Notes from HawkeyeReport.com . . .

There was a roster move last week. No, not freshman DE John Raymon departing. There was another one. Thinking, thinking, thinking . . .

Oh yeah, A.J. Derby moved from quarterback to linebacker. You might've caught on to that. Tuesday, he entered the complex wearing a T-shirt that read "Bring the Thunder." This might work.

HawkeyeReport.com's Tom Kakert noticed the move. Iowa suddenly finds itself in the market for a QB in the 2012 class, maybe more so than it was before.

Again, thanks to Tom.

Coach Kirk Ferentz has said in a perfect world he would like to sign at least one quarterback in every recruiting class.

That was the plan for 2012, but there's really never been a sense of urgency to get a verbal commitment from a signal-caller sooner rather than later.

With last week's move of A.J. Derby from quarterback to outside linebacker, perhaps that level of urgency ramped up.

Without Derby in the mix, Iowa will be down to just three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster next season, and two of whom will be entering their senior seasons. James Vandenberg and John Wienke will be seniors next fall. Jake Rudock will be a redshirt freshman.

Those numbers aren't ideal for a BCS program, especially when you consider quarterbacks usually need time to develop. Last Saturday following Iowa's win over Indiana, Ferentz was asked if Derby's move to linebacker changed his needs. He brushed off the question.

“Oh man, you are thinking so far ahead,” he said. “I know we need to get one, a really good one.”

While the reaction may be more of a coach wanting to enjoy a win and not think about recruiting at that moment, finding at least one and perhaps two quarterbacks has to be near the top of Iowa's priority list for the class of 2012.

When it comes to quarterback recruiting, this year could shape up to be similar to 2006, when the numbers were low at the position. The Hawkeyes offered Ricky Stanzi in late November and signed him and Arvell Nelson.

The good news from the Iowa perspective is that you can find a very good quarterback in November and December. Stanzi was offered around Thanksgiving after his senior season. Vandenberg wasn't offered until late November in his senior year.

Who might be on Iowa's radar?

The Iowa coaches will certainly pick up the phone and give Rivals.com's No. 1 quarterback prospect in the '12 a call. Gunner Kiel, a 6-foot-4 and 220-pounder from Columbus, Ind., was offered early by Iowa, but committed to Indiana this summer. Last week, he decided to open his recruitment. He says he will continue to consider the Hoosiers, but it's unlikely he will end up in Bloomington. Kiel visited South Bend, Ind., last weekend on an unofficial visitor, checking out Notre Dame and USC. His uncle, Blair Kiel, played for the Fighting Irish in the early '80s.

Iowa would certainly be interested in getting back in the game with Kiel, but will he be interested in Iowa? It's probably unlikely, given that Iowa wasn't one of his final five schools this summer.

What are the options beyond Kiel?

Much like they did with Stanzi and Vandenberg, Iowa has been evaluating the senior film of several prospects, primarily from the midwest. Many of the QBs have visited this fall, some multiple times.

In no particular order the names to watch are:

Hayden Northern, a 6-4, 200-pounder from Martinsville, Ind. He holds an offer from Western Michigan and recently attended Iowa's win over Northwestern.

Ryan West, a 6-3, 185-pounder from Oswego, Ill. He's having a strong senior season and has an offer from Southern Illinois.

Steve Donatell, the younger brother of Iowa linebacker Tommy Donatell, is having a good year and could be getting a look from the Hawkeyes. The younger Donatell stands 6-5, 195 pounds. The three-star prospect lives in Colorado and holds an offer from Nebraska. He made an unofficial visit to Iowa City last weekend.

"It's awesome to see him out there making plays," Donatell said of his older brother. "He tore his ACL twice in high school and he bounced back, walked on at Iowa, changed positions, and now he's playing on Saturdays. He's just really set a great example to never give up and persevere."

An interesting name to watch could be Erich Berzinkas from Milford Academy in New Berlin, N.Y. Milford has been good to Iowa over the years, sending the Hawkeyes Shonn Greene and Fred Russell.

Joe Mollberg from Detroit Lakes, Minn., has verbally committed to North Dakota. When the 6-2, 210-pounder made that pledge, he said he was still hearing from and considering Iowa.

St. Charles, Mo., quarterback Eric Siebenshuh has attended several Iowa games this year and continues to hear from the Iowa coaches about a potential offer. The 6-3, 210-pounder has an offer from Tennessee-Martin.

Iowa has been in contact with Michael Villapiano from Cheshire Academy in Connecticut. The 6-2, 215-pounder is the son of former Oakland Raider Phil Villapiano.

One direction Iowa might consider is looking at quarterbacks who are already committed, particularly schools in the Mid-American Conference. A couple of names to follow there could be

Collin Michael, an Ohioan committed to Buffalo. Indiana's 

Zach Terrell has pledged to Western Michigan, and Ohio QB 

Mason Schreck also is committed to Buffalo.