With the season coming to a close, it's interesting to see how a few of the guys are doing who were either almost Hawks or who left the program in their "prime."
Jacob Bostick. WR. Played in 5 games for the Hawks as a freshmen (he had a few drops but 0 catches) and fans were high on him becoming a stud because he looked the part at 6'3 and athletic. Well he chased an $EC bag of cash and somehow transferred over to #3 ranked Texas A&M. Last year, he played in 12 games for the Aggies and increased his production from 0 catches all season to 1 catch all season. I don't think the Aggies were too pleased with their return on investment, and Bostick jumped back in the portal and ended up at powerhouse San Diego State. So far, he's got 11 catches on the year in the Mountain West Conference.
Drew Miller. P. The nation's #1 ranked punting recruit coming out of Mediapolis, Iowa. For reasons unknown, the Hawks didn't recruit the kid because their top choice was the kid from 8,000 miles away in Dakin. Well, Miller took his talents to #4 ranked Georgia, where he's averaging a whopping 48 yards per punt, with 1/3 of his punts being downed inside the 20 yardline. Dakin, Iowa's preferred choice, is averaging 42 yards per punt after his disappointing performance against USC.
John Nestor. DB. Nestor was your typical Hawkeye db recruit. Lightly recruited but Phil saw something special in him. Phil was right. While Nestor had just 14 tackles for the Hawks last year, he's stepped up his game at Minnesota this year. He now has 38 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 6 pass deflections for the Gophers. He sure would have been a solid second cb at Iowa with his 6'1 frame. Could have been the difference in several back breaking catches by Oregon/USC/Indiana.
Brendan Sullivan. QB. Iowa's top QB last year bolted when the Hawks brought in a grad transfer that they blew the entire offense's NIL allotment on. He went down to Tulane, who ultimately recruited over Sullivan and brought in a second portal QB who ended up winning the starting job. So while Sully threw 53 passes for the Hawks last year in his backup role before injury, at Tulane he's thrown just 28 passes (2 tds and 2 ints). Probably not what he envisioned for his senior year after 2 transfers.
Kaleb Brown. WR. After transferring from Ohio State to Iowa, Hawk fans thought Brown could be the best WR they've had since DJK. As a redshirt freshmen for the Hawks 2 years ago, he looked the part, with 27 catches for 215 yards. By comparison, Iowa's #1 receiver this year, 5th year senior Gill, has 18 catches for 237 yards. So what is Brown up to this year? Sadly, he landed at UAB, where he has just 15 catches for 194 yards. It's a shame, cause I was a big fan of Brown.
LeShon Williams. RB. In 2023, Williams ran for 821 yards for the Hawks, averaging 4.8 yards per carry with a really bad OL. By comparison, Moulton currently has 612 yards rushing this season. Williams transferred to Kansas, where he's rushed for just 414 yards, averaging 5.3 yards per carry as a backup.
Moral of the story...the grass isn't always greener at other schools. Particularly with QBs, RBs and WRs who get way more opportunity at Iowa (due to a lack of talent) than they get when they transfer.
Jacob Bostick. WR. Played in 5 games for the Hawks as a freshmen (he had a few drops but 0 catches) and fans were high on him becoming a stud because he looked the part at 6'3 and athletic. Well he chased an $EC bag of cash and somehow transferred over to #3 ranked Texas A&M. Last year, he played in 12 games for the Aggies and increased his production from 0 catches all season to 1 catch all season. I don't think the Aggies were too pleased with their return on investment, and Bostick jumped back in the portal and ended up at powerhouse San Diego State. So far, he's got 11 catches on the year in the Mountain West Conference.
Drew Miller. P. The nation's #1 ranked punting recruit coming out of Mediapolis, Iowa. For reasons unknown, the Hawks didn't recruit the kid because their top choice was the kid from 8,000 miles away in Dakin. Well, Miller took his talents to #4 ranked Georgia, where he's averaging a whopping 48 yards per punt, with 1/3 of his punts being downed inside the 20 yardline. Dakin, Iowa's preferred choice, is averaging 42 yards per punt after his disappointing performance against USC.
John Nestor. DB. Nestor was your typical Hawkeye db recruit. Lightly recruited but Phil saw something special in him. Phil was right. While Nestor had just 14 tackles for the Hawks last year, he's stepped up his game at Minnesota this year. He now has 38 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 6 pass deflections for the Gophers. He sure would have been a solid second cb at Iowa with his 6'1 frame. Could have been the difference in several back breaking catches by Oregon/USC/Indiana.
Brendan Sullivan. QB. Iowa's top QB last year bolted when the Hawks brought in a grad transfer that they blew the entire offense's NIL allotment on. He went down to Tulane, who ultimately recruited over Sullivan and brought in a second portal QB who ended up winning the starting job. So while Sully threw 53 passes for the Hawks last year in his backup role before injury, at Tulane he's thrown just 28 passes (2 tds and 2 ints). Probably not what he envisioned for his senior year after 2 transfers.
Kaleb Brown. WR. After transferring from Ohio State to Iowa, Hawk fans thought Brown could be the best WR they've had since DJK. As a redshirt freshmen for the Hawks 2 years ago, he looked the part, with 27 catches for 215 yards. By comparison, Iowa's #1 receiver this year, 5th year senior Gill, has 18 catches for 237 yards. So what is Brown up to this year? Sadly, he landed at UAB, where he has just 15 catches for 194 yards. It's a shame, cause I was a big fan of Brown.
LeShon Williams. RB. In 2023, Williams ran for 821 yards for the Hawks, averaging 4.8 yards per carry with a really bad OL. By comparison, Moulton currently has 612 yards rushing this season. Williams transferred to Kansas, where he's rushed for just 414 yards, averaging 5.3 yards per carry as a backup.
Moral of the story...the grass isn't always greener at other schools. Particularly with QBs, RBs and WRs who get way more opportunity at Iowa (due to a lack of talent) than they get when they transfer.
that was a great breakdown
