2022-23 Transfer Portal Tracker: Quarterback

The names are flying into the portal — stay up to date with them ALL right here!

What can landing a quarterback get you? Look no further than USC, which landed former prized recruit [autotag]Caleb Williams[/autotag] shortly after Lincoln Riley’s arrival a year ago. All the sophomore has done is lead USC’s charge to a possible College Football Playoff appearance by having a Heisman Trophy-worthy season.

After sitting through nearly an entire season of [autotag]Drew Pyne[/autotag], a few things are clear: He plays his heart out each time he’s on the field. He clearly loves Notre Dame. His teammates love him. And his ceiling simply isn’t high enough to help the Irish win big. Combine that with inexperience and injury issues to Notre Dame’s other quarterbacks, and it’s easy to see why the Irish appear headed to the portal to bring in a quarterback for 2023.

Here is the updated list of quarterbacks who have entered the transfer portal since August. Some have chosen new programs; the vast majority have not.

Keep track of all the movement and names of potential quarterbacks for your favorite teams below.

Note: Players are sorted by the date they entered the portal

Iowa not ruling out multiple QBs versus Northwestern, no decision on the starter yet

While a decision on the starter will have to wait until later in the week, multiple quarterbacks could play versus Northwestern.

If Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz and his offensive staff know which direction they’re planning on heading in terms of the starting quarterback versus Northwestern, he’s not ready to tip his hand just yet.

“The quarterback situation, we haven’t made a decision yet. I’m not sure when we will. We’ll let both guys work with the ones, rotating them in and out and playing that out and making a decision here during the week, kind of going from there,” Ferentz said during his Tuesday press conference.

Both Spencer Petras and Alex Padilla played at No. 2 Ohio State during the Hawkeyes’ 54-10 loss. Petras finished his day 6-of-14 passing for 49 yards with a pair of interceptions, one of which that was returned for a touchdown by Buckeyes linebacker Tommy Eichenberg. Meanwhile, Padilla completed just 5-of-10 passes for 32 yards and he was intercepted once as well.

Petras was also sacked and fumbled and Padilla mishandled a quarterback-center exchange with Logan Jones that resulted in another takeaway for Ohio State. Suffice it to say, the results weren’t great against the Buckeyes.

With both quarterbacks’ struggles against Ohio State, it means the evaluation isn’t a simple one.

“Really wasn’t much good Saturday, in general. Didn’t matter who was in there. So that’s part. Everything is part of the evaluation to answer your question. What we saw in practice, things we saw on Saturday and the past. Keep pushing forward. It’s not like we have a scientific formula. We’ll see how the week plays out,” Ferentz said.

Ferentz hopes to make a decision and then stick with it. Still, he’s not ruling out the possibility that multiple quarterbacks could play versus Northwestern.

“We’re not planning on rotation at this point. But anything’s possible. Not going to rule it out. But preferably wouldn’t want to do that. And whoever starts hopefully not looking over their shoulder. We also have to get it going offensively and show some production, too. So hopefully whoever is in there can help us do that. That’s the team goal. And there’s I guess a balancing act that goes on with it because you don’t want to make a decision based on one play. Something like that. We’ll kind of see. Make a decision and ride with it for a little bit,” Ferentz said.

Conceivably, Iowa might take the decision right up until the final buzzer.

“We haven’t made a decision yet. Today and tomorrow are big work days for us. We’re not going to do anything between now and then. We’ll see how we feel coming off the field and maybe take it to Friday. We’ll see,” Ferentz said.

Regardless of which direction the Hawkeyes ultimately go, the sum of Iowa’s parts need to be better collectively.

“For quarterback play, it’s really complex. So it’s not a simple equation. Those guys out there are just humming, but usually if a guy is humming means he’s getting good teamwork and good help around him, too. There’s a lot that goes into good quarterback play, just like every position,” Ferentz said.

It would be a welcome sight if Iowa finally gets some sort of a spark from the quarterback position. The Hawkeyes return home this week to Kinnick Stadium for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff against Northwestern for Homecoming.

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‘There’s no magic formula’: Kirk Ferentz mentions 2000 Penn State game as model for resiliency

When discussing how to keep the offense’s confidence high, Kirk Ferentz pointed to the 2000 Penn State game as a model of resiliency.

After registering just eight first downs and 158 yards of total offense that netted one field goal against No. 2 Ohio State, Iowa (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten) continues to search for any kind of offensive footing.

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz was asked how they keep confidence high for the offensive personnel when the unit is one of the nation’s worst and has devolved into a national laughingstock.

The Hawkeyes’ 24-year head coach pointed back to one of his first seasons leading the program for an answer on how to break through offensively.

“We have really good people to work with. I think we have good coaches on our staff and most importantly good players and that has been a commonality 30-plus years during my career at our place so it starts there. And there’s no magic formula. You just keep banging along and you’re never sure when things are going to break through.

“I’m standing here right now just thinking about going to Penn State in 2000. I don’t think anybody would have called that shot, but that was really the first time we played collectively like a winning football team, a winning Big Ten football team. We didn’t do anything magical during that course leading up to that game other than just try to, you just try to practice well and try to get better each and every time out there. I don’t think that formula ever changes in sports. I know more football than I do anything else, but, you know, so that’s the course we’ll stay on and we’ll see where it all takes us,” Ferentz said.

Leading up to that 2000 game versus Penn State, Iowa had gone just 1-10 in Ferentz’s first season leading the program in 1999 and were just 1-8 to start 2000. That was a combined 2-18 record and there weren’t many signs that things were magically about to start getting better.

Still, Iowa stayed the course and, sure enough, the Hawkeyes topped Penn State on that Nov. 4 day in 2000 by the final tally of 26-23 in two overtimes. Then, Iowa won the following week over then-No. 18 Northwestern, 27-17, and finished with a one-score loss against Minnesota.

Of course, Iowa enjoyed its first very successful season under Ferentz in 2001 when the Hawkeyes finished 7-5 before ripping off 11-2, 10-3 and 10-2 marks in 2002, 2003 and 2004. So, the track record for trusting with and sticking to the day-to-day approach and eventually getting results is something that exists for Ferentz dating back to the beginning of his Hawkeye tenure.

Against Ohio State, it was the first time this season that backup quarterback Alex Padilla saw extended action. While it didn’t result in improved results and Iowa hasn’t committed to Padilla taking over in place of Spencer Petras yet, the hope is that it signals that Iowa is committed to whatever changes it will take to improve the offense over the season’s final month and change.

Ferentz admitted following the blowout defeat that Iowa doesn’t have a simple answer right now offensively.

“Well, we’re not playing well enough. I can’t give you an answer. If I had that answer, you probably would have seen something today. Part of the credit goes to our opponent today. They’re a really good defensive football team. Much improved. I don’t want to say much improved. Much improved statistically, but they’re a good defensive football team. We felt that coming in watching their tape and feel that way now after seeing them in person. So, I don’t have the answer or we would have scored more points today and we’ll just keep pushing forward and trying to find a better solution,” Ferentz said.

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Kirk Ferentz snips at reporter after Ohio State loss following Brian Ferentz, Iowa offense questions

Questions about Brian Ferentz and the Iowa offense’s performance created a testy exchange between Kirk Ferentz and a reporter.

The 2022 season just isn’t going well right now for Iowa (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten). After three straight losses, the Hawkeyes now have a losing record and they are in the Big Ten West cellar.

Questions about the Iowa offense’s ineptitude and inability to improve continue to ratchet up after the latest dismal performance. The latest was a 54-10 drubbing from No. 2 Ohio State that featured just eight first downs, 158 yards of total offense and had Hawkeye fans once again in a tizzy.

Fans finally got a look at backup quarterback Alex Padilla to start the second half after starting quarterback Spencer Petras was benched, though it certainly didn’t go according to plan. Padilla promptly fumbled the exchange with center Logan Jones on his first snap and threw an interception to Buckeyes safety Tanner McCalister two offensive plays later. Padilla finished just 5-of-10 passing for 32 yards and didn’t lead a scoring drive.

Starting quarterback Spencer Petras led one drive that ended with a 49-yard Drew Stevens field goal, but he threw an interception on the first play of the game, fumbled away the football on a sack and threw a pick-six to Ohio State linebacker Tommy Eichenberg. Petras ended his day just 6-of-14 passing for 49 yards.

Afterwards, Cleveland.com reporter Doug Lesmerises asked Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz why he is willing to make an in-season quarterback change but not an in-season evaluation and change of his offensive coordinator, his son Brian Ferentz.

“Well, I think you’re talking about two separate job descriptions and two separate areas of responsibility. I know people do it. I know it’s been done. It’s been done this year. Again, it’s just not my preference. My preference has been to play it out, and there’s evidence to show that it’s worked pretty well in the past, so we’ll play it out and then we’ll do our assessments and our evaluations when everything’s over. The season’s not over, so, when the season’s over, we’ll make an evaluation I think is best for our program,” Ferentz said.

He didn’t stop there. Lesmerises was jumping right into another question about the lack of offensive production for Iowa.

“You have one of the least productive offenses in the country, do you—,” Lesmerises said before being interrupted.

“I’ve noticed that, yeah,” Ferentz interrupted.

“Everybody’s noticed it,” Lesmerises responded right back.

“Well thank you, yeah,” Ferentz snipped.

“Do you believe that you’re putting the Iowa program in a bad spot by having that kind of production on one side of the ball that’s run by one of your family members?” Lesmerises asked.

“It’s got no bearing on who the person is, alright, and it’s just a matter of who is coaching our football team. Okay, the guys on our staff are guys I think that have demonstrated success. They’re good people and we’re going to keep pushing forward. I don’t feel like we’re doing anything wrong,” Ferentz said.

Lesmerises had one final question. Would that end-of-season evaluation of Brian Ferentz be the same as the rest of Iowa’s assistant coaches?

“We’ve, I’ve tried to treat everybody with consistency on our staff past and present. Same thing with players. I’ve had three family members play as well in our program, and, you know, they’ve got to earn everything they get. Just like coaches do,” Ferentz said.

As the local and national chorus continues to grow that Iowa is in need of offensive changes immediately, some are wondering if serious damage to the Hawkeyes’ program might have already been done. In the meantime, the only immediate fix is a nice performance against Northwestern this Saturday at 2:30 p.m. where Iowa opened as a double-figure favorite.

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‘I just think at that point it was the best thing to do’: Kirk Ferentz on QB change, Alex Padilla’s play

Kirk Ferentz shared thoughts on why Iowa finally switched to quarterback Alex Padilla and how he feels Padilla played at Ohio State.

To start the second half, Iowa fans saw the long-awaited quarterback swap to backup quarterback Alex Padilla. After falling to No. 2 Ohio State 54-10, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz shared why the Hawkeyes finally made the switch to Padilla.

“Just, yeah, cumulative. I just think at that point it was the best thing to do and, you know, but, again, it was a tough situation for either quarterback probably for an assessment,” Ferentz said.

Spencer Petras exited the game 6-of-14 passing with a pair of interceptions—one that was returned for a touchdown—and just 49 yards. He led one first-half scoring drive that ended with a 49-yard Drew Stevens field goal.

Unfortunately for Iowa fans, Padilla didn’t do any better. The 6-foot-1, 200 pound native of Greenwood Village, Colo., native completed just 5-of-10 passes for 32 yards and the Hawkeyes were shutout in the second half.

Two of his first three snaps from scrimmage to start the second half resulted in Hawkeye turnovers. The first snap was a fumbled exchange between he and center Logan Jones and then an off-target pass for tight end Sam LaPorta was deflected and intercepted by Ohio State safety Tanner McCalister.

“Well, you know, the snap thing, I’m a line coach. So, you know, everywhere I worked, they always blame the center, but I blame both guys. You can’t win games if you can’t get the center exchange. I know it was practiced at halftime, those two guys, and they practiced in practice. And then, the other one, there’s nothing you can do there. I mean, nothing Alex can do. But, again, it was a series of issues today. Not just those two plays,” Ferentz said.

Asked how he felt Padilla handled himself following the two early turnovers, Ferentz had this to say about the

“Well, you know, I thought both quarterbacks tried to compete and do their best out there, and so we’ll look at the tape tomorrow and see what we can do, but Alex as I’ve said has practiced well and he’s totally invested. Just like Spencer is. Again, it was a tough situation for him to enter the game, so we’ll just take a look at it tomorrow and see what we think,” Ferentz said.

The Hawkeyes haven’t made a determination on who will start this week versus Northwestern just yet, or at least Iowa isn’t sharing that information with the release of its weekly depth chart. Both Petras and Padilla were listed atop this week’s depth chart.

After falling to the Buckeyes, Ferentz said he and the staff would need to look at the film before making any decision on whether Petras or Padilla would start against Northwestern.

“Well, we’ll talk about that tomorrow, but again this is a tough assessment, too. Tough opponent and things weren’t going real well. You’re looking up at a score that’s a little bit lopsided. That makes it even that much tougher. We’ll see what the film looks like and go from there,” Ferentz said.

Iowa hosts Northwestern at 2:30 p.m. from Kinnick Stadium on Saturday for a Homecoming date. It’s the 12th time that the Hawkeyes have hosted Northwestern for a Homecoming game. Iowa is 7-4 in those games against Northwestern and 16 of its last 21 Homecoming contests dating back to 2000.

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5 takeaways from Ohio State’s rout of the Iowa Hawkeyes

Iowa’s loss inside the Horseshoe had some interesting twists and turns. What were five of the biggest takeaways from the Ohio State rout?

Second-ranked Ohio State (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) looked the part in dismantling Iowa (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten) in the second half. The Buckeyes handed the Hawkeyes a 54-10 blowout loss. In the process, Ohio State racked up the most points on a Kirk Ferentz-coached Iowa team.

Still, if you watched this game, you understand that’s probably not the greatest indication of how the game played out. Let’s take a look at the five key takeaways for the Hawkeyes.

Gallery: Iowa loss at Ohio State highlighted by defense, quarterback swap to Alex Padilla

Iowa’s latest offensive nightmare finally featured a quarterback change. Here were the best photos from the Hawkeyes’ loss at Ohio State.

Finally, at long last, Iowa (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten) made the quarterback change. Whether or not it’s a permanent or longterm change remains to be seen. Still, it didn’t affect much positive change for the Hawkeyes’ offense at No. 2 Ohio State.

Spencer Petras and Alex Padilla combined for five of the Hawkeyes’ six turnovers inside the Horseshoe. They also combined for zero offensive touchdowns. Iowa finished with just eight first downs, 158 yards of total offense and one scoring drive that ended with a Drew Stevens 49-yard field goal. The Hawkeyes converted 1-of-13 third-down conversion tries.

“Offensively, protection issues right off the bat in that first quarter and turnovers are tough to overcome again no matter who you’re playing. So, weren’t able to establish anything consistent and, you know, made a quarterback change at halftime. As I said about that situation early, I’m not so sure it’s, you know, real fair to assess that whole thing right now either just based on the overall play, but we’ll go about that tomorrow. Just thought at that time it was the best thing to do for all parties involved,” Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz said afterwards.

Now, Iowa will turn the page to a home date next weekend against Northwestern where the Hawkeyes will look to erase a three-game slide. In the meantime, here’s a look back through Iowa’s day that involved the quarterback change fans were waiting for through these sensational photos.

Report card: Grading the Iowa Hawkeyes’ 54-10 blowout loss at Ohio State

Iowa surrendered a Ferentz-era high 54 points in the blowout loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes. Here’s the postgame report card.

Iowa (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten) has a losing record for the first time in 2022 after No. 2 Ohio State started slow offensively but found its footing after recess en route to four second half touchdowns and a 54-10 blowout victory.

The 54 points are the most any Iowa team has surrendered since the 1995 season, which means it’s also the most points a Hawkeye team has allowed under head coach Kirk Ferentz. It speaks to the explosiveness of the Buckeyes and how offensive ineptitude will eventually turn into a landslide against one of the nation’s best teams.

While it’s the latest result in what is morphing into a potential season to forget, the marks aren’t all failing grades for the Hawkeyes. Pull up a chair. Class is in session.

Social media reactions: Iowa Hawkeyes fans suffer through blowout loss at Ohio State Buckeyes

Iowa fans struggled through the Hawkeyes’ 54-10 loss at Ohio State. Here were the best reactions on social media from media and fans.

If you can believe it, there was some promise early for Iowa at No. 2 Ohio State. In fact, the Hawkeyes led 7-3 after Joe Evans sacked Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud, jarred the football loose and then picked it up himself and rumbled 11 yards into the end zone.

As has typified the Hawkeyes’ end to last season and all of 2022, though, the Iowa offense was the defense’s undoing. The first play from scrimmage saw a Spencer Petras pass intercepted by Ohio State safety Tanner McCalister. Before the first half was finished, Petras was sacked and fumbled to end another drive with a turnover and he threw a pick-six that Ohio State linebacker Tommy Eichenberg ran back.

The Hawkeye defense did all it could in the first half to keep Iowa close. For one reason or another, four different first-half Ohio State drives started in Iowa territory. Those four possessions all ended with a Buckeyes field goal.

The long awaited change at quarterback finally came to start the second half for the Hawkeyes. After Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell picked off Stroud to set up the Hawkeyes’ first offensive possession of the second half, in came backup quarterback Alex Padilla. It did not go well.

The first offensive snap from scrimmage for Padilla in 2022 was a fumbled exchange between center and quarterback that Ohio State pounced on. Padilla was intercepted on Iowa’s next drive and finished just 5-of-10 passing for 32 yards. Iowa didn’t score in the second half.

Naturally, the national media, local media and, of course, Iowa Hawkeyes fans had plenty to react to during what wound up as a 54-10 blowout loss at Ohio State. Here were the best social media reactions from Iowa’s frustrating trip to the Horseshoe.

Iowa fan simulates Hawkeyes quarterback battle via NCAA Football showdown

One Iowa fan set out to see how the Spencer Petras-Alex Padilla quarterback battle would play out in an NCAA Football simulation.

While it may have been the bye week, fans still got their weekly dose of Iowa football, and this time the Hawkeyes literally couldn’t lose their game.

Fueled by Iowa fans raising $600 for the UI Children’s Hospital and Hurricane Ian relief in Florida, Twitter user Cody Hills (@ByCodyHills) booted up the old NCAA Football video game and set out to find who truly would lead Iowa the best. Could he answer Brian Ferentz’s question about the upside of starting Alex Padilla?

The premise was simple enough. Iowa’s roster was imported with both teams featuring the same usual starting lineups. Team Padilla donned the white away uniforms, Team Petras rocking the black and gold.

Petras won the toss, and like Matt Hasselbeck, said he wanted the ball and was going to score. Of course, Petras was intercepted on his first pass of the simulation. Ouch. The senior starter would be picked off by the Iowa defense three times. Cornerback Riley Moss would actually pick off both quarterbacks, while safeties Kaevon Merriweather and Quinn Schulte caused the other two Petras turnovers.

We might have to question where video game Drew Stevens’ loyalty lies. The kicker made both of his kicks for Team Padilla, but missed his lone attempt for Team Petras. I’d call shenanigans, but a 55-yarder is a tall task to ask of the freshman. We found out his maximum range at least, not even coming close to connecting on the long attempt.

Overall, yeah, it wasn’t pretty for either quarterback. Petras finished 18-of-31 passing in the 27-14 loss, throwing three picks to only one touchdown. Alex Padilla had a much better completion percentage at 78%, completing 18-of-23 passes, but he did not throw a single touchdown. Neither quarterback threw for over 200 yards.

The main takeaway? Whether it is in real life or in a video game simulation, the Ferentz offense still doesn’t work! Both passing games were atrocious, and no match for a stout Hawkeyes defense. At least Kaleb Johnson looked good running the ball.

If we are going off of video game logic, which seems pretty sound to me, Padilla offers the benefit of game management. He didn’t make nearly the same mistakes Petras did in this game, and it should be noted that Petras has more picks than touchdowns this season.

Either way, boy, the offense is in trouble no matter who is at the helm. Even a video game about as outdated as the Iowa offensive scheme can tell you that.

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