Iowa self-reporting potential tampering violation involving Kadyn Proctor
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Former Alabama offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor raised some eyebrows when he told reporters a few weeks ago that the Iowa coaches were supportive after he had struggled in a game this past season.
Proctor’s comments to the media caused concerns that Iowa might have violated rules on tampering, and that’s why Iowa Athletics is now in the process of self-reporting the potential violation.
Iowa Athletic Director Beth Goetz said after Thursday’s Presidential Committee on Athletics (PCA) meeting in Iowa City that Iowa recruiting director Tyler Barnes, who is the son-in-law of Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz, sent Proctor a text message after a loss to Texas in September telling Proctor to basically hang in there.
Proctor had allowed two sacks in Alabama’s 34-24 loss to Texas on September 9 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Proctor has since transferred to Iowa in January and is now attending classes as a member of the Iowa football team.
Goetz was responding on Thursday to a question asked by Scott Dochterman from the Athletic.
She said it was important to report the text message from Barnes as a potential violation.
Proctor was attending an Iowa basketball game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena shortly after he announced his decision to transfer when he was interviewed by members of the Iowa media.
In one of the interviews Proctor said:
“No bridges were burned,” Proctor said in one of several interviews he did with the Iowa media that day. “That’s why it was so easy for me to pick them when I did enter the transfer portal because I had those relationships. Even when I was doing bad in the SEC, they hit me up and said, ‘We’re proud of you.”
Proctor, a former five-star recruit from Southeast Polk, started all 14 games at left tackle for Alabama as a true freshman last season.
However, he decided to transfer to Iowa shortly after Nick Saban announced that he was retiring as the Alabama head coach.
Proctor had initially committed to Iowa in high school, but then switched his commitment to Alabama shortly before the signing day in December 2022.
The 6-foot-7, 360-pound Proctor is expected to start at left tackle for Iowa next season.