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 | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 4 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 16-13vs Iowa State | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 3 | |
| Total | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 4 |
#6
Zach Lutmer
Senior defensive back on Iowa's 2026 roster.
6′1″ · 203 lb · Rock Rapids, IA · Central Lyon-GLR
CFB Index 85 · #23 of 544 safetiesLow confidenceReturning to Iowa for 2026
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
Recruiting
3★
ATH recruit
No. 1232 nationally · Signed with Iowa
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive back on Iowa's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Iowa in 2023.
Zach Lutmer
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away. Third year in the Iowa secondary, same address the whole way. His first career honor landed in 2025: All-Big Ten. One game to point at: 4 tackles against Northern Illinois — Week 1, 2026.
7 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- seasons on the roster
- recognition record
- game log
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
2023
- Signed with Iowa3-star out of Central Lyon
202513 games
- All-Big Tensecond
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
Iowa
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🎖
ALL-BIG TEN · 2ND TEAM
All-Big Ten 2nd team (2025)
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
Medium confidenceBreakout
Elite: passes defended (100th percentile). 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: 3.5 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 2.0 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.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
2026 outlook
In the mix to repeat All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #5 of 77 Big Ten DBs
How the All-Big Ten estimate is computed
35% estimated, 95% confidence interval 31–38%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
Career stats
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 16–13
vs Iowa State
3 TOT · 2 SOLO · 3 PD
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
Play style
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Iowa
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive back · 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
DNA match
Player DNA
Rover
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
S
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Adon Shuler’s 2024 season.
70%match
Matches Adon on
Interceptions
PD rate
Tackle volume
Differs from Adon on
Class year (higher)
TFL rate (higher)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Ja'Marley Riddle's sophomore season at East Carolina (2025).
86%match
All-AAC
Matches Ja'Marley on
Class year
Tackle volume
PD rate
Player DNA
Players who play like Zach Lutmer
The secondary · Iowa
- #6Zach Lutmer71 tackles · 2025
- #2Tyler Brown71 tackles · 2025
- #8Deshaun Lee34 tackles · 2025
- #7Rashad Godfrey Jr.15 tackles · 2025
- #3Jaylen Watson15 tackles · 2025
14 more on the roster · Iowa team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology