As of Jan 7, 2026, there are 4,500 D1 players currently in the transfer portal. The Hawks have some MAJOR holes to fill on the OL, the entire defensive side of the ball, and need upgrades at all of the skill positions (QB, WR, and RB).
The good news is Iowa is lucky enough to be a member of the wealthiest conference with the most tv money. For that reason alone, Iowa has a huge competitive advantage over teams in other conferences because we have plenty of money to throw around. Despite what fans might think, Iowa is not broke. The NIL program is above average compared to our upper mid-tier peers. Hell, at the time, Iowa's deal with McNamera was the richest portal deal in the country. This year, outside a few blue blood QBs, Gronk was one of the highest paid QBs nationally. So why is the staff setting their sights so much lower in the portal than any of our peers?
First off, 80% of in-state Big 12 power Iowa State's roster hit the portal. Many of the guys are from Iowa. Some even grew up Hawk fans. Not all can go to Penn State. Yet not one has visited Iowa yet? How is it possible that we'd prefer to look across the country at 2 star kids from Elon, Villenova, and Holy Cross than at Power 4 kids in our own back yard? So far, the only non FCS kid so far was a backup at group of 5 James Madison this year? That's not exactly acting like a Big 10 power with the resources of Iowa.
And before everyone jumps in with "I trust the coaches every step of the way, they are the best identifiers of small school talent," let's look at their rough track record going the small school route to find cheap diamonds in the rough. It's been an utter disaster:
FCS Portal Busts This Year
-CB Shahid Barrows came in this year from South Dakota (not State) to start at CB. The guy wasn't ready for prime time, failed to make the field, and the Hawks struggled at the position because of this miss.
-OL Bryce George came in this year from Ferris State as a senior to start at tackle. Did he ever see the field?
-WR Sam Phillips came in this year from FCS Chattanooga via Budmyer to start at WR and give Iowa the deep threat they've needed for so long. The guy was flat out AWFUL.
-OL Daijon Parker came in from Saginaw Valley State last year with 1 year of eligibility to start at tackle. Never saw the field.
-WR Seth Anderson, the undersized son of an NFL WR, came in from his DII school with high expectations. In the past 2 years, he's had 15 catches for 150 yards and managed to actually downgrade Iowa's struggling WR corp.
Kirk struck out big time mining the diamonds in the rough in the portal. The best portal recruits we've had in recent years were the LB from Power 4 Virginia and the TE from Power 4 Michigan. Would it kill us to go after a few more kids like that? Schools like Minnesota, Mich State, Nebraska, Illinois, Iowa State have no problem pulling D1 prospects and they have lesser budgets than Iowa has. What are we so afraid of here?
Not Even a Scheduled Visit From ONE Power 4 Transfer?
Going down the list, there are thousands of Power 4 transfers in the portal right now. WRs looking for opportunity. Grown men DL and OL. Ohio State cast offs. Texas cast offs. USC cast offs. Most of which are not demanding the kind of dollars the star QBs require.
Facts are facts. Most Power 4 kids are considerably better than most FCS kids. That's just how college football works. And before anyone says "but Gronk went to an FCS school," Gronk was not a diamond in the rough. He was a well known commodity nationwide who won the FCS Heisman trophy and started for 4 years at the FCS level and had offers from several Power 4 schools. That's why he demanded $2M to come to Iowa. He was not some diamond in the rough from Saginaw Valley State...and even then, he was the 15th ranked QB in the Big 10 this year.
The good news is Iowa is lucky enough to be a member of the wealthiest conference with the most tv money. For that reason alone, Iowa has a huge competitive advantage over teams in other conferences because we have plenty of money to throw around. Despite what fans might think, Iowa is not broke. The NIL program is above average compared to our upper mid-tier peers. Hell, at the time, Iowa's deal with McNamera was the richest portal deal in the country. This year, outside a few blue blood QBs, Gronk was one of the highest paid QBs nationally. So why is the staff setting their sights so much lower in the portal than any of our peers?
First off, 80% of in-state Big 12 power Iowa State's roster hit the portal. Many of the guys are from Iowa. Some even grew up Hawk fans. Not all can go to Penn State. Yet not one has visited Iowa yet? How is it possible that we'd prefer to look across the country at 2 star kids from Elon, Villenova, and Holy Cross than at Power 4 kids in our own back yard? So far, the only non FCS kid so far was a backup at group of 5 James Madison this year? That's not exactly acting like a Big 10 power with the resources of Iowa.
And before everyone jumps in with "I trust the coaches every step of the way, they are the best identifiers of small school talent," let's look at their rough track record going the small school route to find cheap diamonds in the rough. It's been an utter disaster:
FCS Portal Busts This Year
-CB Shahid Barrows came in this year from South Dakota (not State) to start at CB. The guy wasn't ready for prime time, failed to make the field, and the Hawks struggled at the position because of this miss.
-OL Bryce George came in this year from Ferris State as a senior to start at tackle. Did he ever see the field?
-WR Sam Phillips came in this year from FCS Chattanooga via Budmyer to start at WR and give Iowa the deep threat they've needed for so long. The guy was flat out AWFUL.
-OL Daijon Parker came in from Saginaw Valley State last year with 1 year of eligibility to start at tackle. Never saw the field.
-WR Seth Anderson, the undersized son of an NFL WR, came in from his DII school with high expectations. In the past 2 years, he's had 15 catches for 150 yards and managed to actually downgrade Iowa's struggling WR corp.
Kirk struck out big time mining the diamonds in the rough in the portal. The best portal recruits we've had in recent years were the LB from Power 4 Virginia and the TE from Power 4 Michigan. Would it kill us to go after a few more kids like that? Schools like Minnesota, Mich State, Nebraska, Illinois, Iowa State have no problem pulling D1 prospects and they have lesser budgets than Iowa has. What are we so afraid of here?
Not Even a Scheduled Visit From ONE Power 4 Transfer?
Going down the list, there are thousands of Power 4 transfers in the portal right now. WRs looking for opportunity. Grown men DL and OL. Ohio State cast offs. Texas cast offs. USC cast offs. Most of which are not demanding the kind of dollars the star QBs require.
Facts are facts. Most Power 4 kids are considerably better than most FCS kids. That's just how college football works. And before anyone says "but Gronk went to an FCS school," Gronk was not a diamond in the rough. He was a well known commodity nationwide who won the FCS Heisman trophy and started for 4 years at the FCS level and had offers from several Power 4 schools. That's why he demanded $2M to come to Iowa. He was not some diamond in the rough from Saginaw Valley State...and even then, he was the 15th ranked QB in the Big 10 this year.
Last edited:
