What brought Kadyn Proctor home to Iowa

One of the biggest stories in the NCAA transfer portal this offseason was the move of Alabama offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor back to Iowa, closer to home.

The Hawkeyes get a terrific offensive lineman, while Proctor gets to be a little more comfortable with his location.

“That was one where people, A) weren’t surprised he went in, and B) everyone expected him to go to Iowa,” said On3’s Pete Nakos on the Andy Staples On3 show. “There were some people at Florida State who were like, ‘Oooh that could be interesting.’ Ohio State, a few others. But at the end of the day everybody knew he was going to go to Iowa.”

Proctor had initially committed to Iowa during his recruiting process, only to swerve at the very last second and commit to Alabama. He would sign with the Crimson Tide and play one season in Tuscaloosa before seeking greener pastures.

He now arrives at Iowa with considerably more experience at the college level. Proctor started 13 games for the Crimson Tide at left tackle en route to the College Football Playoffs, earning All-SEC Freshman Team honors in the process.

So why did someone that successful at Alabama feel compelled to make a move?

“I think it goes a little bit deeper too with Kadyn Proctor,” Nakos said. “He’s from Iowa, and that flip to Alabama, it happened at like the final hour. It was not something that happened like three months before National Signing Day.

“I think the other thing too is Oregon was in the mix (during his recruitment). A lot of big schools wanted Kadyn Proctor and he decided to stick with Iowa until it was Alabama.”

One thing that Iowa absolutely did right? The Hawkeyes didn’t burn any bridges, and Proctor even noted some Iowa folks offered him encouragement when he was struggling earlier this season.

That’s something schools need to be aware of now.

“Obviously Kadyn Proctor, but Caleb Downs (and Ohio State), too,” Nakos said. “Both talented freshmen who both schools kept tabs on them.”

Staples, for his part, was curious if moves like Proctor’s change how coaches look at relationships and keeping them going even after a prospect has signed elsewhere.

“This will be a case study what has happened, the domino effect,” Staples said. “Because you’ve got an Arizona quarterback following Jedd Fisch to Washington now. We mentioned Austin Mack, a Washington quarterback following Kalen DeBoer to Alabama. How much of this following are we going to see down the line?”