Deuce Hogan Enters Transfer Portal

Iowa Football Second-Year Freshman QB Looking for New Home

Iowa quarterback Deuce Hogan warms up before a game against Minnesota on Nov. 13, 2021 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Iowa redshirt freshman quarterback Deuce Hogan has entered the transfer portal, according to coach Kirk Ferentz. It left the Hawkeyes with three scholarship quarterbacks remaining on the roster as they prepare for Saturday's Big Ten Championship game. 

Hogan (6-4, 212) appeared in one game at Iowa, completing his only pass attempt for two yards. He spent a few weeks at No. 2 on the depth chart this fall when Spencer Petras was hurt. 

The Hawkeyes experienced some disruption in their quarterback room last week when Petras and Alex Padilla came down with the flu. Padilla started Friday's game at Nebraska and was relieved by Petras in the second half. 

The flu kept Petras and Padilla out of practice on Tuesday. That left Hogan and true freshman Joey Labas as the only quarterbacks at the workout. 

"It was an interesting practice. I can just tell you that. It was interesting," Ferentz said after Friday's game. "We had one guy on one field and one on the other. That was it. That's all we had. One guy working against our defense and one guy running the offense. I'm not even going to tell you what I was thinking that day. 

"I didn't know who the hell was going to start. If it was Deuce, with all due respect to Deuce, I might have stayed in Iowa City. He's still picking up (the system). I'm joking. It's just not a pleasant thought going to your third guy at this point." 

Ferentz admitted on Tuesday that he probably shouldn't have named Hogan when talking about last week's quarterback situation after the Nebraska game. 

"I brought it up to him. In retrospect, I wish I had not named the name. In the team meeting, that might be...hopefully everybody laughed, that type of thing, because the bottom line, I'm not going to coach a player through the media or say something that's hurtful or malicious towards a player. To me, it's not appropriate. I did share that with the team on Sunday, that exact point," Ferentz said.

"If I have an issue with any player, we'll have a private visit. That's where that will be, because I don't like to air that kind of stuff out in public. It was by no means that way, but in retrospect I wish I hadn't said it, quite frankly.

Hogan chose the Iowa ahead of scholarship offers from Georgia, Baylor, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Tennessee and others as a four-star recruit coming out of Grapevine (TX) Faith Christian in the 2020 Class. 

"He wants to get somewhere where he feels like he has a little bit better opportunity, and fully support him. He's a tremendous young guy. He has a really good arm. And I joked about him last Tuesday, but he made some really good throws that day. Probably been more appropriate if I said our third quarterback instead of naming his name," Ferentz sa.

Petras, Padilla and Labas all retain eligibility after this season. The Hawkeyes have a verbal commitment from Oklahoma prep signal caller Carson May in the '22 cycle. 

Ferentz named Petras the starter for Saturday's game. West Division champion Iowa (10-2) face East champ Michigan.