Disappointed, not surprised with Proctor leaving Iowa in a lurch

Wasn’t planning on writing about football this week, which on the surface sort of sounds like a strange decision, right? After all, spring practice begins Wednesday for Iowa.

This week, professionally speaking, was planned to be devoted fully to the captivating Iowa women’s basketball program and a generational player, Caitlin Clark, in her final days of college.

But Kadyn Proctor changed those plans Tuesday with his abrupt decision to tell Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz that he intends to leave the program. And now, much more importantly, the Iowa football staff has to change plans as well.

Twice, Proctor has been committed to Iowa as the highest-rated recruit in program history.

Twice, Proctor has left the Hawkeyes in a left-tackle lurch on the eve of an important day.

First, it was signing day in December 2022. Now, it’s hours before an important set of spring practices begin with new offensive coordinator Tim Lester trying to point the Hawkeyes in a new direction.

Iowa supported Proctor even after the five-star prospect from Southeast Polk High School took a detour to Alabama for his true freshman year. You could almost say Iowa forgave Proctor by welcoming him back to the program in January, after the 6-foot-7, 360pound lineman started all 14 games for the Crimson Tide (including in the College Football Playoff) at left tackle.

Proctor didn’t tell Iowa coaches where he was going, but all signs (including his Instagram account) point to him returning to Alabama. The transfer portal doesn’t open back up until April 15, so plans could change again. In fact, Iowa Swarm Collective CEO Brad Heinrichs, on an appearance with KXnO in Des Moines on Wednesday morning, said he hadn’t ruled out that Proctor could have another change of heart and stay.

But Heinrichs did clarify that Proctor did not steal a large bag of money from Iowa and run, which was some of the social-media speculation late Tuesday. He told KXnO that the only money Proctor received was from the corporate arm of his organization (Swarm Inc.), which helps connect athletes with businesses for marketing spots or commercials in exchange for goods and/or services. (Say, if a car dealership wanted to sponsor the starting quarterback.)

“That’s the only place where’s gotten some, very little, money for NIL purposes,” Heinrichs said. “It’s not taken anything from the fan base.”

Heinrichs told the Register pointblank that Proctor got $0 from the Swarm’s collective and though contracts are confidential he shared, “I feel comfortable saying that he got about 15% of the total he was set to get from Swarm Inc. That’s as transparent as I’m legally able to be.”

But yes, Proctor faces no restriction to transfer back to Alabama and play immediately. The doors were opened recently to unlimited transfers for underclassmen. This could wind up being one of those transfer cases that is cited if and when sweeping changes are made to the NIL structure. Everything seems to point to some day athletes being made university employees. But right now, it’s the Wild West.

One last nugget from Heinrichs: He said his organization’s interests are protected if Proctor (or any recruit) leaves and plays elsewhere. Proctor never participated in a single practice at Iowa.

“I’m not the smartest guy in the world, but I am smart enough to get good legal counsel,” Heinrichs said. “And in our contracts, we have stipulated in there … if a guy transfers to Alabama and plays down there, we’re not paying him.”

Proctor informing Iowa coaches of his departure escalated quickly and is quite the change of tone from his January impromptu session with media members at an Iowa basketball game, when he said, “This is home. This is where I wanted to be. This is the first place I thought of when I entered the transfer portal.”

The Athletic reported that Proctor spent spring break with some of his former Alabama teammates.

Ferentz didn’t waste any time Tuesday in offering a public farewell to Proctor. It didn’t sound like there will be mended fences this time around.

“It is unfortunate that Kadyn has informed us of his intentions to leave our program today,” Ferentz said. “We wish him well in the future.”

If Ferentz is steaming mad, that’s understandable. Iowa’s staff, led by recruiting director Tyler Barnes, worked tirelessly to get Proctor to commit the first time. Proctor was committed to the Hawkeyes for six months before opting for Alabama on Dec. 19, 2022, just 24 hours before signing day. They moved mountains to bring him back 13 months later.

Ferentz sometimes gets dogged for being old-school and resistant to roster-building via the transfer portal, but instances like this makes one appreciate the way he focuses on recruiting and developing carefully chosen prospects from the high school ranks.

Ferentz will meet the media on Tuesday for the first time since Lester’s hiring in early February. We’ll get to hear from the 26th-year head coach about the offensive line, but you already know what he’s going to say when it comes to Proctor’s decision. Ferentz will say it’s the same as if a player suffers a seasonending injury; they need to have someone else ready. Next man up.

But this is a big loss. Iowa desperately has needed help on the offensive line the past three seasons, something that was underscored by having the two worst offenses of the Ferentz era in 2022 and 2023.

What now?

Well, what seemed like an afterthought at the time — Nick DeJong returning for a sixth year — suddenly seems like an important thing. That certainly helps with depth in the short term. This spring, Iowa will have to run back the majority of its 2023 offensive line with Mason Richman at left tackle, Gennings Dunker at right tackle and DeJong as a swing tackle.

The portal can giveth and taketh away … and can also giveth again. Iowa would be wise to consider tackle shopping again in April and May.

If you want to squint and find a positive spin on the Proctor departure, you could say: Better now than late April. Or late May, in the case of wide receiver Charlie Jones in 2022. At least now Iowa coaches can really see what the offensive-line room looks like without Proctor during 15 spring practices before determining the next steps. This allows more time to put out feelers on possible roster additions between now and June, when the players report for summer conditioning.

In many ways, this was a disappointing day and a disappointing loss for Iowa football.

But in another way, how can you lose something you never really had in the first place?