Iowa Football Adds QB Deacon Hill

Former Wisconsin Signal Caller Joins Hawkeyes Out of Portal

Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Deacon Hill (10) avoids pressure from New Mexico State Aggies defensive lineman Sterling Webb (26) during the fourth quarter on Sep 17, 2022 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisc. (Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports)

IOWA CITY, Iowa - A day after losing true freshman quarterback Carson May to the transfer portal, former Wisconsin signal caller Deacon Hill announced he would be joining the Hawkeyes on Wednesday. 

Let’s work @HawkeyeFootball pic.twitter.com/vZVykoFl9k

— Deacon Pe’a Hill (@dhillsb10) January 4, 2023

Hill spent two seasons in Madison, redshirting in '21 as a true freshman and playing briefly in one game at the start of this past campaign. He did not throw a pass and had one rush for -10 yards. He had announced he was heading to Fordham before Iowa offered. 

A Rivals three-star prospect coming out of Santa Barbara (CA) High in the '21 recruiting class, Hill (6-3, 230) also reported scholarship offers from Kansas State, UCLA and Nevada. Rivals ranked him as the No. 22 pro-style quarterback nationally and the 42nd player overall in California for the cycle. 

Iowa lost May and junior quarterback Alex Padilla to the portal so far this offseason. Three-year starter Spencer Petras announced he would be back this spring to rehabilitate an injury suffered at the end of the season but his status for '23 was up in the air. 

The Hawkeyes signed former Michigan signal caller Cade McNamara last month. He was expected to be the starter heading into spring ball, but he also still was recovering from an injury suffered this fall in Ann Arbor. 

Redshirt freshman quarterback Joe Labas started in Iowa's 21-0 Music City Bowl victory against Kentucky on New Year's Eve. He and May were the only scholarship QBs on the roster and healthy at that time.