Iowa football’s quiet start to transfer portal window is not surprising considering scholarship squeeze

IOWA CITY — Iowa football has been relatively quiet so far in the transfer portal.

In the first week-plus since the first portal window opened, the Hawkeyes have not received any transfer commitments.

But the lack of portal activity is far from a surprise and not necessarily a reason for concern yet either considering the other factors at play in Iowa City.

Iowa’s scholarship count — and therefore open spots, if any, for prospective transfer portal players — is dependent on several key players’ decisions on whether to use remaining eligibility or try their luck at the next level.

Defensive back Cooper DeJean and tight ends Luke Lachey and Erick All Jr. have remaining eligibility, but if they go pro, they would likely hear their names called at the NFL Draft. (DeJean in particular is a projected first-round pick.)

Linebacker Jay Higgins and defensive backs Sebastian Castro and Quinn Schulte have the option to use an extra COVID-19 year of eligibility. Defensive back Jermari Harris, while officially only a junior because of a medical redshirt, also has a decision to make about a possible sixth year.

On the offensive line, Nick DeJong has his COVID-19 year of eligibility available.

That leaves eight question marks — and a ninth would be possible if linebacker Nick Jackson gets an NCAA waiver — for a team that already has another 82 players on scholarship.

The FBS scholarship limit is 85.

Therefore, if only three of the nine aforementioned players chose to stay at Iowa, the Hawkeyes would theoretically be at a full 85 scholarships without any room for transfer portal additions.

That comes with a couple asterisks, though.

Players have the option to enter the transfer portal through Jan. 2, so more departures are possible. Last year, for example, defensive back Dallas Craddieth entered the portal on Dec. 13, and quarterback Carson May entered the portal on Jan. 3 (when the portal window was longer).

More departures obviously would lead to more open scholarship spots.

Iowa also has the option to take on more than 85 scholarship players for now with the expectation that spring departures (or medical scholarships) would whittle the number back down to 85 before August.

Recruiting above the scholarship limit is a common practice. Nebraska was unofficially 12 spots over the limit as late as April, according to a report at the time from the Omaha World-Herald.

The scholarship crunch aside, Iowa’s quiet first week in the portal is not a unique phenomenon.

The Hawkeyes are one of eight teams in the expanded 18-team Big Ten without a transfer portal commitment yet, according to On3’s database. The others to lack any commitments, as of Tuesday afternoon, include Michigan, Ohio State and Washington.

Even when Iowa was notably active in the transfer portal last year, Cade McNamara was the only future Hawkeye to commit before this point last year — Dec. 13, 2022. Several eventual starters later joined McNamara, though, including Jackson, All, offensive lineman Rusty Feth, quarterback Deacon Hill and wide receiver Seth Anderson.

“Rusty Feth didn't make any headlines when we got him to commit here,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said last month when talking about the portal as a whole. “But boy, he's been an extremely valuable player, not only on the field, but also the maturity. … Nick Jackson, talk about a home run there.”

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com