By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – If you are disappointed with the Iowa football coaches for not landing more Power 4 players from the transfer portal, then you haven’t been been paying attention.

Kirk Ferentz and his assistant coaches handle the portal much like how they handle recruiting high school players.

They do meticulous research and look for players that fill specific needs, that fit the team-first culture at Iowa and that have a genuine interest in being a Hawkeye.

Instead of always trying to swing for the fence by pursuing the highest-rated and most expensive prospects, the Iowa coaches take a more realistic approach by spending most of their time and resources pursuing players that they have a realistic chance of getting.

Iowa’s most recent addition from the transfer portal is former Elon defensive end Kahmari Brown, who announced his commitment to Iowa Tuesday morning on social media.

Brown is the fourth player from the transfer portal to commit to Iowa this week, joining former Villanova defensive back Anthony Hawkins, former North Dakota State kicker Eli Ozick and former Holy Cross defensive lineman Brice Stevenson.

Brown finished the 2025 season with 66 tackles, including 16 tackles for loss, and 12 sacks. He also forced three fumbles

But since he recorded those statistics at that FCS level, some might question whether he can make the jump to the major college level.

The doubters and skeptics might question that about all four of the transfer additions, though Ozick did make 19-of-23 field-goal attempts at North Dakota State where the goal posts are just as wide as they are at Iowa.

Recent history will actually show that Iowa’s track record for identifying good fits from the portal has been better than maybe the skeptics would like to admit.

Defensive lineman Jonah Pace played his first three seasons at Central Michigan before transferring to Iowa shortly after the 2024 season.

He would go on to start 12 games at defensive tackle this season, and more than held his own or he wouldn’t have started 12 games.

Iowa has landed some Power 4 players from the portal in recent seasons, but the results have been mixed.

Former Virginia linebacker Nick Jackson played his final two seasons in college for Iowa in 2023 and 2024 and he performed at an exceptionally high level playing alongside Jay Higgins. They were arguably the best linebacker duo in the country for two seasons.

Jackson also had played for four seasons at Virginia, earning second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference recognition in 2022. He finished his six-year career tied for the third-most college football games played in Division I history with 67.

Jackson checked all the boxes as a transfer portal addition in that he came from a Power 4 school where he had played well, and then he had success as a Hawkeye.

But Jackson has been more the exception than the rule.

Kirk Ferentz has tried the Power 4 route in an attempt to upgrade the quarterback position, but it has mostly backfired.

Quarterback Cade McNamara came from Michigan after the 2022 season, and he came with plenty of hype and expectations after having led Michigan to the Big Ten title in 2021 and to the college playoff.

But it just never worked out as he struggled with injuries and with poor performances while starting 13 games over two seasons in 2023 and 2024.

Deacon Hill and Brendan Sullivan also struggled during their brief time as Iowa quarterbacks after having transferred from Wisconsin and Northwestern, respectively.

Iowa then took a chance on former South Dakota State quarterback Mark Gronowski and he would go on to start all 13 games this season, setting single-season program records for a quarterback in rushing yards (545) and rushing touchdowns (16) while leading Iowa to a 9-4 record.

So after missing the target with several Power 4 quarterbacks, Iowa finally got it right by recruiting an FCS quarterback.

Kirk Ferentz prefers to develop players from within his program. but he also uses the transfer portal to fill glaring holes.

Iowa has to replace all four starters on the defensive line, along with reserve defensive end Brian Allen, who has entered the portal, so immediate help is needed at those four positions.

The addition of Anthony Hawkins, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound safety, makes even mores sense now that Iowa starting strong safety Koen Entringer has entered the transfer portal.

Entringer participated in senior day as a fourth-year, but he then told the media last month in Tampa while preparing for the ReliaQuest Bowl that he planned to return to Iowa for his senior season.

He always could return to Iowa, but the Iowa coaches still have to prepare just in case.

Kahmari Brown hasn’t played for a power four school, or even at the FBS level, but he dominated his competition at the FCS level as an edge rusher.

He is listed at 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds and described as being very athletic and fundamentally sound.

Brice Stevenson was  three-year starter for Holy Cross on the defensive line, while Anthony Hawkins earned FCS Freshman All-America accolades for Villanova.

All three players were looking for a bigger stage, and probably for more NIL money, while Iowa was looking for players to fill specific spots and for players that were truly interested in being a Hawkeye.

As for the what about Indiana argument?

There really is no good answer because what Indiana is doing under second-year head coach Curt Cignetti truly is baffling, and without question the greatest rise in college football history.

You’ll drive yourself nuts tying to compare Iowa to Indiana right now.

Indiana with Cignetti is sort of like what Iowa women’s basketball team was with Caitlin Clark; a perfect storm of talent, opportunity, moxie and performance.

Cignetti brought a bunch of his players from FCS James Madison to Indiana and most of them have thrived as Hoosiers.

The rise under Cignetti also shows no signs of slowing down as Indiana is reloading from the transfer portal with multiple standout players from other Power 4 schools.

So again, Indiana defies logic and explanation, whereas Iowa continues to operate a certain way under Kirk Ferentz; a way that has mostly worked unless you compare Iowa to Indiana.

There certainly isn’t anything wrong with wanting more success from Hawkeye football.

A person whose glass is half full would say that Iowa has combined to win 27 games over the past three seasons, while a person whose glass is half empty would say that Iowa has combined to lose 13 games over the past three seasons.

Iowa football isn’t above scrutiny.

But one area where Kirk Ferentz probably deserves the benefit of the doubt is his, and his staff’s ability, to evaluate and then add players from the transfer portal that fit.