By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – In the old days, which means before NIL and the transfer portal, losing a high school quarterback recruit was usually a pretty big deal.

Today, not as much.

That is meant as no disrespect to 2026 California quarterback Cash Herrera, who announced on Monday that he has de-committed from Iowa.

The San Diego native initially committed to Iowa in October, but now eight months later, Herrera has changed his mind as so many quarterbacks often do these days.

He was committed to Iowa for approximately eight months, so yes, the Iowa coaches put in a lot of time and energy to build a long-distance relationship.

Some might argue that Herrera is being disloyal since he was committed to Iowa for an extended period. Herrera also announced his de-commitment just days before he was scheduled to visit Iowa City as part of a big recruiting event this coming weekend.

So, maybe his timing left something to be desired.

But in fairness to Herrera, he ultimately has to do what he feels is in his best interest. It’s also easy to forget that he is a high school kid faced with making one of the most important decisions in his life to this point.

He has a right to change his mind.

Recruiting is a never-ending challenge, and even more so in this age of the transfer portal, and especially when it comes to recruiting and keeping quarterbacks.

Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester had to realize that there was always a chance that Herrera wouldn’t make it to the recruiting finish line.

In addition to playing quarterback, Herrera also lives in California, so maybe distance from home was a factor, even with the Big Ten Conference now stretching from coast to coast.

The fact that Iowa has continued to recruit quarterbacks in the 2026 class also might have been a factor.

But on the other hand, Iowa has to do what is in its best interest, and if Lester feels that having more than one quarterback in the 2026 class is the best plan moving forward, then so be it.

Both sides in this case have to act in their best interest.

And while it would certainly be a blow to Iowa if Herrera were to become a star quarterback in college, Lester can’t worry about that as he continues to recruit quarterbacks in the 2026 class.

The days of quarterbacks sticking with one school for an entire career are gone and will never return.

The transfer portal and NIL are certainly part of the reason for that, but so too is the quarterback position because only one person can play quarterback.

It has reached the point where colleges have to deal with their quarterbacks on a year-by-year basis, or in some cases, a semester-by-semester basis, because rosters are so fluid right now.

Five of the six quarterbacks on Iowa’s current roster weren’t on the team last season, including projected starter Mark Gronowski, who played his previous four seasons for South Dakota State.

Jackson Stratton, who came to Iowa as a walk-on, is the only quarterback on the current roster who was also on the Iowa roster last season.

Gronowski is among three quarterbacks that transferred to Iowa since the end of last season, and also since Herrera first committed to Iowa. So much has changed for Iowa at quarterback since Herrera initially committed.

And of course, there is always the chance that another school has made an NIL offer to Herrera that he couldn’t refuse.

Whatever the case, it’s now time for both sides to move on.

The challenge facing every offensive coordinator is to make sure that the quarterback position is set for the upcoming season, and Lester appears to have met that challenge for the 2026 season, assuming injuries don’t become a factor.