Ex-Ohio State WR Kaleb Brown commits to Iowa via transfer portal

IOWA CITY — Iowa’s wide receiver room is getting a big upgrade.

Ex-Ohio State wide receiver Kaleb Brown committed to the Hawkeyes via the transfer portal, he announced Thursday evening on social media.

Brown, a former four-star recruit, was the 13th-best wide receiver in 247Sports’ composite rankings out of high school. Iowa offered him a scholarship, but he chose Ohio State over Iowa, Alabama and a litany of other Power Five programs.

The Chicago native entered the portal after one season at the Horseshoe. He had one reception for five yards in four games as a true freshman. Ironically, the one reception was against Iowa on Oct. 22.

Brown, who is 5-foot-10 and weighs 197 pounds, played 23 of 24 offensive snaps in the slot, according to Pro Football Focus.

Brown will have four years of eligibility in Iowa City.

He has the potential to become Iowa’s top guy immediately at a position that has dealt with heavy attrition in recent years. Six scholarship wide receivers have left via the transfer portal since the start of the 2021 season.

Brown’s future quarterback at Iowa, Cade McNamara, has already shown his excitement following Thursday’s commitment.

“BOOM,” McNamara said in a tweet Thursday.

Brown is the seventh offensive player to join the Hawkeyes via the transfer portal since the end of the 2022 season.

With the ex-Buckeye’s decision, Iowa is slated to have 85 scholarship players for next year. That means someone would need to leave or go on medical scholarship to offer any other transfer portal players.

While name, image and likeness deals cannot officially be used as a recruiting inducement, Iowa’s Swarm Collective could theoretically compensate another athlete from the portal for the value of a scholarship via NIL deals.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com