NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Nine Iowa football players will not participate in the 2022 Music City Bowl because they either entered the transfer portal or opted to skip the game to prepare for the NFL Draft.

Following the regular season, nine players entered the transfer portal: quarterback Alex Padilla, wide receivers Arland Bruce and Keagan Johnson, running back Gavin Williams, offensive lineman Josh Volk, linebacker Jestin Jacobs, and defensive backs Reggie Bracy, Terry Roberts, and Dallas Craddieth.

“To me, they’re being selfish and they’re like, not really letting it go,” running back Kaleb Johnson said of players entering the transfer portal. “I’m not really looking that way, I’m just focusing on the game on Saturday, and having fun with [my teammates].”

Craddieth will play in the Music City Bowl ahead of his transfer, head coach Kirk Ferentz said. After a player enters the transfer portal, it is the coach’s discretion whether they will continue to practice with the team. Craddieth is the only Hawkeye football player in the transfer portal that is still practicing with the team and planning to play in the bowl.

“He’s in the two-deep. Obviously we have a little bit of a void back there, but can’t say enough about Dallas,” Ferentz said on Dec. 21. “This is one of the advantages of the portal, too; it’s not just up and above and all that stuff, but I think he has interest in going to a smaller program, smaller level program closer to home, and finishing out his career there where he can really hopefully play a major role.”

Senior safety Kaevon Merriweather will also miss the Music City Bowl on Saturday; he opted out of the game to prepare for the 2023 NFL Draft. 

The Kentucky football team will also be depleted at Nissan Stadium on Saturday. Starting quarterback Will Levis and running back Chris Rodriguez both opted out of the bowl to prepare for the draft. Kavosiey Smoke, the Wildcats’ second-leading rusher, also entered the transfer portal.

With Hawkeye starting QB Spencer Petras out of the game with an injury, Iowa and Kentucky will start third and fourth-string quarterbacks, respectively. Redshirt freshman Joe Labas will make the start for the Hawkeyes, while true freshman Destin Wade is slated to get the call for the Wildcats. Neither have taken a snap in a collegiate game.

But Hawkeye offensive lineman Mason Richman still sees the value in non-New Year’s Six bowl games across the country.

“I think this is completely important to us,” Richman said. “College football wants to go toward the playoffs and everything, but you think about how much fun you have during these bowl weeks; you come in on a Sunday, and you play on a Saturday. These games matter just as much as some of those games do. … These games mean the world to us as a program because it’s just one more win you can add to the column.”

Bowl prep also allows Iowa football to get extra practices before the end of the season, which can be a crucial developmental period for younger players preparing to take over spots next season.

“They’re really just trying to take in as much information as they can right now,” senior Sam LaPorta said of Iowa’s younger tight ends. “Bowl prep and especially spring ball are great developmental times. Guys really take tremendous strides.”

LaPorta, who will likely enter the 2023 NFL Draft following the bowl game, tore his meniscus in Iowa’s contest against Minnesota on Nov. 19 and missed the final game of the regular season against Nebraska on Nov. 25. 

The senior could’ve opted out of the bowl game to rest his knee and preserve his health ahead of the draft. But he opted to play one last time in the Black and Gold.

“There’s a potential to get hurt in any game,” LaPorta said. “We were on the bus ride here, we could’ve gotten hit by another car … it means a lot to me to be out there one more time with my buddies. The people that don’t want to be out there, I don’t know. It just doesn’t really process in my mind why you’d want to dip out on your boys at the last second.”

Multiple other seniors, including linebacker Jack Campbell and defensive back Riley Moss decided to play in the Hawkeyes’ final game of the 2022 season over starting preparation for the 2023 NFL Draft.

Campbell, who is the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and Butkus national award winner, has not announced any plans after the bowl game. Moss plans to play in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, and train in Fort Myers, Florida, ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft.

“It means a lot,” Campbell said of the seniors playing in the bowl game. “It’s very unique, very cool. I think it just speaks volumes about the program. A lot of guys just want to come back and play one more game for coach Kirk Ferentz, but most importantly, for each other. I’m gonna miss these guys.”