IOWA CITY, Iowa — Classes begin Tuesday morning at Iowa, which means the football roster basically is set for spring practice in two months.
Outside of an ultra-late pickup in the transfer portal — officially the final day to add classes is Jan. 30 — the Hawkeyes right now have 85 players earmarked for scholarships this fall when counting kicker Drew Stevens and long snapper Luke Elkin moving up from walk-ons. That’s a full boat unless there’s some attrition in early May.
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The Hawkeyes picked up five scholarship players in the transfer portal and will bring back three super seniors. They also secured Iowa Western Community College defensive end Jackson Filer — the NJCAA defensive player of the year — and Dordt University tight end Hayden Large as walk-ons. In addition, Iowa also will get a fourth year from 25-year-old punter Tory Taylor, an All-American who nearly entered the NFL Draft.
Iowa’s coaching staff targeted key positions this offseason and missed on a few players. The coaches also added players who fill primary roles right away. When combining the portal additions with the holdovers, the Hawkeyes may not have filled every hole, but they improved in several key areas. There are three positions that have blinking lights on them this spring: wide receiver, offensive line and linebacker. If any of those areas show signs of weakness, the staff likely will hit the portal again in early May.
What worked well? QB
For Iowa to win the Big Ten West and compete in Indianapolis, it needs a quality quarterback. The staff didn’t wait for the portal to fill up and then get into bidding wars, especially when it knew who it wanted right away. Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz opted right away for former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara, a graduate transfer who led the Wolverines to the 2021 Big Ten championship and a College Football Playoff berth.
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McNamara played in three games in 2022 and split time with uber-talented J.J. McCarthy before suffering a knee injury that required surgery. McCarthy then led the Wolverines to a second straight Big Ten title and a CFP spot to secure the position. As a graduate transfer, McNamara hit the portal on Monday, Nov. 28, the Hawkeyes reached an agreement with him by the following day and on Thursday, Dec. 1, the quarterback announced his commitment.
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Based on his success in a similar-styled offense, McNamara is the perfect fit for how Iowa likes to dictate tempo. McNamara completed 64.2 percent of his passes for 2,576 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2021. While those numbers aren’t dynamic, they are efficient, which is what the Hawkeyes have lacked at quarterback for some time. McNamara has two available seasons, but his recovery from knee surgery could limit his action this spring.
Iowa lost two of four quarterbacks to the transfer portal: senior Alex Padilla and redshirt freshman Carson May. Three-year starter Spencer Petras has a sixth year available and will remain on scholarship as he rehabs a torn labrum and rotator cuff in his right shoulder. It’s highly unlikely Petras will compete this year and instead will perform consigliere duties in the background, at least through spring.
To compensate for the portal losses, Iowa picked up former Wisconsin quarterback Deacon Hill, who committed to Fordham in December before flipping to the Hawkeyes. Current Iowa offensive analyst Jon Budmayr initially recruited Hill to Wisconsin so there is familiarity. Both Hill and Joe Labas, who started the Music City Bowl, are sophomores and will battle for the backup role behind McNamara.
What mostly worked? Pass catcher
Questions remain at wide receiver, while the Hawkeyes filled a major hole at tight end. Sam LaPorta, the program’s all-time leading receiver at tight end, leaves a major void, but landing Michigan’s Erick All to join junior Luke Lachey erased the drop-off. All was a Big Ten honorable mention performer in 2021 after catching 38 passes for 437 yards and two touchdowns. All had back surgery in October, and while his spring status remains unclear, he should be ready for next season. It’s possible All and Lachey could form the nation’s top tight end tandem this fall.
At receiver, Iowa lost Arland Bruce IV and Keagan Johnson to Oklahoma State and Kansas State, respectively, and replaced them with Charleston Southern’s Seth Anderson and sixth-year returnee Nico Ragaini. Anderson, the son of former NFL receiver Willie “Flipper” Anderson, caught 42 passes for 628 yards and seven touchdowns in 2022 and was named the Big South Freshman Offensive Player of the Year. Anderson can play both slot and the Z role and likely starts for the Hawkeyes.
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Ragaini had the most receptions of any Iowa receiver in three of the past four seasons. He has 125 career catches for 1,354 yards and is an accomplished route runner. The Hawkeyes sought (and still seek) another receiver to join the mix, which also includes holdovers Diante Vines and Brody Brecht, the latter of whom was a freshman All-America pitcher last spring. With a healthy group, Iowa usually rotates four or five receivers. Ragaini, Anderson and Vines are likely set for key roles.
While there is concern at receiver, the offense will evolve around the best personnel. Last year and in 2018, between 61-62 percent of Iowa’s offensive snaps came with at least two tight ends on the field (LaPorta and Lachey last year; Noah Fant and T.J. Hockenson in 2018). In 2019, more than 67 percent featured only one tight end (receivers Brandon Smith, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Ragaini and Tyrone Tracy).
What still needs work? OL
The Hawkeyes’ offensive line was a shell of its reputation the past two seasons, and everything from recruiting misses to inexperience to bad luck covers the majority of the problems. Iowa sought multiple transfers and landed one: tackle Daijon Parker (6-foot-5, 285 pounds) of Division II Saginaw Valley (Mich.) State. Parker, who opened 18 games playing both left and right tackle, has the perfect starter kit from size to arm length to a mean streak. It will take time for him to make strides with technique.
Parker, who initially committed to Virginia before flipping to Iowa, probably holds down one tackle spot. But can the core group make enough strides this spring to run with the status quo this fall? If not, it’s likely Iowa goes hard in the portal again in May. There’s also the chance the staff could switch defensive tackle Yahya Black to the offensive line.
What about … the defense?
The Hawkeyes had the nation’s top unit in yards per play allowed in 2022 (3.99) and in stop rate. Some of the concerns were alleviated with second-team All-Big Ten defensive end Joe Evans and defensive tackle Noah Shannon, an honorable mention pick, both decided to return for a sixth year. Seven of the nine rotational linemen return, although losing sophomore Lukas Van Ness to the NFL Draft will leave a mark.
Iowa sought two veteran defensive pieces — cornerback and linebacker — and didn’t sign either. The defense’s biggest question mark starts at linebacker by replacing All-American Jack Campbell, second-team All-Big Ten pick Seth Benson and Jestin Jacobs, who bolted for Oregon. Iowa has a quality linebacker in Jay Higgins but plenty of untested talent behind him. Considering the Hawkeyes played with three linebackers on just 29 percent of their defensive snaps, there’s urgency but not panic.
The secondary has a solid starting five with senior safety Quinn Schulte, senior cash Sebastian Castro, junior cornerback Cooper DeJean and sophomore safety Xavier Nwankpa. Jermari Harris, a junior, started six games and recorded four interceptions in 2021 but missed the entire 2022 because of an injury. Harris could slide back into that role or perhaps sophomore TJ Hall, junior Brenden Deasfernandes (who also missed the season) or junior Jamison Heinz could compete there.
(Top photo of Cade McNamara: Scott W. Grau / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
