Tony Diaz will join the Hawkeyes after an incredible freshmen campaign with the Vaqueros.
Iowa football has landed its first skill position of its 2026 transfer portal haul. Wide receiver Tony Diaz will join the Hawkeyes, his agent Forrest Lamp told Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports.
Wide receiver was one of Iowa's biggest needs in the portal, and they found a star in Diaz. The San Marcos, Texas, native didn't receive much interest out of high school, but put his doubters to sleep with an outstanding redshirt freshmen season for the UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros (FCS) this season.
The 5-foot-11 Diaz hauled in 67 catches for 881 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Vaqueros in 2025, which was also their inaugural season of play. As a result, he was named the Phil Steele 2025 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year and finished seventh in the Jerry Rice Award voting, given to the most outstanding freshmen at the FCS level.
Diaz' incredible campaign resulted in plenty of interest from some of the most premiere FBS programs in the nation, including Alabama. But ultimately the possibility of being one of the top wideouts for a Big Ten offense must've won Diaz over, and he instantly becomes one of the faces for Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester as he continues his impressive rebuild of the Hawkeye offense.
Foundational pieces Reece Vander Zee and Dayton Howard are already in place, and adding a talented young receiver like Diaz will only help Iowa as it continues its push for a first-ever College Football Playoff appearance.