Iowa football focuses on retaining top talent before venturing into transfer portal

IOWA CITY — Iowa “may be active a little bit in the new year” with the transfer portal, Kirk Ferentz told reporters Wednesday.

But the focus for football team’s 2024 roster-building is not on the portal in December, but rather those on players’s who have the option to pursue professional careers.

“The priorities are the six guys we're recruiting on our own roster right now,” Iowa football recruiting director Tyler Barnes said in the Zoom call with reporters.

Defensive back and special teams star Cooper DeJean most notably has the opportunity to potentially be a first-round pick in next year’s NFL Draft. Tight end Luke Lachey also could hear his name called if he foregoes his senior season.

Players with the option to use their extra COVID-19 years of eligibility include linebacker Jay Higgins, tight end Erick All and defensive backs Sebastian Castro and Quinn Schulte. Fellow defensive back Jermari Harris, while technically only a junior in 2023, also must decide whether to stay for a sixth season.

“It's well worth investing the time to recruit these guys back before we even think about going out to the portal,” Barnes said.

That investment includes giving them flexibility with the timing of their decisions. The NFL deadline is Jan. 15, which is almost two weeks after the end of the first transfer portal window.

“We could have sat down and told them we need a decision by X date so we can go to the portal, but we want all these kids back,” Barnes said. “They're fourth, fifth, sixth-year guys on our team.”

That leaves the Hawkeyes with quite a bit of roster ambiguity.

If none of the players Barnes is recruiting come back, Iowa could potentially have one scholarship open. If six players with ambiguous futures come back, Iowa could potentially be five spots over the scholarship limit.

It is not uncommon for schools to go over the limit before whittling the scholarship number down to 85 before the start of the season.

Iowa can undoubtedly afford to add past the 85-player limit for now partly because of, as Barnes described it, “the world we live in.”

“There’s always two waves in the portal this time of year,” Barnes said. “There’s the early wave, and then there’s a wave after the bowl game. We don’t want to lose anybody off our roster currently, but I’d be shocked if there’s not one or two that may hop in the portal post-bowl game.”

That’s not to mention the second transfer portal window, which goes from April 16-30.

“History would tell you we typically lose four to five guys in the spring, so we’re probably going to operate with those numbers,” Barnes said.

Part of Iowa’s scholarship squeeze is a result of a relative lack of transfer portal departures. Quarterback Joe Labas, wide receiver Diante Vines, defensive lineman Anterio Thompson and defensive back Brenden Deasfernandes were Iowa’s only scholarship players to enter the portal.

“We really haven't had a lot of roster turnover,” Ferentz said. “It's not like we have a lot of room right now.”

The additions Iowa announced on Wednesday is a reflection of Ferentz’s preference of building a roster primarily via high school recruits rather than transfer portal players.

“We're going to try to build the roster through the high school ranks,” Barnes said. “We're going to try to develop kids. If we have some pressing or glaring needs, we're certainly going to look in the portal for those and try and address those. At the end of the day call us old-school, call us different, whatever you want to call us. It's something we believe in.”

Iowa has an incoming class of 21 scholarship players. Meanwhile, Iowa is one of three Big Ten teams without a transfer portal commitment yet, according to On3’s database.

Iowa’s relatively slow approach to the portal is a contrast from last year, when the Hawkeyes used the portal to add former all-Big Ten talent such as quarterback Cade McNamara and All.

“Last December, it was a little wild with the portal and the needs we had and the guys we were trying to go after,” Barnes said. “It’s pretty rapid.”

The Hawkeyes will "kind of keep an eye open in the portal here in the coming months,“ Barnes said.

But first, Iowa is waiting on six decisions from athletes on its existing roster.

“We’ll kind of see where the chips fall,” Barnes said.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com