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Note: All star ratings and all rankings are based on 247Sports and its composite rankings as of Tuesday morning, Dec. 20, unless otherwise indicated.
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A new quarterback, a new tight end, and new results? That’s the hope for Iowa come 2023 thanks to its recruiting class.
Iowa won’t tamper its expectations despite insufficient quarterback play. Not all blame falls on Spencer Petras’ shoulder, but when a passer can’t connect for even 10 touchdowns in a 12-game season, you know where an offense stands. Brian Ferentz isn’t going away since his father, Kirk, is still running the show in Iowa City, even if the fan base were to scour their couch cushions and bank accounts to pay for the buyout themselves.
The next best option? Add a gunslinger with College Football Playoff experience.
Iowa currently ranks 26th in the 247Sports recruiting rankings entering the Early Signing Period that begins Wednesday. The Hawkeyes aren’t done yet and plan on being active over the next several days to finalize their roster via the recruiting trail and transfer portal. Will it be enough to send them back to Indianapolis in 2023?
Here’s everything you need to know about the Hawkeyes’ 2023 recruits and transfers.
By the numbers
Overall rank: 24th
B1G rank: 4th
5-stars: 1
4-stars: 1
Highest-rated player: OT Kadyn Proctor, 5-star
Proctor is one of the nation’s top prospects and might end up being the best offensive tackle in the class by the time he leaves for the pros.
Listed as the No. 12 recruit in the 2023 class, Proctor chose Iowa over top programs like Alabama, Oregon and Georgia. A native of Des Moines, his 6-foot-7 frame towers over even the biggest defensive linemen, while his low center of gravity allows him to win 1-on-1 blocks with ease.
For now, Iowa remains the front-runner to land the in-state product’s services, but others are making a late push. Earlier this month, Proctor visited Dan Lanning in Oregon for a last-second visit. Alabama hosted the 5-star pass-protector over the weekend in hopes of bolstering its trenches after a 10-2 season in Tuscaloosa.
Procter is currently listed as the top-ranked offensive tackle of 2023 and the top-ranked player in the state.
Did Iowa bolster the QB room?: Yes, but through the portal
Maybe 3-star commit Marco Lainez III is the future of the position. Cade McNamara is the present. And even if Alex Padilla was to stay behind and take his name out of the portal, McNamara didn’t choose Iowa to fight for starting reps. Barring an injury in fall camp, he should be QB1 for the season opener against Utah State.
McNamara suffered a season-ending leg injury that required surgery last month. Even then, he was always going to be looking for a new home after JJ McCarthy won Jim Harbaugh’s heart and the starting role at Michigan. McCarthy, a 5-star talent from Illinois, was the favorite to land 1st-team reps entering the year, but that doesn’t mean McNamara is a lowly backup.
Last season, McNamara threw for 2,576 yards and 15 touchdowns with 6 interceptions in 14 games as Michigan won its first outright Big Ten title since 2004. He led the Wolverines to their first College Football Playoff appearance, but struggled against No. 3 Georgia in the Orange Bowl.
McNamara relies heavily on chemistry and consistency. A 2-year starter for the Wolverines, he completed over 60% of his throws and totaled a career passer rating of 139.4. Already his impact has been felt on campus as McNamara was influential in landing Michigan tight end Erick All to replace Sam LaPorta.
In 2015, Jake Rudock left the Hawkeyes to join Harbaugh in Ann Arbor. The trade between the 2 B1G programs has been completed 8 years later.
Best position group: Offensive line
Iowa’s formula for winning football has been its attention to detail in the trenches. So far, the Hawkeyes have added 4 new prospects who could compete for starting reps in 2023.
Proctor is the crown jewel of the class, but Trevor Lauck isn’t some run-of-the-mill tackle, either. A 4-star commit from Indianapolis, Lauck chose the Hawkeyes over multiple B1G programs, including Michigan State, Michigan and Ohio State. Fellow 3-star offensive tackle Cannon Leonard is a top-100 prospect at the position and was listed as the 29th-ranked player in the state of Illinois.
Iowa also added interior offensive lineman Leighton Jones from Brownsburg, Ind., its highest-rated prospect at the position since Connor Colby in 2021. According to an interview with the Indy Star, Iowa viewed his frame and background in wrestling as similar to that of former All-American Tyler Linderbaum.
This past season, Iowa allowed 37 sacks, the most in program history in over a decade. Perhaps another year in the system could benefit a youthful unit, but it shouldn’t stop Ferentz from playing the young guns if they’re ready by September.
Biggest need filled: Quarterback
Put a healthy McNamara on Iowa’s roster in 2022. How many wins do the Hawkeyes get? Eight? Nine? Is 10 that far-fetched?
Petras averaged 4.7 yards per throw in a 9-6 loss to Illinois in Week 6. McNamara likely finds the end zone once to take the lead and eventual win. Petras threw for less than 100 yards against Iowa State and its 7th-ranked defense. Does McNamara connect with Arland Bruce IV or Luke Lachey once for points? Six times Petras finished with less than 150 passing yards. In 2021, McNamara only hit under that marker 3 times, and once came in the Orange Bowl against the eventual national champion.
Iowa was never going to win the B1G title regardless of which pocket-passer took reps. That doesn’t mean a B1G West title was out of reach for the program. A win over 1 other B1G program would have sent Iowa back to Indy. And maybe that’s enough for most fans based on the status of the offense with Brian Ferentz calling plays.
Biggest potential flip: RB Terrell Washington Jr., 3-star
Washington is currently being courted by 20 schools, but the top 2 are Iowa and Purdue. The Wylie, Texas, product is simply a playmaker with the ball in his hands. Last season at East Wylie, Washington rushed for 598 yards, tacked on 604 receiving yards, and scored 22 touchdowns. As a junior, he tallied 1,124 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns.
Following Jeff Brohm’s departure to Louisville, Washington decommitted from Purdue and re-opened his commitment. The Boilermakers are making a late push following the hiring of Ryan Walters, but the offense is expected to take an Air Raid approach now that Graham Harrell has been hired as offensive coordinator. Iowa, which ranked 122nd in rushing, needs to bolster its ground game for consistent offensive success.
Washington could be that answer. Will Ferentz be able to secure the commitment?
Final takeaways
Every need was met in some capacity this cycle. The Hawkeyes needed to upgrade at quarterback. McNamara checks that box. They needed receiver help. Alex Mota, Jarriett Buie and Dayton Howard should fill the void left by the transfers of Bruce and Keagan Johnson. Five new offensive linemen were added to fortify the trenches, while the defense added 7 new players for next season.
Is that enough to keep Iowa in contention? Perhaps. USC and UCLA won’t be joining the conference until 2024, but other programs are rapidly improving before their arrival. Illinois was ranked for the 1st time in 13 years. Minnesota continues to be a constant near the top of the B1G West standings. Both Wisconsin and Nebraska will look to turn the corner thanks to the hires of Luke Fickell and Matt Rhule, respectively.
Iowa will likely never find its way into the top-10 rankings in this new NIL world. Still, a chance for a top-20 finish, plus an upgrade at quarterback? There are worse things out there. As it stands, they’ll bring in the B1G West’s top class.
Cole Thompson is a freelance writer for Saturday Tradition who has covered college football and the NFL for multiple websites. Thompson is currently based in Houston, Texas, and also can be heard daily on SportsMap National Radio's 'Just Sayin It' from 3am-6am.