Iowa Football

Ex-Northwestern quarterback Brendan Sullivan is on the move again after one year with the Hawkeyes.

New Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski heard from NFL scouts who “liked a lot of things about me” as he mulled professional opportunities before committing to the Hawkeyes.

Whether it be his leadership traits or “whole summer study of Matthew Stafford,” Iowa’s newest quarterback transfer has impressed in ways that do not necessarily show up on the box score.

As Iowa competes with several other power-conference programs for 2026 quarterback recruit Peyton Falzone, the 6-foot-3 quarterback appreciates Tim Lester’s “really dynamic” offensive scheme.

One of Bryce Hawthorne’s teammates sees a “super high” ceiling for him, but the South Dakota State transfer is quick to note he has “a lot of work to do” ahead of his third season of college football.

Xavier Nwankpa is Iowa’s most experienced defensive back in 2025 after Jermari Harris, Sebastian Castro and Quinn Schulte exhausted their eligibility in 2024.

Gronowski said he “could have kept playing through” his shoulder injury, but surgery “was best for my future.”

Iowa two-sport athlete Ben Kueter will undergo hip surgery and miss the 2025 football season, his mother Tina said Thursday evening in a Facebook post.

The former four-star recruit did not see any game action in his one season with the Hawkeyes.

Central Michigan transfer Jonah Pace doesn’t see himself as a “flashy” guy, but he could “bring an edge” to the Hawkeyes’ pass rush in 2025.

Iowa football offered a brief glimpse of the 2025 team on Thursday as the first 20 minutes of practice was open to media. Here are some of the highlights from that portion of practice along with player interviews afterward.

Iowa officials expressed a desire to be “fiscally responsible in every way” ahead of fully participating in direct revenue sharing with athletes when it becomes permissible in 2025-26.

Iowa football’s roster is “pretty much where we need it to be right now,” Kirk Ferentz said, as FBS teams need to cap their rosters at 105 players for the 2025 season.

The Hawkeyes are continuing to hold an open spring practice as several programs across the country either discontinue or modify theirs.

Iowa’s productive linebacker duo from the previous two seasons has not received much pre-draft hype, but Nick Jackson is quick to point out that “the tape is the tape.”

Kirk Ferentz appreciates former Wake Forest offensive coordinator (and current Iowa senior offensive analyst) Warren Ruggiero’s “wealth and depth of experience.”

Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski’s recovery from surgery is “probably a little bit ahead” of schedule, head coach Kirk Ferentz said Wednesday in his spring press conference, but the Hawkeyes will “play it conservatively.”

Brendan Sullivan is officially listed as Iowa’s QB1 going into spring practices, but that is not necessarily an indication of what the position will look like in the fall.

Linebacker and cornerback are among the positions to watch in spring practices — a time of year that Kirk Ferentz has previously described as a “deliberate teaching time.”