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Most of the talk regarding the Iowa football team this spring is going to be about rebuilding the offensive line. With only two starters back, there are a lot of unknowns there.

But there similar mysteries – if not similar concerns — regarding the three linebacker positions. The Hawkeyes essentially have five guys contending for three spots.

All five candidates are juniors or seniors. All weigh between 232 and 238 pounds. All have played quite a bit, at least on special teams. All have their best football in front of them.

Jeremiha Hunter is the one guy with really extensive playing experience. He has been the starting weakside linebacker for the past two seasons and although he usually was overshadowed by the departed Pat Angerer and A.J. Edds, he’s been a very solid player. You might remember him as the guy who blocked the second field goal attempt against Northern Iowa to preserve a 17-16 victory in last year’s season opener.

Hunter has been backed up for two years by Jeff Tarpinian, a highly regarded player who has been patiently waiting for his chance to play.

When it was determined just before kickoff of the Minnesota game last season that neither Hunter or Tarpinian could play, the Hawkeyes tossed Troy Johnson into the weakside breach. All he did was earn Big Ten Defensive Player of Week honors with his performance.

Bruce Davis looked like an animal on special teams and in the few snaps he got in relief of An-gerer last season.

And Tyler Nielsen is one those guys we’ve been hearing about for a few years but seldom have seen because he was stuck behind Edds at the other outside linebacker position.

Now all these guys finally have a chance to start. The competition should be pretty intense.

Going into spring drills, Hunter, Johnson and Nielsen are listed as the starters but it wouldn’t be a shock to see Davis and Tarpinian in the lineup next fall. Whoever ends up on the field, Ferentz is confident they’ll do a great job. They might not be Angerer and Edds, but they’ll be solid.

“Quite frankly I’m almost more worried about a year from now at our linebacker spots,’’ Ferentz admitted. “Sounds kind of funny, with two pretty good seniors graduating, but we are top heavy age wise.’’

He said we’ll undoubtedly see one or two freshmen play a lot of special teams next fall – probably James Morris and possibly Austin Gray? – if only to give them some experience for the following season when Hunter, Johnson and Tarpinian will be gone.

The latest projections by Scout, Inc. have Bryan Bulaga listed as the 27th best player available in April’s NFL Draft. MyNFLDraft.com projects him going No. 28 to Green Bay in the first round of the draft.

Amari Spievey? He’s nowhere to be found in any draft projections. But the junior cornerback is going to test the waters anyway. Spievey confirmed Monday what most of us already assumed to be the case, that he was foregoing his senior season at Iowa to enter the draft.

I have a feeling Spievey, like Bulaga, could be in the NFL for a very long time. Both play positions that always are in great demand at the next level. Everyone seems to be looking for a competent cover corner or a left tackle who can pass block.

But while Bulaga apparently is going to get the big money that comes with being a first-round pick, I’m guessing Spievey won’t get selected until the third or fourth round of the draft. He has fairly average size and speed for his position. And since so many opponents this season avoided throwing the ball in his direction, there may not be a lot on video that will impress the scouts. Whoever picks him, however, probably is going to get a guy that will do a solid job for the next decade or so.

With Spievey turning pro, it seems likely that the Hawkeyes will have six players who are almost certain to get drafted. A recent CBSSports.com listing of the top seniors in the draft had Kyle Calloway listed as the 49th best prospect with Tony Moeaki 74th, A.J. Edds 82nd and Pat Angerer 110th.

The Hawkeyes announced their team award winners at the team post-season banquet Saturday night in Iowa City. It’s quite a list.

A total of 36 different players won some sort of award. By my count, there were only five starters who didn’t win anything at all. Surprisingly, one of those was Amari Spievey, who played almost every defensive down of every game and may be the best cornerback the Hawkeyes have had in the Kirk Ferentz era.

Not surprisingly, middle linebacker Pat Angerer was the biggest winner. Angerer, who also was named a first team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America on Saturday, shared the team MVP award with Ricky Stanzi and won three other awards. I think most of us who watched this team all year would have given the MVP award to Angerer alone. Nothing against Stanzi, but Angerer was the undisputed leader of the defense on a team that was significantly better defensively than it was offensively.

The full list of awards:

Hayden Fry Extra Heartbeat award: Angerer and Tony Moeaki.

Iron Hawk award: Angerer.

Comeback Player of the Year: Dace Richardson.

Next Man In awards: Riley Reiff, Adam Robinson, Brandon Wegher, Joe Conklin, Derrell Johnson-Koulianos and Colin Sandeman.

Forest Evashevski Scholastic Achievement award: A.J Edds.

Coaches Appreciation awards: Bryan Bulaga, Marvin McNutt, Tyler Sash, Broderick Binns, Tyler Nielsen and Jeff Tarpinian.

Reggie Roby Special Teams Specialist of the Year: Andrew Schulze.

Reggie Roby Special Teams Player of the Year: Ryan Donahue.

Hawkeye Hustle awards: Allen Reisner, Brett Morse, Trey Stross, Karl Klug, Christian Ballard, Adrian Clayborn, Paki O’Meara and Bruce Davis.    

Team Leader awards: Nick Kuchel, Zach Furlong, Joe Forgy, Thomas Nardo, Brad Rogers and Zach Derby.

Permanent captains: Stanzi, Moeaki, Edds, Angerer and Clayborn.

Win During The Week awards: Stanzi, Edds, Rafael Eubanks, Brett Greenwood and Troy Johnson.

The Hawkeyes also gave a few awards to regular people for the support they have given the university and the football program through the years. A Player Appreciation Award was given to three couples who are long-time supporters: Jim and Darlene McCord of Iowa City, Dale and Marilyn Howard of Iowa Falls and Stew and LeNore Hansen of West Des Moines. The Bump Elliott Appreciation Award went to businessmen Mike Riggan and Ed Huff, who have helped transport the Hawkeyes and all their equipment when they go on the road.