This story has been updated with new information.
Wide receiver Kaleb Brown’s 2024 college football season and Iowa career has come to an end.
The Ohio State transfer said Monday morning on Instagram that he will use a redshirt this season, and Iowa announced Brown’s departure from the Hawkeye program later Monday. Brown had played in three games for the Hawkeyes and played only 19 snaps, catching one pass for 18 yards vs. Troy. Under NCAA rules, a player can compete in four or fewer regular-season games and retain that year of eligibility. Brown is a third-year junior, having played in five games at Ohio State as a freshman, then catching 22 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown for the Hawkeyes in 2023.
He posted at 8:57 a.m. Monday, “I have decided to utilize my redshirt year and I will not be playing in any additional games this season. I wish my teammates the best of luck this season and hope for the continued success of the program.”
He can enter the transfer portal as of Dec. 9.
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Brown’s arrival from Ohio State in May 2023 was a celebrated acquisition for a program that has lacked star power at receiver. He instantly became the highest-rated wide-receiver recruit of the Kirk Ferentz era, as a top-100 prospect in the Class of 2022.
But this became a tumultuous offseason for Brown, who in June was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated (OWI) and possessing a fake ID. Brown was suspended for one game as a result of that indiscretion. He played 11 snaps vs. Iowa State, seven vs. Troy and one at Minnesota, a failed third-down pass in which he improperly ran a downfield route. That will mark his final snap of the 2024 season.
Brown, a 5-foot-10, 200-pound native of Chicago, did not make the trip to Ohio State this past weekend after suffering what Ferentz called a soft-tissue injury in Wednesday’s practice.
Neither Brown nor running back Leshon Williams, who also announced he would enter the portal, was listed on the Iowa roster in game notes supplied by the university Monday afternoon.
“We thank both players for their contributions to the program and wish them the best as they move forward,” Ferentz said in a statement.
Iowa (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten Conference) hosts Washington (4-2, 2-1) on Saturday (11 a.m. CT, FOX).
