Former Iowa starting quarterback Spencer Petras has officially entered the NCAA transfer portal, Go Iowa Awesome has learned.
Petras, a senior, was declared out for the 2023 season after suffering a significant shoulder injury against Nebraska in 2022, and had spent the year as a student assistant on medical hardship as he recovered from surgery.
Iowa placing Petras on medical hardship opened up a scholarship for the 2023 season, but a player can't return from medical hardship at the school placing him on it* without his scholarship counting against NCAA limits — including retroactively.
*That part of the rule is necessary to keep teams from using medical hardship on otherwise healthy players to circumvent scholarship limit rules.
Petras entering the transfer portal indicates his intention to play college football again, so the one school where Petras would not be allowed to play football in 2024 is Iowa.
Additionally, offensive coordinator and QB coach Brian Ferentz will leave the program after the 2023 season, so Petras would almost certainly have to prepare for a sixth year with a new position coach regardless of whether he was working with quarterbacks at Iowa again or playing at another school.
There is a strategic aspect to Petras entering the portal now, too. While Iowa's season is a near-lock to extend into December with a Big Ten Championship Game and then into bowl season, many other transfer candidates — and transfer destinations — will see their seasons end much sooner. If Petras wants his best choice of destinations, the smartest move is to have his name out there early.
Last, entry into the portal is, in and of itself, only an indication of availability to transfer. It's a necessary first step, but it's not a rubicon. So if no destination materializes for Petras, Iowa would not have to navigate scholarship limits to bring him back as a medical hardship scholarship holder.
Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz will meet with the media Tuesday afternoon at a scheduled conference, where he can provide more information on Petras' status with the program and how his surgery recovery has progressed.
