With transfer portal closed, can Iowa still upgrade at QB?
When the NCAA transfer portal closed to new football entries at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Iowa began the month of May with two quarterbacks on its latest roster.
One, presumed starter Cade McNamara, is coming off his second straight season-ending knee surgery and isn’t expected to be fully available until June.
The other, Marco Lainez, is a freshman with 17 total snaps of college game experience.
Iowa’s thinned-out and precarious QB room isn’t necessarily a reason to panic. And, remember, that number grows from two to three in June with the arrival of true freshman James Resar out of Jacksonville, Florida.
But it feels safe to say that things aren’t trending in a great direction for Iowa at football’s most important position.
To be clear: The deadline to enter doesn’t mean the deadline to transfer. Anybody currently in the portal can matriculate at any time, but a player’s name must be in the portal now to transfer and be eligible for the 2024 football season.
The ideal and somewhat realistic scenario was that Iowa, with a rebranded offense under new offensive coordinator Tim Lester, could acquire a top backup from an FBS program or perhaps a proven starter at the FCS level to come in and immediately compete with McNamara for the 2024 starting job. Meantime, that transfer would have a potential inside track to the QB nod in 2025.
There’s no doubt that the football staff and the Iowa SWARM Collective independently understand the pressing needs at QB. Everybody within Iowa football saw that play out last season, as Deacon Hill struggled mightily to even move the chains for first downs, let alone score. The Hawkeyes grinded out improbable wins despite Hill’s 48.6% completion rate and frequent turnovers. The grim QB picture was crystallized with back-to-back shutout losses in the Big Ten Championship Game and Citrus Bowl by a combined 61-0. Iowa gained 155 total yards against Michigan, 173 against Tennessee and was minus-6 in turnover margin.
Hence, it was understandable that Hill decided to enter the transfer portal
last week after it became clear that he had no future as a Hawkeye starter. Walk-on QB Tommy Poholsky also announced Monday that he was leaving the program.
Quick sidebar: The recent QB exodus at Iowa has been reflective of the offensive performance. Carson May and Alex Padilla preceded the exits of 31-game starter Spencer Petras and Music City Bowl-winning QB Joe Labas.
As it turns out, Petras has won the starting job at Utah State. Labas had a strong spring game at Central Michigan while sharing time with the first-team offense. And at this point, acquiring any FBS-level starter would seem like a victory for Iowa quarterbacks room. It would have been great to see what Lester could have done with the talented Labas had he stayed, but that's a different conversation. Labas understandably sought a new home after being shuffled behind Lainez on Iowa's depth chart and a better chance to play. Petras needed a change of scenery, too, after becoming a punching bag for the fan base and appears to be getting a needed fresh and healthy start for his final year of eligibility.
Eventually, Lester needs a chance to get his own guy, or guys, at quarterback. Maybe the transfer portal still has somebody he likes. But, for the time being, the pickings are pretty slim.
According to the 247Sports transfer portal tracker as of Tuesday afternoon, the top 23 portal entries at quarterback since last season have found new homes and 58 of the top 59 transfer signal callers have as well. Those hoping for a top Ohio State backup to enter the portal were disappointed. All five Buckeyes in a crowded room stayed put.
A few portal-quarterback breadcrumbs worth following …
Cooper Legas, Utah State: The guy that Petras beat out for the job (and started in Kinnick Stadium on Sept. 2 in a 24-14 loss to Iowa and completed 32 of 48 passes for 213 yards) was uncommitted as of Wednesday morning. There were murmurs that Legas (6-foot-1, 215 pounds) might commit to BYU, though. He has one year of eligibility.
Brendan Sullivan, Northwestern: This makes the most sense, but there is no evidence that Iowa is in the mix. Sullivan (6-3, 225) started eight games over the past two seasons, including the 10-7 loss to the Hawkeyes at Wrigley Field, and has two years of remaining eligibility. He was recruited out of high school by Lester in Davison, Michigan, and offers mobility. Sullivan is 2-6 as a college starter and has a career completion rate of 68.7% (which would be a dream for Iowa) with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Gavin Wimsatt, Rutgers: ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Wednesday that Wimsatt (6-3, 225) had initiated a portal request after former Minnesota QB Athan Kaliakmanis won the starting job at Rutgers. Wimsatt doesn't seem like a great fit, with a 46.6% career completion rate, but he does have 18 games of Big Ten starting experience and rushed for 497 yards last season.
There was at least some interest from Iowa in Collin Schlee (6-3, 225), who started two games last season for UCLA and completed 25 of 47 passes (53.2%) for 217 yards. But on Tuesday night, Schlee committed to Virginia Tech. With that, even a fringe portal option was gone.
Just about anybody else viable for Iowa in the portal has very little game experience and would probably come in as the No. 3 quarterback, perhaps with a shot to win the backup job from Lainez. But McNamara is clearly the main hope for Iowa's 2024 fortunes.
Another factor in Iowa's quarterback search is that it closed business Tuesday at 87 committed scholarships for the 2024 season, two over the maximum of 85 allowed. In other words, without any additional attrition (such as possible medical retirements), the Hawkeyes may have to get creative. But head coach Kirk Ferentz said recently that stuff will work itself out. They'll certainly find a way to add bodies that are needed – at quarterback and perhaps wide receiver and defensive tackle – before players (including true freshmen) report in June.
Getting back to the quarterbacks, the big winner with a quiet portal period (to date) might end up being Lainez.
The four-star recruit out of New Jersey had a strong spring in terms of learning Lester's offense and improving his timing and pocket awareness. Lainez (6-2, 225) clearly has a mobility the Hawkeyes have lacked since at least the C.J. Beathard era that ended in 2016.
Lainez outplayed Hill in Iowa's open practice and has upside to be excited about. But he is still very green. He is not yet the ideal backup option for a team with a realistic shot at a College Football Playoff berth, which is possible if the offense can be average. A more polished, experienced backup would be ideal. But with McNamara's health questions, Lainez has a fast-approaching on-ramp for future opportunities.
Bottom line, the April 30 deadline closed off some immediate options for the Hawkeyes at quarterback. The process is ongoing, and we don't yet have the final picture of what this QB room will be in 2024.
Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has served for 29 years with The Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Sports Network. Chad is the 2023 INA Iowa Sports Columnist of the Year and NSMA Co-Sportswriter of the Year in Iowa. Join Chad's text-message group (free for subscribers) at HawkCentral.com/ HawkeyesTexts. Follow @ChadLeistikow on Twitter.