There was a time when losing a quarterback recruit would be a cause for concern. Not anymore. The transfer portal has taken pressure off coaches to land a prep signal caller in each class, which used to be standard.

Iowa has shown little urgency in replacing 2026 California signal Cash Herrera, who backed off a seventh-month verbal commitment on June 16 and pledged to Indiana a week later. The program has become deliberate in recruiting the position in a new era of college football.

The Hawkeyes were offering senior quarterbacks after Herrera pledged to them. Peyton Falzone officially visited campus on April 5 before picking Penn State a week later. That’s when they offered Omaha’s Jett Thomalla, who committed to Iowa State shortly after that, only to have since flipped to Alabama.

Perhaps Herrera felt disrespected by Iowa recruiting over top of him. Maybe the program sensed his pledge wasn’t as firm after it added two Power 4 quarterbacks with multiple years of eligibility through the transfer portal. Certainly the Hawkeyes considered that possibility when doing so.

Like other schools across the country, Iowa is taking calculated risks when building its quarterback room. For now, it’s choosing to mostly operate in the portal.

This year’s starter, Mark Gronowski, arrived from South Dakota State in January with significant financial incentive. His backup, Hank Brown, also was an offseason addition from Auburn. Third-stringer Jeremy Hecklinski joined the team from Wake Forest at the end of April.

While Gronowski will exhaust his eligibility this season, Brown is a redshirt sophomore, and Hecklinski has three more years of eligibility after this one. Beyond that trio, Jackson Stratton is a junior, and Jimmy Sullivan and Ryan Fitzgerald are true freshmen.

That’s a crowd, one that likely influenced Herrera’s decision and makes adding a prep signal caller in the 2026 class challenging. Based on recent decisions, the Hawkeyes are OK with that.

They’ve only played transfer quarterbacks the last two seasons. Cade McNamara (Michigan), Brendan Sullivan (Northwestern) joined Stratton (Colorado State), Gronowski and Brown in receiving reps.

Since the start of the 2023 campaign, Marco Lainez was the only guy that saw action after signing with Iowa as a prep. He received mop-up duty during the fourth quarter of a blowout loss to Tennessee in the Music City Bowl that season. He’s since transferred.

Perhaps this approach will be the norm for the Hawkeyes moving forward. Try developing high school recruits when possible, knowing they can dip into the transfer pool if it doesn’t work out. Flexibility is the key.

Ohio State won a national championship last season with Will Howard (Kansas State) behind center. The Buckeyes enter Week 3 of 2025 ranked No. 1 again with redshirt freshman Julian Sayin at quarterback, choosing not to go back in the portal this time around.

Beyond Sayin and Gronowski, the Big Ten’s current starting quarterbacks are a mix of older transfers or young guys. Penn State’s Drew Allar is the only upperclassman that began his college career in the program for which he’s now QB1.

USC’s Jayden Maiava (UNLV), Illinois’ Luke Altmyer (Ole Miss), Rutgers’ Athan Kaliakmanis (Minnesota), Oregon’s Dante Moore (UCLA), Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza (California), Northwestern’s Preston Stone (SMU), Wisconsin’s Danny O’Neil (San Diego State), Michigan State’s Aidan Chiles (Oregon State) and UCLA’s Nico Iamaleava (Tennessee) transferred in. Michigan (Bryce Underwood) and Maryland (Malik Washington) are starting highly-touted true freshmen. Dylan Raiola (Nebraska), Demond Williams Jr. (Washington) and Drake Lindsey (Minnesota) are redshirt freshmen. Ryan Browne (Purdue) is a sophomore.

If you’re counting at home, of the 18 starting quarterbacks in the conference, 10 are transfers, two are true freshmen, three are redshirt freshmen, one is a sophomore and Allar is a fourth-year senior.

That leads us back to where we started – Iowa’s current pursuit of quarterbacks. It could go in a number of directions and is fluid.

As recently as last December’s bowl prep, it looked like Brendan Sullivan, who has since transferred to Tulane, might be the guy in 2025. He stated that he wanted to be back. Less than a month later, the Hawkeyes added Gronowski in hopes of upgrading the position.

While Brown and Hecklinski are favorites to be the top two guys next season, nothing is guaranteed these days. They might leave or not develop to the caoches’ liking, leading to another portal dive. What happens with them dictates would Iowa does, though.

The Hawkeyes will continue searching for a Herrera replacement in the 2026 Class, signing someone if there’s a match. They could also add depth in the portal or stand pat. It’s a process that’s ongoing and can’t be rushed. It’s best to keep a roster handy.