On January 7, 2023, the Iowa Hawkeyes added another offensive player to their roster for the 2023 season by way of the transfer portal. Just a week after their victory at Music City Bowl, they are showing to be focused on the next season already.
Offensive tackle Daijon Parker, who spent 2018-2022 playing at Saginaw Valley State University, a Division II school in University Center, Michigan, entered the transfer portal on December 4, 2022.
On paper, Daijon has the qualities to become one of the best Hawkeyes players next season.
Who is Daijon Parker?
Standing at 6’6” and weighing in at 300 pounds, Parker will fit right in with the current offensive line, as far as his size goes. Despite spending four years at Saginaw Valley State, Parker did not see action until 2021, after using his redshirt in his freshman season and then failing to appear in a game in 2019. In his last two seasons, 2021 and 2022, Parker appeared in 19 games before entering the transfer portal in December, with one year of eligibility remaining.
Daijon Parker was initially signed to transfer to the University of Virginia. After spending only a week in the transfer portal, Parker signed to play at Virginia on December 11, 2022. Unfortunately, very quickly after deciding to transfer to Virginia, news came out that their offensive line coach, Garett Tujague, had taken a job at North Carolina State.
With that news, Parker decided to look at other options, seeing as this was his last year of eligibility and he wanted to go into a program with a more established coaching staff. Daijon Parker would commit to transfer to the University of Iowa on January 7, 2023.
JUST IN: Iowa transfer target OT Daijon Parker (@_Gym_Rat) tells me he is set to announce a decision at 5pm ET today.
Parker (6'6, 300), a Saginaw State transfer, signed with Virginia in December but visited Iowa this week. #Hawkeyes #Cavaliers pic.twitter.com/wLgRS7VV0h
— From the Hawkeye of the Storm (@FromTheHawkeye) January 7, 2023
From DII to Power Five
It goes without saying that making the switch from a Division II school to a Division I school is a significant change. However, going from Division II to the Big Ten Conference is one of the most substantial jumps for a college football player to make.
A recent game film from Parker showed the offensive tackle dominating his opposition, oftentimes bringing them to the ground. It will be very interesting to see how Parker handles facing off with edge rushers at the level of Aidan Hutchinson, for example, who was drafted second overall by the Detroit Lions out of the University of Michigan in the 2022 NFL Draft.
This Spring football season with the Hawkeyes will be very telling with regard to how Parker will handle the transition. With that said, he will be able to work against one of the best defenses in the country, which will certainly have him ready for the competition the Hawkeyes will see in 2023.
🚨BREAKING🚨 Saginaw Valley State OT transfer Daijon Parker has committed to Iowa.
Parker had previously been committed to Virginia.
Story: https://t.co/V79MHKkDbJ pic.twitter.com/SVMtcaoQtO
— On3 (@On3sports) January 7, 2023
Iowa’s 2023 Offense
The offense as a whole will need some significant improvements going into the 2023 season, which is no secret at all. The Hawkeyes have done a good job looking for reinforcements in the transfer portal through this point of the offseason. With Michigan transfers Cade McNamara at quarterback and Erick All at tight end, Iowa is loading up with experienced reinforcements who know what it takes to play in the Big Ten Conference.
Iowa’s offensive line was young and inexperienced in 2022, having only two senior offensive linemen on the roster and 16 that were either freshmen or sophomores. While he doesn’t have that Big Ten experience that McNamara and All do, Daijon Parker has plenty of experience of his own that he will be bringing to Iowa City.
The Hawkeyes allowed 38 sacks in 2022 which added up to a total loss of 277 yards. That is quite a significant and alarming number when considering Iowa averaged only 251.1 yards per game in 2022. For a team that was not overly productive offensively last season, the Hawkeyes are going to have to do a much better job at protecting their quarterback if they want to be successful in 2023.
Let’s rock! #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/u18kZk10T9
— Daijon Parker (@_Gym_Rat) January 7, 2023
Can Daijon Be An Impactful Transfer?
Daijon Parker has the potential to be a very impactful transfer for the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2023. He has the size to step right in with their current offensive line and will get to spend the Spring season going up against one of the best in all of college football. Parker is making nearly as significant a jump as possible going from a Division II school to the Big Ten Conference.
Without a doubt, there will be a bit of a learning curve involved with the transition, as there is any time a player transfers into a new system. The major question related to Parker for the Iowa football team as well as all of the fans following the team will be how he handles the transition.
Despite his being in college since 2018, 2023 will only be his third season of game action. While there are certainly some question marks, as there are with all transfers, should Daijon Parker adjust to the new atmosphere this spring, he could prove to be a serious asset in the much-needed improvement of the Iowa Hawkeyes’ offense leading up to the 2023 college football season.
Credits on Featured Image: Phil Roeder/Photos from the second half of the University of Iowa vs. University of Wisconsin-Madison football game at Kinnick Stadium on November 22, 2014 The Hawkeyes lost to the Badgers 26-24.
