Iowa landed their first target in the transfer portal Friday, as former Auburn quarterback Hank Brown announced his commitment this afternoon.
Brown was a quick visitor to Iowa City – he entered the portal on Monday when it officially opened – as he was in attendance for last night’s CyHawk basketball game on the men’s side.
The 6-4, 208-pound signal caller started two games for Auburn this year as a redshirt freshman. He arrived at Auburn after a ridiculous final high school season at Lipscomb Academy in Nashville – Brown started his career in Wheaton, Illinois at the same high school Tim Lester attended – in which Brown threw for over 3,200 yards and 47 touchdowns under the guidance of former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer. He finished the year going 27-43 – a 62.8 percent completion rate – for 403 yards, 6 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. He also played briefly in last year’s Music City Bowl while at Auburn, going 7-9 for 132 yards in a disastrous 31-13 loss to Maryland.
The 3 picks thrown this year, all in the first half against Arkansas, were among his last snaps as a Tiger, as Hugh Freeze switched to Payton Thorne for the rest of the year as Auburn slumped to 5-7.
It’s a swift start to PORTAL SZN as the Hawks look to bolster the roster going into a fun-if-difficult schedule in 2025. In addition to hosting Brown last night, Iowa also hosted Northwest Missouri State defensive lineman Langden Kitchen (awesome name). The Hawkeyes will also host Central Michigan defensive lineman Jonah Pace and Northern Illinois wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph in the coming days – Pace this weekend, Rudolph early next week – while also going after Miami (OH) cornerback Raion Strader, who looks set to visit Iowa next weekend. The Hawkeyes are also pursuing Rice offensive tackle Ethan Onianwa. That would be a massive haul if Iowa were to somehow land all of these players and would validate Iowa’s NIL approach with Swarm. Yes, they’ll have the occasional whiff in the portal. Everyone will. But if Iowa could land this group, all of them at positions of need? That would be a huge boost for the Hawkeyes going into spring practice.
Also crucial is Iowa’s swift rebuilding of their quarterback room after years of disastrous results and mismanagement. Brown, who has three years of eligibility remaining, joins a room that, at least for now, will include Brendan Sullivan, Jimmy Sullivan, Jackson Stratton, and Ryan Fitzgerald. It’s a big step up from the room inherited by Lester last winter.
For a good run down on Iowa’s portal targets this winter, here’s a good list from Blair Sanderson at On3.
Back to Brown – here’s some highlights of his brief time in the SEC.
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