Iowa football early-enrollee Joey VanWetzinga enters transfer portal

Joey VanWetzinga graduated early to join Iowa but has now entered the transfer portal

Pleasant Valley’s Joey VanWetzinga (50) enrolled early at the University of Iowa but entered the transfer portal recently. / Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For Joey VanWetzinga, the dream of playing college football with his brother was dashed on the exact same day it should have officially started.

Back in December, VanWetzinga signed with the University of Iowa, joining his brother, Rusty, with the Hawkeyes. On that same day, though, Rusty VanWetzinga entered his name into the transfer portal, eventually landing at Central Michigan.

Thank you Iowa, pic.twitter.com/zF670fX2iq

— Joey VanWetzinga (@JVanwetzinga) April 10, 2025

The younger VanWetzinga, a Pleasant Valley standout, stayed true to his commitment, joining Iowa and going through winter workouts. Earlier this week, though, he again followed his brother, entering the transfer portal.

“I didn’t get a lot of time to process it (back in December),” VanWetzinga told HawkFanatic.com. “It was hard to feel the same about Iowa after that.”

Some of the decision was also based on the fact that Iowa wanted him to play center, while VanWetzinga prefers to be on the defensive line. He was tabbed the 2024 Class 5A Player of the Year by the Iowa Football Coaches Association after recording 34.5 tackles with 11 for loss and 4.5 sacks.

VanWetzinga showed his athleticism on offense for Pleasant Valley with four rushing touchdowns on the year.

He gave his verbal commitment to Iowa in 2023 and said that he has received interest from Power 4 and Group of 5 programs.

Rusty VanWetzinga played fullback for the Hawkeyes for two seasons, playing in the Citrus Bowl as a true freshman and in four games last season as a redshirt freshman.