Spring football has wrapped up, and the spring transfer portal window has closed as teams prepare for the 2025-2026 season. The Hawkeyes lost 15 players to the transfer portal, including both 2024-2025 starting quarterbacks, Cade McNamara and Brendan Sullivan.
Iowa added nine players through the portal, mostly on offense. That includes quarterbacks Hank Brown (Auburn), Mark Gronowski (South Dakota State), and Jeremy Hecklinski (Wake Forest).
After the transfer portal closed, On3 Sports ranked Iowa's transfer class as No. 53 overall.
Head Coach Kirk Ferentz is adamant that he does not want to build a roster solely through the transfer portal, which has led Iowa to very few portal additions.
After the 2024-2025 season, when the Hawkeyes finished 8-5, losing in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl to finish the season, Iowa lost multiple key pieces on both sides.
Iowa lost five players to the NFL Draft, including a consensus All-American running back Kaleb Johnson (Pittsburgh Steelers) and defensive anchor Jay Higgins (Baltimore Ravens). Four former Hawkeyes also signed preferred free-agent contracts after going undrafted.
The Hawkeyes have some huge gaps to fill on offense and defense heading into the 2025-2026 season, but one national college football analyst is high on the Hawkeyes after spring football concluded.
Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt is high on the Hawks, and has them sneaking into the top 25 at No. 23 overall to begin the 2025-2026 season. While it kills most Hawkeye fans to see the Hawks at No. 23 and rival Iowa State at No. 17, his preseason prediction for Iowa is generous.
During the May 5 "The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast," Klatt stated the Hawkeyes have earned the benefit of the doubt and deserve to be in the top 25 to start the season.
He is high on the Hawkeyes for two main reasons.
Reason one: projected offensive improvement
During the first year under Lester, the Hawkeyes finished No. 72 in the nation in scoring.
While that number does not jump off the page, during the three prior seasons under former OC Brian Ferentz, the Hawkeyes ranked No. 129 (2023), No. 122 (2022), and No. 99 (2021) in the nation in scoring.
Klatt noted that Iowa lost three games last season by three points or fewer, and those losses can turn into wins. As long as Iowa continues its offensive improvement, those losses can easily turn into wins next season.
Reason two: gunslinger Mark Gronowski
Iowa had a quiet transfer portal season, adding only nine players. Mark Gronowski was the biggest transfer portal addition. Gronowski is coming off a season where he threw for 2,721 yards and 23 touchdowns, guiding South Dakota to the FCS Championship semifinals.
During his four-year career at South Dakota State, Gronowski accumulated 10,330 passing yards, 1,767 rushing yards, and 130 total touchdowns (93 passing, 37 rushing).
Klatt noted that Iowa has always had subpar quarterback play, but Gronowski is a proven winner who should help them push the needle on offense next season.
"I believe in them (Iowa) a lot more than others."Joel Klatt, Fox Sports College Football
The 2025-2026 Iowa Football season begins on Saturday, August 30, as they welcome the University at Albany Great Danes to Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City.