The spring transfer portal for college football opens next week (on April 16) and another Iowa player has announced plans to enter the portal in search of a new team. On Thursday, Iowa freshman defensive lineman Joey VanWetzinga announced that he will be entering the portal.
VanWetzinga, a three-star defensive line prospect from Pleasant Valley, Iowa, was the Hawkeyes' first commit in the Class of 2025, verbally committing to Iowa on July 1, 2023.
"I pretty much knew it was going to be Iowa when I received the offer," he said when he committed. "I was just deciding when to commit. I talked with my dad, and we came together on making the decision now because I just want to focus on being a good player for my upcoming season. I didn't want to focus on the recruiting process."
At the time, VanWetzinga's older brother, Rusty, was a preferred walk-on fullback in the Hawkeye program.
"[Rusty] told me it was a good choice," Joey said. "He told my about the program -- what they do, their workouts and stuff. I just wanted to learn about it a bit more. It's an awesome feeling to know I'm going to be teammates with him again. it's something I dreamed of since I was a kid. I never thought I'd make it, but here we are."
Not only was VanWetzinga Iowa's first commit in the 2025 class, he was also an early-enrollee, arriving in Iowa City in January of this year to begin this Hawkeye career. He arrived in Iowa City just a month after Rusty entered the transfer portal.
"Thank you Iowa for a great 2 years," he said. "After a coaching/system change over the past year on offense I have decided it is in my best interest to enter the transfer portal with 3 years of eligibility left as a linebacker/fullback."
That decision appears to have strongly influenced Joey's own decision to enter the transfer portal., based on his statement about entering the portal. "Going into my junior year of high school Iowa was the perfect fit for me to play with my brother but since my brothers departure from the program I have found it is in my best interest to explore other opportunities in the transfer portal with 5 years of eligibility," VanWetzinga said.
"Thank you Coach [George] Barnett for being a unbelievable coach and person. I'd also like to thank Coach [Kirk] Ferentz and the rest of the staff for being the first school to offer me early into the recruiting process," he added.
Since VanWetzinga has only been on campus for a few months, he has not used up any of his collegiate eligibility and will have it all to use when he selects a program out of the portal. Rusty VanWetzinga transferred to Central Michigan in early January.
