By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Major college football rosters are fluid this time of year with some players opting out of their last few games, and with others lost to injuries, so now seems a good time to update the Iowa roster heading into Friday’s regular-season finale against Nebraska at Kinnick Stadium.

Quarterbacks Cade McNamara and Brendan Sullivan both have returned to practice after having been out with injuries, and Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said Tuesday that he is keeping his fingers crossed that they will be available for Friday’s game.

Freshman receiver Reece Vander Zee is a “ways away” from being ready according to Kirk Ferentz, who met with the media on Tuesday, while graduate cornerback Jermari Harris and junior offensive tackle Gennings Dunker also won’t play in Friday’s game.

Harris missed the Maryland game this past Saturday due to what Iowa called a medical issue, but 247Sports also reported last week that Harris has opted out of the remaining games to start preparing for the 2025 NFL Draft.

Whatever is the case, Harris won’t play in Friday’s game against Nebraska, and his loss is significant.

The Chicago native is expected to participate in the Senior Day ceremony just prior to kickoff.

Dunker has a been a key piece to a vastly improved offensive line, starting the first 10 games at right tackle.

But veteran Nick DeJong filled in for Dunker against Maryland and Kirk Ferentz said Tuesday that DeJong had his best game since he’s been here.

What’s interesting about these latest roster updates is that that McNamara and Sullivan are both healthy enough to practice, and it seems as if they will be available for Friday’s game, and yet, Kirk Ferentz said Tuesday that walk-on Jackson Stratton will get the start at quarterback.

Stratton played for the first time as a Hawkeye in the 20-17 loss to UCLA on Nov. 8 when he replaced the injured Sullivan early in the third quarter.

Stratton completed 3-of-6 passes for 28 yards against UCLA. He also led a scoring drive in the second half.

Stratton then made his first career start in last Saturday’s 29-13 win at Maryland, and the California native held his own.

He only passed for 76 yards, but he avoided throwing any interceptions and he ran the offense with poise.

The moment wasn’t too big for him.

“I thought I was pretty good,” Stratton said of the Maryland game. “I thought I looked pretty calm out there.

“Obviously, UCLA, it was a little fast for me. I made a couple good throws in there. But I thought last week the game really slowed down, and I made some good reads out there.”

It would be interesting to see who Kirk Ferentz would choose if Iowa were to use a second quarterback against Nebraska.

McNamara started the first eight games this season before suffering a concussion against Northwestern a month ago, while Sullivan started against Wisconsin and UCLA before injuring his ankle in the third quarter against the Bruins.

The fact that McNamara has gone from being the quarterback that Kirk Ferentz said multiple times gives Iowa the best chance to win to now just a month later playing behind a walk-on with hardly any experience is an odd development to say the least.

But it does make for a good story.

Stratton has gone from being buried on the depth chart and ignored by the media to now being the center of attention.

He doesn’t seem overwhelmed by anything on or off the field.

Stratton met with the media for at least 30 minutes on Tuesday and he answered all sorts of questions, including who gave him the nickname “Shaggy” after the character in Scooby-Doo?

It turns out it was former Iowa running back Leshon Johnson, who recently left the team to enter the NCAA transfer portal.

A total of 23 seniors and graduates will be honored before Friday’s game, including some for the second time.

Junior running back Kaleb Johnson won’t be among those honored, but Friday’s game could very well be his last as a Hawkeye.

And if so, you couldn’t blame him.

Johnson was named a finalist for the Doak Walker Award on Tuesday, and he will enter Friday’s game as the Big Ten’s leading rusher with 1,492 rushing yards in 10 1/2 games, because remember, he missed the first half of the season opener against Illinois State.

No official reason was ever given by Iowa, but senior left tackle Mason Richman basically spilled the beans on Tuesday, saying that Johnson had been suspended for the first half of the Illinois State.

Richman also said that Johnson was a “pain in my butt” this past spring and summer,” so his teammate issued Johnson an ultimatum:

“During camp, we kind of gave him an ultimatum,” Richman said. “He had the suspension for Illinois State and we told him during camp, hey, you’ve got to figure this out. And if you don’t figure this out, we’re going to make (the suspension) a game.

“And you could really see he really understood his actions do have consequences. And I think he just understood so much about his role on this team and what he represents. And he’s done such a good job.”

That is an example of tough love being carried out the right way.

Johnson had to get with the program, and he certainly has in spectacular fashion.

But how long will he stick with the program?

Let’s just say it would be a huge and a pleasant surprise if Johnson were to play in Iowa’s bowl game whatever it might be.