Iowa football's quarterback future in focus

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Brendan Sullivan took his first reps on the brown turf field at Ensworth High School Thursday morning and looked pretty agile. Jackson Stratton, who led Iowa to a 2-0 regular season finish, led the second line offense.

And there was Auburn transfer Hank Brown, wearing a gold No. 9 jersey. Also in attendance Thursday was Jimmy Sullivan, who graduated high school a week ago in Indiana and wore the No. 3 of the late Kaleb Brown. Both worked with Iowa’s scout team and later brought in live development representatives to complete the training.

“We said all the yellow jerseys are back,” Iowa tight end Luke Lachey said Thursday. “It’s cool to have some depth there. And it’s great to have Brendan back out here.”

More:Gennings Dunkers return, Logan Jones injury, ’25 offensive line preview

Four quarterbacks who plan to play at Iowa in the spring are here ahead of Monday’s Music City Bowl matchup against Missouri, a team that just plucked a transfer portal quarterback from the clutches of the Hawkeyes.

So, yes, even though the final game of the 2024 Iowa football season is just days away, the 2025 quarterbacks room is still taking center stage this week – both visually and in outside conversation.

The Hawkeyes do not have any quarterbacks on their roster who were with the team last spring, with Cade McNamara and Marco Lainez recently entering the transfer portal. Out with the old, in with the new.

And even though he adds new QB blood, Iowa is still looking for more. It reached the final two rounds with Penn State transfer Beau Pribula choosing Missouri and accepting an offer of $1.5 million over two years to play for the Tigers, according to On3.

The Hawkeyes didn’t lose Pribula for the money, a message board account run by Iowa SWARM Collective CEO Brad Heinrichs said Sunday night. “The boy just liked Missouri’s offense better,” he wrote.

It’s a reminder that while Iowa football can sell opportunities, it also has some ground to make up when it comes to convincing talented quarterbacks to make the difference in Iowa City. Even though first-year coordinator Tim Lester’s offense made some big jumps starting in 2023, the Hawkeyes still ranked last among power conference teams with 131.7 yards per game. Only the three military academies (Navy, Air Force, Army) ranked worse than Iowa among 134 FBS teams for the second year in a row.

So there really shouldn’t be any criticism of Pribula for joining a Southeastern Conference program that has gone 20-5 the last two seasons against a team that was ranked 131st, 130th and 123rd in the last three years has documented. Frankly, it can be viewed as encouraging that the Hawkeyes reached the final two for one of the most sought-after transfer quarterbacks on the market.

There’s still time to land another quarterback in the NCAA transfer portal, and Iowa will continue to be in the hunt. Apparently the money is there. Additional QBs can participate through Saturday, and graduates can participate at any time. But if not, the Hawkeyes have at least remodeled their room enough to look different and have more options in 2025 than before.

The bowl preparations have allowed Sullivan (who hasn’t played since spraining his ankle at UCLA on Nov. 8 but is now 100% healthy) and Stratton to work with Iowa’s young group of receivers – all of whom are expected to return next year – to work on timing in Lester’s attack.

“A lot of playing quarterback and receiver is just guys time,” Stratton said. “Sometimes a man can be open, but he’s not where you expect him to be, and it’s just a lot of these nuances.

“We practiced the passing game a lot and I thought we looked pretty good, especially against our defense.”

At this point in the Lester transformation, he needs his kind of people to develop. His main goals are finding and recruiting quarterbacks and introducing the offense. This December was really the first time he had a time without pressure and “his boys” were able to develop. He’s really excited about Brown and the younger Sullivan.

Brendan Sullivan has one year of eligibility remaining; Stratton has two; Brown has three; Jimmy Sullivan and Ryan Fitzgerald (who arrives in June) have four. There is symmetry there. And hunger too.

Three of the four quarterbacks entering this spring will have won games as starters at the power conference level. All four, and possibly another transfer, will look to become the guy to get Iowa’s passing game going. Considering what Lester did to the running game in year one (Iowa led the Big Ten in rushing for the first time since 1960), there are more reasons for cautious optimism than panic.

What’s next after Higgins and Jackson?

The future of Iowa’s offensive line has come into focus in recent weeks, with Logan Jones and Gennings Dunker outlining why they will return for another season as Hawkeyes in 2025. But there was never any doubt about what the future would bring to further high performance.

Linebackers Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson are definitely not eligible to play. But as both players play their final games as Hawkeyes, they are surprisingly happy with the future of the position.

Let’s start with Higgins’ replacement at middle linebacker. That will be Urbandale alum Jaden Harrell, who will be a fifth-grader next fall. Bowl prep is a time when these handoffs become a reality. These are the final exercises Higgins will perform before passing the torch.

“I think you’re going to see another smart player,” said Higgins, who achieved consensus All-American status last week. “Harrell, he understands the game and can see the big picture. He understands how the offense tries to manipulate our defense. I think he’ll be a good leader, another guy that our entire team will get behind.”

As a weak-side linebacker, expect redshirt senior Karson Sharar to replace Jackson, who will make his 60th (and final) collegiate career start on Monday.

Sharar’s biggest problem in Iowa was staying healthy. But when he’s right, he’s a real eye-catcher.

“He is everything. He’s fast, physical and violent,” Jackson said. “He will be special. I look forward to seeing him next year.

“You could argue — we’ve had this discussion a few times — that he’s maybe the most talented guy in our room right now.”

That’s saying something. And even though Harrell and Sharar will only spend one year together, Seth Wallace’s position group has re-energized on the recruiting trail. Freshmen Cam Buffington, Preston Ries and Derek Weisskopf have made a strong impression.

“Some of these guys were already 230, 240 (pounds),” Higgins said. “The freshmen on defense are really close right now. That’s always a good sign.”

O-Line hungry for a steak dinner and a game of evidence

For the first time in school history, the Hawkeyes rushed for more than 200 yards in eight games. And a big reason for that was consensus All-American Kaleb Johnson, who set a program record with 23 touchdowns (including 21 on the ground) and rushed for 1,537 yards. But Johnson is not with the Hawkeyes in Nashville as he has declared for the NFL Draft. Left tackle Mason Richman amusingly pointed out that Johnson had reneged on his promise to take the offensive line to dinner to ask them for help on his record-setting runs.

“He got out of here before (he could have paid), but we’ll get him on pro day,” Richman joked. “You can put this on your timeline.”

Johnson immediately responded on social media, saying he would make dinner good.

Seriously, it’s a badge of honor for the offensive line that the Hawkeyes led the Big Ten in rushing for the first time in 64 years. And at 199.8 yards per game, Iowa has its highest average since 2002 (214.2).

“It’s exciting to have this (award), but … in four weeks, maybe eight weeks, maybe 10 years, we’ll look back and say that was great,” Richman said, “but right now it’s this group over the ( high) finish on that last note, that 13th game.”

Iowa’s practice on Thursday showed that Kamari Moulton is the new No. 1 running back, with No. 2 Jaziun Patterson and hybrid slot receiver Terrell Washington Jr. in the backfield.

It will be a good challenge for this offensive line to prove that it can block anyone and that its collective success was based on more than one sensational running back. Missouri allows an average of 133.8 yards per game on the ground.

“We miss him. But this unit isn’t about one man. It never was. This has never happened before,” Richman said. “He was our MVP, but even MVPs — in the NFL, everywhere — have other people contributing too. For us it’s about playing our best football one last time as a team.”

Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has worked for The Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Sports Network for 30 years. Chad is the 2023 INA Sports Columnist of the Year in Iowa and NSMA Co-Sports Writer of the Year in Iowa. Join Chad’s texting group (free for subscribers) at HawkCentral.com/HawkeyesTexts. Follow @ChadLeistikow on X.

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