By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – At least six members of the 2025 Iowa football team have entered the transfer portal since it opened on Friday, and of those six entrees, only one came as a real surprise.

That would be junior defensive end Brian Allen, who figured to be in line for a starting position next season with veteran defensive ends Ethan Hurkett and Max Llywellen both having use up their eligibility this season.

Allen could always decide to return to Iowa as could the other five players that have entered the portal – punter Rhys Dakin, running backs Jazz Patterson and Terrell Washington Jr., defensive back Kael Kolarik and walk-on quarterback Jackson Stratton.

Dakin, a native of Melbourne, Australia, entered the portal despite being Iowa’s starting punter for the past two seasons.

His announcement came less than two weeks after LeVar Woods announced that he was leaving Iowa for a coaching position at Michigan State under new head coach Pat Fitzgerald.

Woods had been Iowa’s Special Teams Coordinator since 2017, and he made special teams a strength throughout that time.

Part of his success came from recruiting Tory Taylor as a punter in 2020.

Taylor, who is also from Melbourne, Australia, would go on to become arguably the greatest punter in program history, winning the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s top collegiate punter in 2023.

Taylor now punts for the Chicago Bears.

His success at Iowa helped to convince Dakin to follow in his footsteps.

But Woods also played a key roll in that decision, so perhaps his decision to leave Iowa for Michigan State caused Dakin to enter the portal so he could follow Woods to East Lansing.

It certainly makes sense.

Dakin wasn’t as effective this season as he was as a freshman. But if Iowa’s 34-27 win over Vanderbilt in the ReliaQuest Bowl truly was his last game as a Hawkeye, he finished strong, punting three times for a 49.0 average.

Jazz Patterson announced his decision to enter the portal on Friday, and it probably shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

A native of Pompano Beach, Florida, Patterson spent four seasons at Iowa and rushed for 858 yards and scored four touchdowns as a Hawkeye.

But he also struggled with injuries and with getting playing time in a crowded backfield.

Fellow Florida native Kamari Moulton is Iowa’s No. 1 running back and he just finished his sophomore season, while redshirt freshman Xavier Williams finished the season second on the depth chart.

Patterson and Washington are almost certainly looking for better opportunities to play while they still have eligibility remaining, and likewise for Kolarik and Stratton.

Meanwhile, the transfer portal works both ways in that Iowa will almost certainly add some players from the portal during this offseason.

Holy Cross defensive tackle Brice Stevenson was reportedly set to visit Iowa City this weekend.

Southwest Minnesota State defensive back Parker Knutson is also reportedly visiting Iowa this weekend, as are Elon defensive end Kahmari Brown and Villanova defensive back Anthony Hawkins.

Knutson finished this season with 39 tackles and eight interceptions. He has two years of eligibility.

Brown had 66 tackles this season, including 16 for loss, and 12 sacks.

He is expected to visit Purdue after his Iowa visit.

Hawkins was named an FCS Freshman All-American this season. The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder finished the 2025 season with 58 tackles, four tackles for loss, and two interceptions.

He also is expected to visit Kentucky and Wisconsin  after his Iowa visit.