By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – If we should have learned anything about the impact from NIL and the transfer portal by now, it’s realizing that anything is possible in this current environment.

With players coming and going at a record pace, with agents and associates pushing their agendas, and with the grass-is-greener-somewhere-else mentality always a factor, there really is no improbable anymore.

Maybe that’s why I shouldn’t have been surprised when Iowa defensive end Brian Allen and Iowa strong safety Koen Entringer both entered the transfer portal shortly after the 2025 season ended.

They would have been two of my last picks on the team to enter the portal, especially since Entringer told the media in the days leading up to the ReliaQuest Bowl that he planned to return to Iowa for his senior season.

There was uncertainty since Entringer had participated in Senior Day as a fourth-year junior.

But when he told the media that he planned to return to Iowa, it was just assumed that it would happen.

The problem is you can’t assume anything in this new era.

So many pieces were in place for Entringer to keep rising as a Hawkeye defensive back; from the tutelage of Phil Parker to the chance to start at strong safety for a second consecutive season to being highly respected and admired by his Iowa teammates and coaches, Entringer seemed untouchable, even for the transfer portal.

He was voted a team captain for all 13 games this season, and he represented Iowa at Big Ten Media Day last summer in Las Vegas despite having only started one game at that point in his career.

It was recently reported that Entringer plans to visit Texas Tech, Louisville and West Virginia.

Texas Tech makes sense after having just made the playoff and since it reportedly has an enormous NIL funding setup.

The other two?

Not as much.

But who am I to judge?

Especially when money might be involved.

Entringer has to do what he feels is in his best interest as a player, and also from a financial standpoint because that is now a big part of it. And if he feels that playing somewhere else for his final season in college would be in his best interest, than more power to him.

Money might not even be Entringer’s biggest motivation.

That’s the problem with trying to judge these cases because so much is based on rumors, speculation and assumptions.

What might seem strange or even counter-productive to Hawkeye fans, and to Hawkeye media members, might make sense to somebody with a different viewpoint and different biases.

Hawkeye fan certainly have a right to feel sad, or even disappointed, by Entringer’s decision to enter the portal because it’s tough watching a player develop and then leave at the peak of his career.

But it also works both ways.

Imagine how the fans feel from the five different schools that just lost a key player to Iowa in the transfer portal.

Or imagine how South Dakota State fans felt after having lost quarterback Mark Gronowski to Iowa.

Some might say that Gronowski and the five players that recently committed to Iowa, all of whom played for FCS teams, were just looking for a bigger stage and for more NIL assistance.

Okay. Fair enough.

But that still doesn’t make it any easier for the fans who lost a player to Iowa.

The transfer portal gives and takes, so the challenge is making sure you get more than you give.

As for Brian Allen, his decision to enter the portal came as a surprise because he was in line to be a starter at defensive end next season after having been a key reserve in each of the past two seasons.

I had the opportunity to interview Allen at one of the weekly press conferences this season and it was a joy to speak with him.

He shared his goal of wanting to be on television after getting his journalism degree, and he spoke highly of his experience as a Hawkeye.

So it just seemed as if Allen was content on finishing his career as a Hawkeye.

But again, he has to do what he feels is in his best interest, and to assume anything these days about the portal is just asking to be surprised.

I would never criticize a player who enters the transfer portal for being disloyal because it isn’t fair to judge someone who is just trying to help their own cause, and when you don’t have all the facts. You just hope they get sound advice and make the right decision for them.

If you need someone or something to blame; blame the system, not the players for taking advantage of it.