 IN 20 · 51 LONG · H. Brown — 191 yds · 0 TD · 0 INT · QBR 34.2 · 22 rush yds (8 car) · 1 TD
Game log
How he plays
2026 Outlook
Iowa
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive line · Iowa
Returning around him
- 7 Iowa players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: +7 net (15 in / 8 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Iowa · Last season: 9-4 · Talent rank #44 · 2026 recruiting class #26
The defensive line · Iowa
- #96Bryce Hawthorne3 tackles for loss · 2025
- #95Lance Ingold2 tackles for loss · 2025
- #44Kenneth Merrieweather1 tackle for loss · 2025
- #56Maddux Borcherding-Johnson1 tackle for loss · 2025
- #51Luke Gaffney0 tackles for loss · 2025
14 more on the roster · Iowa team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology