During the winter and spring transfer portal windows, Iowa Football lost 13 players to the transfer portal. A few starters and multiple depth pieces entered the portal between the end of the 2024-2025 season and when the portal closed in April.
According to On3 Sports, Iowa lost significant talent and did not do enough in the portal to bridge the gap. Here are the three most significant transfer portal exits that could haunt the Hawkeyes.
No. 1 Brendan Sullivan, quarterback
The most popular player on any college football team is the backup quarterback. That has been true at Iowa since superstar Brad Banks patrolled the backfield.
Last season, Iowa fans got their wish when backup Brendan Sullivan took over for the injured Cade McNamara and remained the starter after McNamara was wildly ineffective. Sullivan was a breath of fresh air for Hawkeye fans and showed glimpses of what a dual-threat quarterback can be.
Before McNamara's injury, new Offensive Coordinator Tim Lester used Sullivan in rushing packages, especially near the endzone. During his brief stint with the Hawkeyes, Sullivan threw for 475 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. He also rushed for 150 yards and four touchdowns.
Sullivan was lethal in short-yardage quarterback option runs and had the benefit of handing it off to superstar Kaleb Johnson. After Iowa secured Mark Gronowski through the transfer portal, Sullivan saw the writing on the wall.
While losing a backup quarterback does not mean much to a bigger program, the Hawkeyes will miss Sullivan's leadership and knowledge of the playbook. Not to mention, if Gronowski cannot fully recover from his injury in time for the start of the season.
No. 2 John Nestor, defensive back
This one stings because defensive back John Nestor was in line for a larger role in 2025, and he transferred to rival Minnesota. Iowa received solid play from starting cornerback Jermari Harris, but that was all. When Harris suffered an injury, cornerbacks TJ Hall and DeShaun Lee were highly inconsistent.
Nestor was in line to compete for a starting role after carving out more playing time during the 2024-2025 season. Hall and Lee return to the secondary, but it is unknown if they have taken a step forward from last season.
There has never been a reason to doubt defensive coordinator Phil Parker, and he must get the most out of Hall, Lee, and transfer Shahid Barros in Nestor's absence. If any of them struggle, the Hawkeyes are young and thin at the defensive back position.
Losing Nestor could be a huge blow to the Hawkeye secondary next season.
No. 3 Kaleb Brown, wide receiver
Ineffective quarterback play has been the Achilles' heel of the Hawkeye offense for years. It has doomed the careers of multiple wide receivers, including Kaleb Brown.
After transferring to Iowa from Ohio State in 2023, Iowa fans had high expectations for Brown. Thanks to the ineffective quarterback play of Cade McNamara and Deacon Hill, Brown's numbers did not jump off the page.
In 11 games (four starts), Brown tallied 215 receiving yards and one touchdown on 22 receptions. He showed flashes of his pass-catching abilities and speed, and wowed Iowa fans when he got into open space. During the 2024 season, Brown only played in three games due to multiple injuries.
He made this list because it would have been fun to see what he could have done in the second year of Offensive Coordinator Tim Lester's system, and having star quarterback Mark Gronowski throw him the ball
Iowa returns starting wide receiver Jacob Gill and added Sam Phillips from the transfer portal, and Brown was poised for a larger role this season. The Hawkeyes now turn to the often-injured Seth Anderson, a young and unproven Reece Vander Zee, and return specialist Kaden Wetjen to replace Brown.