Prior to Iowa's open spring practice on April 26, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken insisted "parties in the $2.8 billion antitrust lawsuit redo the part of the proposed settlement involving roster limits" per the Associated Press. The move would force the NCAA to roll back its 105-man roster limit for FBS football programs, seeking to grandfather the ruling in, allowing programs like Iowa to maintain a roster of a larger size, working down from the previous number that was closer to 130.
For the Hawkeyes, the initial move by the NCAA to force the 105-man roster limit is contrary to how they've done things for many years, bringing in walk-ons to the program and developing some into NFL-caliber talent. Chances are, had the 105-man limit been in place for the last few decades, players like Quinn Schulte, Jack Koerner, Kaden Wetjen, Joe Evans, Brett Greenwood, Dallas Clark, Kevin Casper, Sean Considine and others wouldn't be household names in the state of Iowa and beyond.
As one can imagine, Kirk Ferentz isn't happy with the situation, nor the NCAA for how they've handled the bevy of changes in college sports the last several years.
"It's pretty emblematic of where we're at in college football," Ferentz lamented following Iowa's open spring practice. "It's April 26 right now, and a lot of us still don't know what the rules are moving forward. I don't want to say it's frustrating, but it's pretty indicative of the last couple years. Hopefully all this stuff will get settled at some point, and hopefully by July 1st we'll know what the hell we're doing here moving into the season."
Ferentz and the Iowa staff actually tried to do quite a lot about it following the end of the 2024 regular season. The staff informed players who they didn't see making one of the 105 roster spots where they stood.
"We had some guys that were just good team guys, that we had to tell back -- well, we didn't have to tell, apparently, back in December, but we all felt it was the right thing to do. We were not going to be able to guarantee the spot in the spring," Ferentz said. "I thought the right thing to do is tell the guys, then allow them to stay with us [through the bowl game]."
Some opted to stick on the roster through the spring, while others entered the transfer portal, took visits to other programs and committed elsewhere.
"A lot of guys found good homes," Ferentz said. "I don't know how many would have been starters ever -- you can't predict that. ... They were all good team guys that helped us go and operate well."
The list of those that transferred varied from freshmen walk-ons with potential, like safety Graham Eben and kicker Tripp Woody to fringe two-deep players like defensive end Caden Crawford and tight end Johnny Pascuzzi.
With the recent ruling by Judge Wilken that would move the 105-man limit up several roster spots, Ferentz and Iowa may not have had to make all the roster cuts they did.
"This is way out of my hands, so I didn't get too worked up about it, but I will be a little bit upset if they say you can grandfather guys in," Ferentz added. "Our guys are gone. To me, it rewards the people that, in my opinion, maybe weren't thinking about what's best for their players by keeping them. For the record, we had four or five guys that we said, 'Hey, you're not on the 105, but you're welcome to stay in the spring too,' and they've chosen to do that. But we've been transparent with each and every guy."
By the looks of how things have transpired in the case over the last few weeks, it just might "blow up" in Iowa's face.
Steve Berman, the attorney that represents the plaintiffs in the case, shared on Tuesday that he believes “'the agreement we will reach with the NCAA will solve the judge’s concerns' over roster limits that have delayed final approval," according to the AP.
No update on the roster number was shared, but it must be assumed the final tally will be above the initial 105-man limit that was set to be imposed at the start of fall camp.
"I'm not sure how we'll fill our roster if this actually goes through somehow, even if it's not grandfathered," Ferentz added. "I don't know where we go shopping for players right now. Not to belabor the thing, but, the guys we let go, we knew them. They've been here, and they know the routine, and they've been good team members."
Of the players that have committed elsewhere, Ferentz added that replacing them via the portal won't be easy.
"Now you're going on blind dates with another, let's say, 10 guys or 15 guys. Well, I'm not into blind dating, I'm a little too old for that," Ferentz joked. "We'll deal with whatever happens, but that's my point about the whole thing, it's April 26th, and we still don't know what the rules are."
If the roster limit is upheld, keeping enough depth if and when team health begins to deteriorate mid-season may be near impossible.
"What about the guys that are injured? Because it's not like the NFL. I'm telling you, you can't pull guys off the street in October -- they're not out there," Ferentz said. "Big news flash, but parts of this whole equation have not really been well thought out, unfortunately. The good news is, overall, if it works, it's going to be a lot better -- to give us some structure, because we have none right now. Hopefully we'll try [all the new rules] for another year, because right now, it's chaos."
