2023 Iowa FB Portal Thread

SCHawkeye2

SCHawkeye2

Well-Known Member
Hoping to condense a few of the portal threads into one for easier reference going forward.
Who's leaving?
What do we need?
Who's on our radar?

NC Hawker has provided this link for reference.
www.on3.com

2024 Iowa Football Transfer Portal

The latest 2024 college football players that have entered the transfer portal.
www.on3.com www.on3.com
 
I have heard a few suggest that some non-productive players are encouraged to move on. I don't like that approach from moral grounds, but I also think it would damage the culture that is so crucial to our success. I think we need to be the program that commits to our players through thick and thin.
 
I'm going to say it: Iowa needs a QB to replace Cade. He's not going to practice much between now and August. He ain't going to be what everyone hopes he'll be. Too long...too many injuries... Lot of money spent on this fine young man but I doubt it will pay off.
 
1) Surprised to see Thompson departing. Bummer. Loved his energy, and DLinemen are hard to find; good depth even harder. Maybe he's just trolling for bucks, and if he doesn't find any amount higher that what the Hawks are offering, he'll consider staying. Hope so -- high-energy DLinemen are special.
2) Last year, when Vines came back from his injury mid-season, his catch and run ability added a much-needed spark to Iowa's offense. A small spark, but a definite spark. This year, his good hands have disappeared, as exemplified by his drop in the championship game. This year, he really added nothing to the team -- probably a nice man, but his football talents will not be missed in Iowa City next year. Nor Brenden, nor Petras.
Hoping Thompson changes his mind.
 
NCHawker said:
I'm going to say it: Iowa needs a QB to replace Cade. He's not going to practice much between now and August. He ain't going to be what everyone hopes he'll be. Too long...too many injuries... Lot of money spent on this fine young man but I doubt it will pay off.
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Generally agree. However, I do think we should focus on Cade getting healthy and believe he will be the starter. Injuries are weird. Lots of guys get hurt. Lots of guys recover. I admit I am not a big believer in “injury prone.” Random, yeah.

I don’t see Cade as more than a game manager, but a big step up from our recent and current QB’s. He had a darn good track record at Michigan. Pay attention to that history. Complimentary football still makes sense, but obviously our O did not compliment anyone.

Get Cade an improved O line. Get Cade a couple of wide receivers who don’t drop the ball regularly. Surprise! Bring back some solid tight ends. (Easier). Count on him for 2 seasons of eligibility and work our asses off in recruitment and development in the QB room. And, a competent OC.

Hard stuff: Tell Deacon, who I really admire, and Labas, who has failed to become a starter level QB after plenty of time, to move into the portal. Loyalty to players can in fact be telling them the truth.

Good luck to Spenser at Utah State. Have a fun final year as a college Qb and become a D-1 coach!
 
Well two names I saw last night that are NOT LEAVING anyway are Kaleb Brown and Kaleb Johnson. That's pretty big I'd say. Especially Johnson I could've easily seen him leaving since he could go and play right away under the rules. Brown would've had to sit out a yr. So that's fantastic news so far. Not that they can't change their minds but for now that's two pretty big pieces staying.
 
CP87 said:
I have heard a few suggest that some non-productive players are encouraged to move on. I don't like that approach from moral grounds, but I also think it would damage the culture that is so crucial to our success. I think we need to be the program that commits to our players through thick and thin.
Click to expand...
I don't think it's such a moral issue. I look at it as the staff being honest.

Iowa staff has been on record as saying they don't cut players loose from their scholarships unless there's a character issue or they quit or something, to me if they think a guy isn't going to play, why not be honest and tell them they'd be better off going somewhere with more opportunities? Or just stay at Iowa and have a 4 year degree from a B1G school to show for it? To me that's a pretty fair set of choices.

One thing almost no one is aware of is that no D1 scholarships are multi year. All D1 athletic scholarships are for one year only; they get offered and renewed every year. Players know that going in.
 
Hawkfnntn said:
Well two names I saw last night that are NOT LEAVING anyway are Kaleb Brown and Kaleb Johnson. That's pretty big I'd say. Especially Johnson I could've easily seen him leaving since he could go and play right away under the rules. Brown would've had to sit out a yr. So that's fantastic news so far. Not that they can't change their minds but for now that's two pretty big pieces staying.
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I think the bigger worry than transfers is recruiting. This garbage offense has been going on long enough now that there is zero chance we're going to get anyone worth his weight in manure to play WR or QB at this program.

Think about it. We haven't had a B1G capable QB since CJ. This list makes me shiver:

Stanley
Petras
Padilla
Hogan
Labas
McNamara (sorry, he's not what he was cracked up to be, we took a gamble and lost)
Hill

We havent had a non-TE with 400 yards in a season since ISM. Nico Ragaini has been our best receiver since Smith-Marsette was suited up. He's had a grand total of 2 TDs since 2019 and he's our best receiver. 252 yards and no TDs in 13 games. Granted, there are more problems than Nico Ragaini with this offense, but how many passes have hit him in the hands that he's dropped?

At some point (which is probably now), there's nothing left to sell to high schoolers. That's what we should be scared of, not kids transferring out.
 
Fryowa said:
I don't think it's such a moral issue. I look at it as the staff being honest.

Iowa staff has been on record as saying they don't cut players loose from their scholarships unless there's a character issue or they quit or something, to me if they think a guy isn't going to play, why not be honest and tell them they'd be better off going somewhere with more opportunities? Or just stay at Iowa and have a 4 year degree from a B1G school to show for it? To me that's a pretty fair set of choices.

One thing almost no one is aware of is that no D1 scholarships are multi year. All D1 athletic scholarships are for one year only; they get offered and renewed every year. Players know that going in.
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I am all for telling them where they stand. I am just saying if they know where they stand, and they still want to complete their eligibility at Iowa, then the staff should support that (which as you stated, has generally been their policy).
 
Fryowa said:
I think the bigger worry than transfers is recruiting. This garbage offense has been going on long enough now that there is zero chance we're going to get anyone worth his weight in manure to play WR or QB at this program.

Think about it. We haven't had a B1G capable QB since CJ. This list makes me shiver:

Stanley
Petras
Padilla
Hogan
Labas
McNamara (sorry, he's not what he was cracked up to be, we took a gamble and lost)
Hill

We havent had a non-TE with 400 yards in a season since ISM. Nico Ragaini has been our best receiver since Smith-Marsette was suited up. He's had a grand total of 2 TDs since 2019 and he's our best receiver. 252 yards and no TDs in 13 games. Granted, there are more problems than Nico Ragaini with this offense, but how many passes have hit him in the hands that he's dropped?

At some point (which is probably now), there's nothing left to sell to high schoolers. That's what we should be scared of, not kids transferring out.
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We have to bank on a new OC being enough to sell kids. That should be possible if we make the highly unlikely move to shell out big bucks for a renowned guy who has coordinated a potent offense. If we go with a boring retread, that is an awfully tough sell.

As an aside, I think you consistently sell Stanley short. I get that there were a few big games he didn't come through, but on balance he was a very good Iowa QB. Some of his Iowa ranks:

2nd in career yardage
2nd in career TDs
6th in single season yardage
2nd (tied) in single season TDs (26, which he hit 2x)
3 of the top 7 single game TD performances (6 in a game 1x, 5 in a game 2x)
 
CP87 said:
We have to bank on a new OC being enough to sell kids. That should be possible if we make the highly unlikely move to shell out big bucks for a renowned guy who has coordinated a potent offense. If we go with a boring retread, that is an awfully tough sell.

As an aside, I think you consistently sell Stanley short. I get that there were a few big games he didn't come through, but on balance he was a very good Iowa QB. Some of his Iowa ranks:

2nd in career yardage
2nd in career TDs
6th in single season yardage
2nd (tied) in single season TDs (26, which he hit 2x)
3 of the top 7 single game TD performances (6 in a game 1x, 5 in a game 2x)
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I get what you're saying, but aside for a crazy fluke in the OSU game, Nate never beat a decent team. In 3 years he lost to Wisconsin all 3 times, Penn State all 3 times, Northwestern twice, Purdue twice, Michigan State the only time he played them, and Michigan the only time he played them.

Nate's accomplishments were built on the Illinois, Indianas, and Middle Tennessee States of the world. Against anyone with an even remotely detectable pulse he pooped his drawers.
 
Fryowa said:
I get what you're saying, but aside for a crazy fluke in the OSU game, Nate never beat a decent team. In 3 years he lost to Wisconsin all 3 times, Penn State all 3 times, Northwestern twice, Purdue twice, Michigan State the only time he played them, and Michigan the only time he played them.

Nate's accomplishments were built on the Illinois, Indianas, and Middle Tennessee States of the world. Against anyone with an even remotely detectable pulse he pooped his drawers.
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It is tough to tie those losses entirely to him, though.

In 2018, he threw for 256 yds and 2 TDs vs. Wisconsin, but our punt return team turned the ball over 2x, and BF dialed up some of the worst situational calls in memory. We then gave up a late TD with a LB covering a WR, famously leading to the move to 4-2-5 as our base D.

Against PSU on the road that same year, he led a come from behind effort that came up just short because Fant didn't run his route on the goalline as he didn't know the ball had been snapped (we should have called a timeout). Stanley had one huge miss in that game (the easy TD to Hockenson on the 3rd and short play action), but he also moved the ball against a tough D on the road when it mattered. We haven't seen that since.

Against Purdue that year he put up 275 on 66% completions and led us to 36 points. We just happened to give up 38.

Against Wisconsin in 2019, he threw for 208 on 61% for 2 TDs, and we were a 2-pt conversion from OT.

He could legitimately make plays against good defenses, which if we would have had over the past 3 years, we would have had 4 or 5 more wins.

If you want to argue he wasn't great, I am okay with that. But he was good, especially when you look at the historical record of Iowa football. In a sense, he is a microcosm of Iowa football under KF.
 
CP87 said:
It is tough to tie those losses entirely to him, though.

In 2018, he threw for 256 yds and 2 TDs vs. Wisconsin, but our punt return team turned the ball over 2x, and BF dialed up some of the worst situational calls in memory. We then gave up a late TD with a LB covering a WR, famously leading to the move to 4-2-5 as our base D.

Against PSU on the road that same year, he led a come from behind effort that came up just short because Fant didn't run his route on the goalline as he didn't know the ball had been snapped (we should have called a timeout). Stanley had one huge miss in that game (the easy TD to Hockenson on the 3rd and short play action), but he also moved the ball against a tough D on the road when it mattered. We haven't seen that since.

Against Purdue that year he put up 275 on 66% completions and led us to 36 points. We just happened to give up 38.

Against Wisconsin in 2019, he threw for 208 on 61% for 2 TDs, and we were a 2-pt conversion from OT.

He could legitimately make plays against good defenses, which if we would have had over the past 3 years, we would have had 4 or 5 more wins.

If you want to argue he wasn't great, I am okay with that. But he was good, especially when you look at the historical record of Iowa football. In a sense, he is a microcosm of Iowa football under KF.
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I get it. Here's maybe a better representation of my viewpoint.

Iowa QBs in the HF/KF era, in order per tier:

Tier 1: Charles Franklin Long

Tier 2: Drew, Ricky, Brad, CJ (Brad gets deducted for only playing 1 year)

Tier 3: Matt, Chuck H, Nate

Tier 4: Everyone else

Nate does not sniff the jocks of anyone in tiers 1 & 2
 
Fryowa said:
I get it. Here's maybe a better representation of my viewpoint.

Iowa QBs in the HF/KF era, in order per tier:

Tier 1: Charles Franklin Long

Tier 2: Drew, Ricky, Brad, CJ (Brad gets deducted for only playing 1 year)

Tier 3: Matt, Chuck H, Nate

Tier 4: Everyone else

Nate does not sniff the jocks of anyone in tiers 1 & 2
Click to expand...

Good list. I would quibble that he is close to Tate and Stanzi, but reasonable people could disagree.
 
Fryowa said:
I think the bigger worry than transfers is recruiting. This garbage offense has been going on long enough now that there is zero chance we're going to get anyone worth his weight in manure to play WR or QB at this program.

Think about it. We haven't had a B1G capable QB since CJ. This list makes me shiver:

Stanley
Petras
Padilla
Hogan
Labas
McNamara (sorry, he's not what he was cracked up to be, we took a gamble and lost)
Hill

We havent had a non-TE with 400 yards in a season since ISM. Nico Ragaini has been our best receiver since Smith-Marsette was suited up. He's had a grand total of 2 TDs since 2019 and he's our best receiver. 252 yards and no TDs in 13 games. Granted, there are more problems than Nico Ragaini with this offense, but how many passes have hit him in the hands that he's dropped?

At some point (which is probably now), there's nothing left to sell to high schoolers. That's what we should be scared of, not kids transferring out.
Click to expand...
For sure it's a multi front battle that's going on nonstop. The being in limbo land with no OC also this next month is going to be problematic. What kid or transfer is going to commit to play for an OC to be named later? Especially after all that's gone on lately.... So yeah it's still a mess

I'm still of the thought that Cade coulda been good. I just think all the circumstances between BFs system/situational playcalling and personnel and his injury all was way too much to overcome. Now I think he's damaged goods and it's a coin flip as to what to expect out of him.
 
Fryowa said:
I don't think it's such a moral issue. I look at it as the staff being honest.

Iowa staff has been on record as saying they don't cut players loose from their scholarships unless there's a character issue or they quit or something, to me if they think a guy isn't going to play, why not be honest and tell them they'd be better off going somewhere with more opportunities? Or just stay at Iowa and have a 4 year degree from a B1G school to show for it? To me that's a pretty fair set of choices.

One thing almost no one is aware of is that no D1 scholarships are multi year. All D1 athletic scholarships are for one year only; they get offered and renewed every year. Players know that going in.
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I think you're spot on and to be honest it benefits the players as much as it does the program. It not only opens up scholarships for the incoming players, but a players career is short enough as it is and these kids want to be on the field. Their entire life they've heard how good they were and have always been among the best of the best at every level they've played. Harsh as it may seem it may be best that coaches are being up front about playing time and letting guys know they're better off going elsewhere if they want to see the field.
 
Fryowa said:
I get it. Here's maybe a better representation of my viewpoint.

Iowa QBs in the HF/KF era, in order per tier:

Tier 1: Charles Franklin Long

Tier 2: Drew, Ricky, Brad, CJ (Brad gets deducted for only playing 1 year)

Tier 3: Matt, Chuck H, Nate

Tier 4: Everyone else

Nate does not sniff the jocks of anyone in tiers 1 & 2
Click to expand...
I think KF pines for a time when a chubby, unathletic QB could drop back, sit in the pocket, hit a guy in stride, but only have to do that 20 times a game to win 20-17. The Dan Fouts era is long dead. It died when the Manning brothers and Brady retired. Proof of its death is in the form of Mac Jones. The Terminator moment (thrashing in the molten steel) for this era is Kirk Cousins and his legacy of long-term mediocrity that is about to finally fizzle out.

Stanley, Petras, Hill are just slightly skinnier versions of Long. You have to be so good to win with guys like that and none of them are even all that average. Even Long stunk in the pros. There is just so little margin for error when you can't scramble a lick.

The only solution is for KF to hire a young, creative OC and leave him the F alone to move this offense out of the 80s. That does not have to mean spread and throw it 50 times a game. But, it does mean a more athletic QB and more creativity in the offense.
 
NorthKCHawk said:
I think KF pines for a time when a chubby, unathletic QB could drop back, sit in the pocket, hit a guy in stride, but only have to do that 20 times a game to win 20-17. The Dan Fouts era is long dead. It died when the Manning brothers and Brady retired. Proof of its death is in the form of Mac Jones. The Terminator moment (thrashing in the molten steel) for this era is Kirk Cousins and his legacy of long-term mediocrity that is about to finally fizzle out.

Stanley, Petras, Hill are just slightly skinnier versions of Long. You have to be so good to win with guys like that and none of them are even all that average. Even Long stunk in the pros. There is just so little margin for error when you can't scramble a lick.

The only solution is for KF to hire a young, creative OC and leave him the F alone to move this offense out of the 80s. That does not have to mean spread and throw it 50 times a game. But, it does mean a more athletic QB and more creativity in the offense.
Click to expand...

An accurate, quick-thinking QB who can distribute the ball is awesome...if you have talent to distribute to. Without lots of talent at your skill positions, your QB better be able to make plays on his own.
 
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