By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – As Kirk Ferentz nears the end of his 26^th season as the Iowa football coach, and assuming he plans to return for season No. 27, he will have some significant roster building and reinforcing to do.

And in these times, that will mean hitting the transfer portal harder than he usually does.

There just doesn’t seem to be any way to avoid it.

That doesn’t mean the returning players on the roster are incapable of having key roles next season.

But when you lose at least eight starters on defense, three on the offensive line, a multi-year starting tight end, and maybe even your star running back, which is the case for Iowa, to not rely on the portal could prove costly.

Iowa also has a very unstable situation at quarterback caused partly by injuries, but also by mediocre performances.

Walk-on quarterback Jackson Stratton started the final two regular season games against Maryland and Nebraska, and the best thing you could say about his performance in both wins, besides that he showed grit, poise and toughness, is that he didn’t do anything to lose either game.

He made just enough throws to give some semblance of balance and he protected the football.

But obviously, Iowa can’t keep winning with that approach.

One of the reasons Iowa is 8-4 and possibly headed to the Music City Bowl for the second time in three years instead of being in contention for a playoff spot, is because of average to below average play at quarterback.

Sixth-year quarterback Cade McNamara has almost certainly played his final game as a Hawkeye, while Brendan Sullivan has one more season of eligibility.

Redshirt freshman Marco Lainez will have three seasons of eligibility remaining, assuming he sticks around, while Stratton will have two seasons remaining.

There is always the chance that Stratton will grow into his role as the starter, or that Sullivan will regain his starting position during bowl preparation.

But no matter what happens, Iowa needs help at quarterback, and incoming freshman Jimmy Sullivan from Indiana is the only help coming so far.

No disrespect to Sullivan, but it would be asking a lot for a true freshman to play right away.

Of course, the challenge will be convincing a proven quarterback in the portal to take a chance on Iowa and its struggling passing game.

Cade McNamara’s decision to transfer to Iowa hasn’t worked out, and other schools might use that against Iowa.

McNamara certainly deserves his share of the blame, but he also struggled with injuries, and Iowa isn’t exactly loaded at the receiver positions.

And while it easy to say that Iowa should hit the transfer portal hard this offseason, paying for it won’t be as easy because hardly anything comes cheap these days, college football players included.

Brad Heinrichs, CEO of the Iowa Swarm Collective, will certainly be busy this offseason trying to raise enough NIL money for Iowa to keep pace with its competitors.

The transfer portal, coupled with NIL, has made college football rosters as fluid as ever, and if teams don’t adjust and accept it, they could be headed for tough times.

The 2025 season will be a challenge for Kirk Ferentz as he is on the verge of tying Woody Hayes for the most wins in Big Ten history.

Iowa’s 13-10 victory over Nebraska this past Friday was Kirk Ferentz’s 204th career win.

Hayes won 205 games for Ohio State.

The transfer portal isn’t go away. It will hopefully add some much-needed structure, but it’s here to stay.

So, you make the best of it.

Here are Iowa’s top five needs in the portal:

 

1. Quarterback: Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester hasn’t even been on the job for one calendar year, so it’s hard to judge his ability to attract quarterbacks. We should learn more about that in this offseason as Lester tries to add a quarterback, or two, from the transfer portal.

Lester has certainly upgraded the running game, but the passing game still is a slow and sometimes maddening work in progress, largely due to the performance of the quarterbacks, which has left much to be desired.

2. Wide Receiver: The addition of Northwestern transfer Jacob Gill this past summer didn’t cause any excitement when it happened because he played so little for the Wildcats.

But Gill has arguably been Iowa’s second best offensive player this season behind Kaleb Johnson.

So, it just goes to show that there is help in the portal, and the right fits, if a team does the proper vetting.

Iowa has some intriguing young receivers on the current roster, most notably true freshman Reece Vander Zee and redshirt freshmen Dayton Howard and Jarriett Buie.

But more help is needed at the position.

3. Linebacker: There are certainly some promising up-and-coming linebackers on the current roster, such as Jaden Harrell, who should be ready to play more prominent roles next season.

But when you have to replace one of the greatest linebackers in program history in Jay Higgins, his reliable and productive sidekick for two years in Nick Jackson and another linebacker that has played in 58 games in Kyler Fisher, it would be wise to use the portal to your advantage.

Iowa certainly hit the jackpot when it landed Nick Jackson from the portal in the summer of 2023. Jackson had played for four season for Virginia where he was a three-year starter.

Jackson, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, has not only fit perfectly in Iowa’s defensive scheme, he also has fit well in the culture.

There is always a risk when adding a player from the transfer portal that it could backfire from a culture standpoint.

But with a risk also comes a reward like Nick Jackson if the proper vetting takes place.

4. Defensive tackle: Iowa should have one of the best defensive tackles in the Big Ten next season in Aaron Graves, assuming he sticks around for his senior season.

Graves is already a force, but Iowa needs more proven depth at his position with multi-year starter Yahya Black ready to move on.

5. Cornerback: Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker, who also coaches the defensive backs, has produced some top-notch cornerbacks over the years with graduate Jermari Harris the latest example.

Harris didn’t play in the final two regular-season games, but when he did play, he was highly effective as he finished with eight interceptions as a Hawkeye.

The Chicago native will be missed.

Junior T.J. Hall and sophomore Deshaun Lee both have had their moments this season as part-time starters at cornerback, but they also have struggled at times.

Redshirt freshman John Nestor also has flashed at times and struggled at times.

Assuming all three return next season, Iowa could still use a veteran cornerback to provide some stability.