By Rob Howe

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Quarterback sat atop Iowa fan’s transfer-portal wish list this offseason. Then receiver and offensive line appeared.

It makes sense after the Hawkeyes fielded one of the country’s worst offenses the last two seasons. They’ll be trying to improve on their 17.7 points per game, which ranked 123 out of 131 FBS programs in 2022, and their 251.6 yards per game, which came in second to last nationally.

The Iowa staff agreed with its supporters. It added receiver Seth Anderson (Charleston Southern), and offensive linemen Daijon Parker (Saginaw Valley State) and Rusty Feth (Miami, Ohio) in the portal since season’s end. Parker and Anderson have enrolled, while Feth has been attending school in Oxford, Ohio this semester.

“It really felt like home when I was here on the visit,” Anderson said. “My family loved it. I loved it. It just felt right.”

Anderson’s father, Willie “Flipper” Anderson, played at UCLA and spent 10 seasons in the NFL, winning a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos. Seth Anderson chose the Hawkeyes ahead of offers from home-town Georgia Tech and Appalachian State, the two other schools he visited.

“On the plane ride back (to Atlanta), I was telling my mom (Chantal Anderson) that I really felt like this was the place,” Seth said. “So just love I was getting and the support I was getting from the fans, it just all felt right.”

Seth Anderson (6-0, 178) prepped at Suwanee (GA) North Gwinnett High, the same high school that sent Iowa former running back Tyler Goodson. From there, he headed to Charleston Southern of the FCS. He redshirted during his first season in ’21 before capturing Big South Conference Offensive Freshman of the Year with 42 catches for 612 yards and seven touchdowns.

Iowa is wrapping up winter conditioning this week before spring break arrives with spring workouts kicking off the week of March 20.

“It’s a change from (Charleston Southern) but they’re still just workouts. Everybody is working hard. I can tell we’re going to be something next season the way we’re all working right now,” Anderson said.

The Hawkeyes added the quarterback their fans desired, bringing in Michigan’s Cade McNamara from the portal. He recruited Anderson to join him here, and they’ve been practicing their connection.

“I’m trying to learn the whole playbook and trying to be the best receiver I can be by the season so I can help the team,” Anderson said.

Parker (6-5, 300) is looking to protect McNamara and provide him time to complete passes to Anderson and others. The Inkster, Mich. native is absorbing as much as he can from a staff known for developing offensive linemen. He likes what he’s learning.

“They don’t want you to be a robot,” Parker said. “At my old school, they taught short, choppy steps blocking. (Iowa coaches) want you to get out and run. That’s an emphasis of (O-Line) coach (George) Barnett. They want you to be an athlete.”

Division I schools looked past Parker when he was coming out of Westland (MI) John Glenn High in the ’18 Recruiting Class. He weighed 220 pounds at the time and only played one season of prep football.

“A lot of D-II schools jumped all over me during that process. I had preferred walk-on (opportunities) from Michigan State and Bowling Green. Coming from where I come from, I didn’t want to be in student-loan debt.I just took my opportunity at the Division II level,” he said of attending Saginaw Valley.

Parker appeared in 18 games during the last two seasons with the Cardinals. He overcame knee surgery in ’18 and grew to 300 pounds, a weight he didn’t know was possible when he thought basketball would be his college sport. He had that in common with his friend, Kaevon Merriweather, a former Iowa safety.

“I thought I was going to the NBA, me and Kaevon. He’ll tell you, too,” Parker joked. “A year ago I would have never thought I would be here at Iowa. I’m grateful to be here, and I love it. I’m just taking it all in.”