Former five-star signee and Iowa native Kadyn Proctor made his way onto On3’s Preseason All-Transfer Portal Team.
Originally an Iowa commit, Proctor spurned the Hawkeyes late in the 2023 signing class and inked with Alabama. The 6-foot-7, 360 pound offensive tackle started and played in all 14 games last year with the Crimson Tide.
Proctor then brought temporary excitement to Iowa City as he transferred to and enrolled at the University of Iowa. That excitement was short lived.
Proctor’s remarks at an Iowa basketball game led to Hawkeye football self-reporting a Level III NCAA violation for tampering. Then, news broke in late March that Proctor would be re-entering the transfer portal and returning to Alabama.
It was another frustrating development in the Proctor story for Hawkeye fans. Proctor’s inclusion among On3’s Preseason All-Transfer Portal Team demonstrates what his potential value could have been to Iowa football.
The most infamous boomerang transfer to date? The former 5-star tackle started every game for the Crimson Tide as a Freshman All-American, only to leave the program in January to return home to play for Iowa. But Proctor never suited up the Hawkeyes, leaving the team on the eve of spring practice to go back to Alabama. – Jesse Simonton, On3.
Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz was asked about Proctor’s departure in late March after the news broke that Proctor would be re-entering the transfer portal.
“The player you spoke of we never had. It’s not like he ever played or took a rep for us. It wasn’t intentional he came here. Just it worked out that way back in January.
“You can’t count on anything basically until guys get out there. That’s kind of the way it goes. We’re always going to be trying to develop tackles. It’s a tough position to develop. We’re working hard on that right now. I think we have three guys with veteran experience that can do a good job out there, and that’s a positive, but that’s not enough. Two of them are going to be gone after this coming year. We always need to keep that moving forward,” Ferentz said.
Iowa brings back offensive tackles Mason Richman, Gennings Dunker and Nick DeJong.
Richman started all 14 games for Iowa in 2023 at left tackle and he has now started 39 games in his career. Meanwhile, Dunker started 13 games last season at right tackle. DeJong has 24 career starts, including five last season at left guard, one at right guard and one at right tackle.
Sophomore Jack Dotzler was the other offensive tackle listed on Iowa’s spring two-deep depth chart.
Iowa also inked offensive tackles Cannon Leonard and Trevor Lauck in the 2023 signing class and Bodey McCaslin and Will Nolan in the 2024 signing class.
The Hawkeyes open their 2024 college football season on Aug. 31 inside Kinnick Stadium versus Illinois State.
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