IOWA CITY, Iowa – Jackson Stratton’s journey is becoming more commonplace. Student-athlete and coaching movement in college football creates year-to-year decisions for both parties. It’s business.

The California native remained at Iowa this offseason, not giving much consideration to moving on despite the program bringing in five new quarterbacks. He needed development and felt in good hands with the Hawkeyes.

“When you’re in a good situation, a good spot, there’s no need to up and leave for nothing,” Stratton said at last week’s team media day.

He also values the program’s stability, having seen the other side.

On May 8, 2021, the La Jolla High quarterback committed to the University of Washington. Husky head coach Jimmy Lake was fired in November. Stratton de-committed in early December, then committed to Colorado State a week later.

After two seasons in Fort Collins, it became clear that a path forward to playing time was blocked. Stratton was looking for a change of scenery. Iowa needed a quarterback and offered a walk-on opportunity. He snapped it up.

“It’s been great for me. I ended up in a great situation with great people and great coaches around me,” he said.

It turned out to be a good move for both parties. Injuries led to Stratton playing last season, his first with the program. In three contests, he completed 60 percent of his passes for 219 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. Iowa won the two games he started.

While it was a modest performance, statistically, he was operating in a first-year offense with limited college game experience. Stratton probably could have found another home with a clearer path to playing time in the portal. He came into this season with two years of eligibility remaining and well down the depth chart based on last Saturday’s Kids Day practice. He’s also been dealing with an injury.

“This offseason, I knew I really wanted to stay in Iowa. I just really like the people here, really like the town. I knew I wanted to be here for this season. So, that was just my thinking. I wasn’t really thinking of going anywhere else,” he said.

Stratton put his faith in offensive coordinator/quarterback coach Tim Lester when he committed. Another season of learning from Lester was his best path for 2025.

“The training staff, coach (Raimond) Braithwaite, Tim Lester, great offensive coordinator, Kirk Ferentz with just his overall football knowledge and just the sheer length of time he’s been doing it. I mean, all those things combined just make this place a great place to develop yourself and get better at football. That’s one of the reasons why I stayed,” he said.

The Hawkeyes invested in portal quarterbacks this offseason. South Dakota State transfer Mark Gronowski was the headliner. Auburn’s Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski from Wake Forest also arrived on scholarship. Fort Wayne’s Jimmy Sullivan graduated early from Carroll High and enrolled at Iowa in January. Ryan Fitzgerald, son of Pat, walked on this summer as a member of the 2025 Class.

All of that makes Stratton the old man in the room.

“There are some things that I can help them out with, but they’re all really smart guys. They’ve been handling it very well. If they have questions for me, I’m definitely there, but they’ve done a great job just getting themselves ready and focusing,” he said.

Stratton understands the importance of being prepared. You never know when you’ll be called upon.

When Brendan Sullivan was hurt against UCLA last season, Stratton replaced him in a stadium about 125 miles from his hometown.

“I was kind of thrown in the middle. So I didn’t really have time to think about that,” he said.

The Hawkeyes lost, 20-17. He quickly turned his attention to managing victories against Maryland and Nebraska as the starter. Iowa leaned heavily on its All-American running back Kaleb Johnson, defense and Stratton limiting mistakes, which he did.

“I’ve been playing football my whole life. Once you get thrown in there, it’s kind of like you just got to be a baller. So, it was definitely hard trying to learn everything on the fly like that, but it wasn’t something I couldn’t handle,” he said.

Stratton understands the landscape of college football better than most. Helping the Hawkeyes win their final two games of 2024 may end up being his greatest memories in the Black and Gold. So be it, if that’s the case. He can only control his work ethic this season and see where it goes.

“It’s how you kind of have to take it now with just how much movement is going around. I’m not the biggest fan of it. It’s benefited me to some extent. I guess you just have to take it year by year here and see how it all shakes out,” he said.

Stratton will be living in the moment, focusing on improvement and being a good teammate. That process is made easier by his connection with the program.

“From where I grew up, it’s definitely a different vibe, different hobbies, different things people do.
I’ve been picking up golfing a lot with guys on the team, but socially, it’s been cool. All these guys are super welcoming, especially the dudes from Iowa. There’s a large number of those dudes on the team. They kind of take everyone in and show them around. It’s been really good,” Stratton said.