Iowa football will look in transfer portal ‘probably at every position,’ including quarterback

IOWA CITY — Iowa football could be in the market for a quarterback in the transfer portal again this year.

“We would be fools not to at least see what’s available and see what might be of interest, both ways,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said on Wednesday when asked about addressing the quarterback position in the transfer portal.

Ferentz said the staff will look “probably at every position, but there are certain things that are a little bit more important.”

Ferentz, when asked whether the Hawkeyes would be looking for someone who could compete for the starting quarterback spot or simply add depth, said “we’re looking at everything.”

“The whole idea is to improve our team as much as we can,” Ferentz said. “We’re not locked into one style per se because we do have different styles right now in that room. … We’ve won with both styles through the years.”

Tyler Barnes, Iowa’s chief of staff/general manager, also said Iowa “will be active in the transfer portal” while not going into specifics about positional needs.

The winter transfer portal window will be open from Dec. 9-28. Graduate transfers and players at schools with coaching changes already can enter the portal.

“I think Monday the avalanche is really coming, and that’s kind of when myself and our personnel department will dive into that with our coaches,” Barnes said. “It will be good.”

This will be the first full offseason with Tim Lester as the Hawkeyes’ offensive coordinator. Lester was hired in late January — after the first (and busier) of the two transfer portal windows concluded.

“When we evaluate quarterbacks, it’s 100 percent going to be working around who the offensive coordinator and the quarterbacks coach is, absolutely,” Barnes said. “Styles are going to change. … (Lester) knows exactly what he’s looking for and exactly what he wants, but he’s open-minded, too.”

At least as of this point in the offseason, the Hawkeyes are expected to have Brendan Sullivan, Marco Lainez and Jackson Stratton back at quarterback. The Hawkeyes also added a pair of incoming freshmen at the position.

Sullivan started two games after replacing previous starter Cade McNamara in the Oct. 26 game against Northwestern. He completed 68.6 percent of his passes with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

“He should be full speed here for the bowl game,” Ferentz said. “He could have played the other night. I don’t know how effectively, but he could have played. He practiced.”

Sullivan will be in his final year of eligibility in 2025.

Lainez, who went 2-of-7 in last season’s Citrus Bowl after replacing Deacon Hill, will have three years of eligibility after this season. He missed time last month as he recovered from a hand injury; Ferentz said Lainez now “has a brace on.”

Stratton, a walk-on who transferred from Colorado State, started Iowa’s last two games of the regular season following injuries to McNamara, Sullivan and Lainez.

“Jackson has a done a great job,” Ferentz said of Stratton, who will have two more years of eligibility after this year.

McNamara, meanwhile, announced plans on Wednesday to enter the transfer portal. He will need an NCAA waiver to get a seventh year of college eligibility, which is plausible considering his injury history over the last three seasons.

“He’s had a rotten three years, so I hope everybody can be empathetic toward that,” Ferentz said of McNamara after last week’s win over Nebraska.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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