By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – When it comes to the Iowa football team, the question that seems to get asked the most these days has to do with the transfer portal.

It goes something like this:

What the hell is Iowa doing in the transfer portal to help fix the offense?

The answer is simple, but probably not what Hawkeye fans want to hear:

The Iowa coaches are doing what they can under difficult circumstances.

If you were naïve or foolish enough to believe that first-year offensive coordinator Tim Lester could convince a highly ranked quarterback and some highly ranked receivers to transfer to Iowa right now, then that’s on you.

You either haven’t been paying attention since 2020 or you’re being unrealistic.

Tim Lester is doing what he can, but he’s in a tough situation trying to sell a product that has suffered through a public relations nightmare over the past five years.

It was just a year ago that the Iowa offense was a punchline and a national laughingstock under former offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, who was fired last season.

Lester has certainly made progress with the running game as Iowa led the Big Ten in rushing during the regular season and also featured one of the best running backs in the nation in Kaleb Johnson, who led the conference in rushing.

The jokes and ridicule have cooled at least, but there still is plenty of work to do with the Iowa passing offense, which has steadily gotten worse over the past five seasons.

Iowa has managed to stay competitive during this five-year offensive decline, which is a tribute to the coaches, to the defense and special teams, and to the culture.

But there is a price to pay for struggling so much on offense, and Iowa is currently paying that price in the transfer portal.

Lester was able to convince Auburn backup quarterback Hank Brown to transfer to Iowa.

Brown wasn’t ranked among the highest quarterbacks in the portal, but he did earn a spot on the Auburn roster, which isn’t easy to do.

The transfer portal is similar in some ways to recruiting out of high school in that there are no guarantees.

Iowa was thought to have struck gold when Cade McNamara transferred from Michigan late in 2022.

McNamara had some star power after having led Michigan to the 2021 Big Ten title, and to the college playoff, as its starting quarterback.

He was thought to be just what Iowa needed at quarterback.

But now two years later, McNamara is back in the transfer portal and looking for his third team after having started 13 games over two seasons for Iowa.

To say that his Hawkeye career was a struggle would be an understatement.

Injures certainly were a factor, but McNamara also didn’t play very well.

The challenge facing Lester, besides having limited NIL money, is devising a way to fix the passing offense without the luxury of having a proven quarterback and game-changing receivers to help do it.

Iowa has a well-deserved reputation for developing standout offensive lineman under head coach Kirk Ferentz, but apparently that still wasn’t enough to convince Rice offensive lineman Ethan Onianwa to pick Iowa over Ohio State.

Much like in recruiting, the blue bloods usually get who they want.

Iowa recently received a commitment from Central Michigan defensive lineman Jonah Pace, adding a piece to what should be a formidable unit next season.

Pace really blossomed this season and now he wants to play on a bigger stage while he still has time.

His commitment didn’t make huge headlines, partly because of the position he plays and because of the school from which he came.

But Pace should contribute immediately, and that’s significant.

If Iowa were to come up short in the portal this offseason, it won’t be from a lack of effort.

Iowa was among the finalists for Penn State backup quarterback Beau Pribula, but he recently picked Missouri, supposedly at a price of $1.5 million.

Missouri, in addition to having deep NIL pockets, also has been better than Iowa on offense since 2020, so Lester had a lot working against him.

Iowa finished 8-4 in the regular season and is now preparing to face Missouri in the Music City Bowl on Monday in Nashville, Tennessee.

Junior quarterback Brendan Sullivan has recovered from an ankle injury and is expected to start in the bowl game.

He could go a long way in solidifying his starting position by performing well in the bowl game.

But if Sullivan were to struggle in the bowl game, Lester would likely stay busy in the transfer portal because that’s just how things work these days.

The current open window in the portal will end this weekend, but there are two short open windows in January and May for Lester to keep searching.

Fans certainly deserve to have expectations, even in regard to quarterback and receiver. But if you’re not realistic about where Iowa stands, you could be disappointed.

**********

Logan Jones injury: Iowa is expected to be without All-Big Ten center Logan Jones in the bowl game due to a broken thumb on his right snapping hand.

The injury reportedly happened in a recent practice.

Jones had a cast on his right hand during Thursday’s practice at Ensworth High School in Nashville.

Fifth-year senior Tyler Elsbury, is expected to replace Jones as the starting center in the bowl game.

Elsbury started two game this season at left guard against Michigan State and Northwestern when Beau Stephens was injured.

As for Jones, his 2024 season apparently is over, but the Council Bluffs native recently announced that he will return to Iowa for one more season.

So, that should make missing the bowl game easier for Jones to accept since it won’t be his last game as a Hawkeye.