Ryan Fitzgerald can’t remember exactly when he first met Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz, but he does recall the circumstances.
“We’d be on the sidelines with my dad and he’d have us meet the [opposing] head coaches,” Fitzgerald said.
It was one of the perks of having former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald as a father, and it ultimately helped Ryan Fitzgerald find a college home.
Fitzgerald, who quarterbacked Loyola to an unbeaten run to the Class 8A state title last season, is heading to Iowa as a preferred walk-on. He’ll be joined by Ramblers teammate Drew MacPherson, who was Loyola’s top running back last fall but was recruited as a safety.
A three-star prospect rated No. 24 among Illinois juniors in 247Sports’ composite rankings, Fitzgerald has about a dozen scholarship offers and could have added more as the recruiting process continued.
But the 6-3, 205-pounder couldn’t pass up the chance to play for Ferentz and Iowa’s new offensive coordinator. That’s Tim Lester, a Wheaton Warrenville South grad and former Western Michigan head coach who worked for the Packers last season.
Fitzgerald met Lester on his junior-day visit to Iowa, which coincided with Lester’s first day on the job.
“He told me, ‘I haven’t even met the other Iowa quarterbacks [yet],’” Fitzgerald said.
They talked then, and again after Lester watched Fitzgerald throw in the offseason."He knows what he’s talking about,” Fitzgerald said. “It all made sense.”
So did making it a package deal for the Hawkeyes with MacPherson. They made a game-day visit last fall, “and we both really loved it,” Fitzgerald said.
“When he got his offer, I was so ecstatic for him. I knew almost 100% he was going to take it.”
When Fitzgerald got his PWO offer, MacPherson told him, “Let’s go, I’m going to commit soon.”
Now they’ll be extending a long-running partnership that even predates their time at Loyola. They will be two linchpins this fall for the Ramblers, who will chase their third consecutive Class 8A title and fifth since 2015.
Fitzgerald completed 64% of his passes last season for 2,141 and 20 touchdowns with just one interception. He also ran for 634 yards and 14 TDs. MacPherson had 1,370 yards on 183 touches as a runner and a receiver with 13 scores.
Now the focus shifts to getting better for this fall. And yes, Fitzgerald said, the Ramblers do have room for improvement after a 14-0 season.
“It’s funny,” he said. “We would have meetings this spring and we would watch our film. We were like, ‘Damn, we really messed up a lot. Obviously we have good talent, but we were like, ‘How did we win these games?’”
We can make better reads, we can execute our game plan more and see the field better.”
National recruiting analyst Clint Cosgrove likes what Iowa is getting in the Loyola teammates. Cosgrove sees similarities between Fitzgerald and Stevenson grad Aidan O’Connell, who passed for more than 9.200 yards after going to Purdue as a preferred walk-on and now plays for the NFL’s Raiders.
“He’s got the skill set to not be your typical walk-on,” Cosgrove said of Fitzgerald. “He’s so intelligent with the ball. He can make every level of throw, he can put some zip on it.”
Cosgrove also sees a bright future for MacPherson, a 6-1, 190-pounder.
“He’s a tough kid, a smart kid, a dependable kid,” Cosgrove said. “He’s got phenomenal ball skills, he’ll continue to develop in the weight program. I think he’s got a great ceiling.”
