Iowa football recruiting: 5 takeaways from the Hawkeyes class

June 19, 2024

IOWA CITY, Iowa — There were mixed emotions Wednesday at Kinnick Stadium when Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz announced 23 new players, including 20 incoming freshmen, one junior college transfer and two graduate transfers.

The Hawkeyes fell from No. 24 to No. 37 nationally after five-star in-state tackle Kadyn Proctor decommitted Tuesday and opted for Alabama. The disappointment was obvious, but Ferentz didn’t dwell on it.

Like in most years, there was excitement for the incoming class. Perhaps most unusual, the discussion about the incoming quarterback (in this case, Marco Lainez III) was subdued. But it was a plenty meaty news conference, including some discussion about the Music City Bowl preparation in addition to the new Hawkeyes. The most relevant bowl topic included redshirt freshman Joe Labas taking the reins as the team’s starter against Kentucky after Spencer Petras suffered a shoulder injury in late November.

“This is a really unusual situation, and the person who suffered the most here is Spencer just because it ended up being an injury that needed surgery,” Ferentz said. “So that part is really hard. It’s hard for him to be out there watching with a sling on and all that. But he’s done a great job helping and really coaching Joe up, and those guys all get along great. So that’s where each and every snap is really important for both those quarterbacks.”

Here are five main takeaways from Ferentz’s news conference Wednesday.

Kirk Ferentz taking the high road when asked about Kadyn Proctor: Question via @ScottDochterman pic.twitter.com/RjYneHCqKm

— David Eickholt (@DavidEickholt) December 21, 2022

1. Proctor overtones

To Ferentz’s credit, he didn’t try to brush off a question about Proctor’s decommitment and signing with Alabama on Wednesday. The Hawkeyes have lost good players with signing-day flips, but for an in-state player to bolt so abruptly, it left some residue.

“Recruiting is not over until someone signs — actually signs — and not only commits but actually signs,” Ferentz said. “The other part about that, the prospects, people have the right to make up their mind right until that time. So, I respect that, and I’m sure that prospect had his reasons for doing what he’s done.

“We’d have loved to … if we’ve offered somebody, we’ve done our research and homework. It was nothing on our end like we didn’t want him here. But it’s up to a prospect to decide what’s best for them, and that’s really how the process should work. When it comes to our recruits, we’re going to hopefully never be presumptuous and act like we know what’s better for them than what they know.”

Proctor (6-foot-8, 330 pounds) committed to Iowa over Alabama on June 30. Even as he left for a last-minute trip to Alabama on Friday, Proctor told the coaches they had nothing to worry about. That changed Sunday night when he returned from Tuscaloosa. He decommitted then and signed with Alabama on Wednesday morning.

“We have the 24-hour rule after losses and losing recruits, and yeah, it stinks,” recruiting director Tyler Barnes said. “It stinks. But at the end of the day, just like Coach said, it’s got to be his choice and what’s best for him and his family, and we wish him well. I shot Kadyn and his parents the same text, just: ‘Hey, best of luck down there. We got you; ignore all the noise on social media. Just look at my mentions if you want to laugh at some stuff, too, because I get the same thing, but just don’t worry about that. You guys have to do what’s best for you, and honestly, in this day and age in the transfer portal, who knows what the future holds?’”

Ferentz on Cade McNamara and Erick All joining Iowa pic.twitter.com/X5t99LUhEG

— Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman) December 21, 2022

2. McNamara, All in

The first two names announced as Iowa signings Wednesday were quarterback Cade McNamara and tight end Erick All. Both had committed earlier, but it was a win for the school to simply print their names on an upcoming roster.

Both are graduate transfers from Michigan, have two years of eligibility remaining and are coming off surgeries — McNamara with a knee injury, and All had a back operation. Ferentz is “very confident” both players will be available for competition. Their status for the spring remains unclear.

In 2021, both were key figures in the Wolverines’ Big Ten championship run. McNamara (6-1, 206) completed 64 percent of his passes and threw for 2,576 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions. All (6-5, 255) caught 38 passes for 437 yards and two scores in 2021. Both were team captains this year but played in only three games because of injuries. McNamara was in a quarterback competition with J.J. McCarthy at the time of his injury.

“I’m not a quarterback expert, but just watching what (McNamara) did a year ago, just struck me as a winner,” Ferentz said. “That’s what you’re looking for at that position, a leader and a winner, someone that’s going to move the football team. He did a great job of that at his previous school, and yeah, whatever the details would have been this year and how things fell, to me it doesn’t matter. But it was a real opportunity for us, I think, to maybe attract a guy who saw an opportunity and is excited about it.”

Iowa’s steep tradition at tight end will continue with All. Iowa senior Sam LaPorta was named the Big Ten’s tight end of the year, and sophomore Luke Lachey led the Hawkeyes in touchdown receptions. All and Lachey could wind up as one of the nation’s leading tandems at that position.

“It just turned out that (All) became interested and available, and he and Cade have a good relationship, I believe, so I don’t think it hurt us, at least in our attempt to try to recruit him,” Ferentz said. “We’re losing a top-notch tight end in Sam LaPorta, outstanding, and then you think about the way Luke Lachey is ascending — has ascended. So we go from, I think, having two really good tight ends to hopefully the same situation, and that’s certainly a good thing for us.”

3. In-state battle zone

Iowa has become something of a recruiting hot spot, and the numbers aren’t good this year for the Hawkeyes. The top four prospects chose other programs, and not just Proctor. Four-star defensive end Andrew Depaepe of Pleasant Valley, located about 80 miles east of Iowa City, showed little interest in the Hawkeyes and opted for Michigan State.

J.J. Kohl, a four-star quarterback from Ankeny, signed with Iowa State. The Hawkeyes were interested in Kohl but accepted a commitment from quarterback Lainez about four months before Kohl pledged for the Cyclones. Linebacker Asa Newsom, who visited Iowa unofficially as recently as Black Friday, opted for Kansas State over Iowa and Minnesota.

Overall, four of the state’s top 10 prospects went to Iowa State, and two went to Iowa. The other top-10 prospect, West Des Moines Dowling quarterback Jaxon Smolik, picked Penn State.

“It’s good to have that many in-state kids have opportunities like they do,” Barnes said. “It’s fine to go head-to-head with those teams as well. It certainly provides some challenges at times. But at the end of the day, there’s certain guys that we feel really strongly about and we’ll go after. Sometimes you don’t get them all — you can’t get them all — and it is what it is.

“I think probably the hardest part of this year recruiting is — as much as those teams are getting better and they’re trying to cherry-pick guys here and there; they’re making our jobs a little bit harder at times — there’s just everything else that’s going on with the name, image, likeness and the transfer portal and the lack of structure.”

The competition has become fierce between Iowa and Iowa State, especially in central Iowa. Other than Kohl, three Iowa State signees from the Des Moines area picked the Cyclones head-to-head over Iowa. That includes defensive end David Caulker, who flipped from Iowa to ISU in November.

It’s a change from 2021 when the Hawkeyes snagged top-100 in-state recruits Xavier Nwankpa and Aaron Graves, both of whom hail from central Iowa.

4. Dual-sport plan

For the second time in three years, Iowa signed a football player who potentially has more upside in a second sport. In the 2021 class, the Hawkeyes inked receiver Brody Brecht, whose fastball clocked nearly 102 mph this spring and who was named a freshman All-American while playing for Iowa’s baseball team.

This time, it’s Iowa City High linebacker Ben Kueter (6-4, 225), a Butkus Award finalist as the nation’s top high school linebacker. Kueter won the U-20 world title for Team USA at 97 kilograms and pinned his opponent in the gold medal match. He entered his final prep wrestling season 72-0 and is considered the nation’s best prospect with state titles at 160, 195 and 220 pounds in his first three high school seasons. Kueter, a future Olympic hopeful, ended any recruiting drama by picking Iowa in both sports and not wavering for a second.

It’s difficult for any athlete to compete at an elite level in either sport, let alone both. The initial conversation between the football and wrestling staffs began as wrestling coach Tom Brands “just told us to get it done,” per Barnes.

“Talking with Brands, it was funny because we’re like, ‘How is this really going to work once he gets on campus?’” Barnes said. “Coach Brands was saying, ‘If there’s one kid that can make both these sports work, I’m not going to bet against Ben.’ We kind of agree with him because when you meet Ben and talk to him, this kid is a beast. He’s a complete animal. I don’t know how he does it, but he just keeps it rolling. It’ll be good to get Ben here, and we’re excited, and we’ll see where it goes.”

5. What’s next?

After announcing 23 signings, the Hawkeyes have 81 players under scholarship for the 2023 season. As Barnes said, they’re not done, either.

“We’re still looking for a corner, whether it’s high school or transfer portal,” Barnes said. “We think we need some help out there. We’re going to look hard at a tackle and see if we can find some help outside there. Then from there, obviously receiver still.”

Barnes estimates the Hawkeyes will use between three and five available scholarships on transfers or another freshman or two. Iowa plans to have multiple offensive linemen in the transfer portal on campus following the Music City Bowl.

Ferentz added the staff has held preliminary discussions with a few potential super seniors.

“We’re not pressuring them, we’re not trying to encourage them to hurry, but we want to make sure they know they’d be more than welcomed back,” Ferentz said. “We’d love to have guys come back. But want it to be their idea, not ours.”

(Photo: Scott Dochterman / The Athletic)

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