Fitzgerald, the son of Michigan State coach Pat Fitzgerald, enters his second year as a Hawkeye.
Welcome back to our countdown to the 2026 Iowa football season!
Since May 28, we've been counting down the final 100 days until the Hawkeyes swarm out of the Kinnick Stadium tunnel for their season opener against Northern Illinois on Sept. 5.
Each day of the countdown has primarily featured an article profiling one of the current members of the 2026 Hawkeyes based on their jersey number. Loyal readers already know how this works by now, but if you're just now catching your football fix and tuning in, this is how this goes down: if a player wears No. 21 and we're 21 days from kickoff, then that's the player we're going to be taking a look at.
We've had to occasionally go a different route because Iowa doesn't issue a jersey number for every single day of this countdown, but we shouldn't have much of a problem with that as we head into the final days before kickoff.
Today marks 16 days until the season opener, so that means it's time to take a look at one of the men who wears No. 16 - quarterback Ryan Fitzgerald.
Bio
Hometown: Northfield, Illinois
High School: Loyola Academy
Year: Second-Year
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 221 pounds
Other notable players to wear No. 16: The recognizable Hawkeye that wears No. 16 happens to be one of the most popular Iowa players of all time. That player is former quarterback Chuck Long, who went from a lightly recruited prospect to a Heisman Trophy runner-up under Hayden Fry in 1985. Long led the Hawkeyes to a 10-2 record and a Big Ten title that season and finished his Iowa career with 10,461 passing yards and 74 touchdowns.
Fitzgerald's Career So Far
If Fitzgerald's last name sounds familiar, it's because it is. He's the son of former Northwestern and current Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald. Though his father was fired from Northwestern ahead of the 2023 campaign, the younger Fitzgerald remained in the Chicagoland area for his final two years of high school.
Ryan's Loyola Academy Ramblers reached dynastic status while he was there, winning state championships during his final three years. Ryan was the starting quarterback during the final two title runs, throwing 1,779 passing yards and 25 touchdowns during his senior season.
Ranked as a three-star recruit by 247Sports composite rankings, Ryan held scholarship offers from North Dakota State, Temple, Akron, Ball State, and others, but opted for a preferred walk-on offer from the Hawkeyes.
Ryan didn't see any game action during his first year in Iowa City, but he was recognized as one of four offensive players to win Iowa's Team Leader Award, so it appears he's been a valuable leader in the quarterback room.
You Can Win FREE Tickets To Iowa's Season Opener!
HawkeyeRoundtable is giving away TWO tickets to Iowa's season opener against Northern Illinois on Sept. 5!
This is easily the biggest giveaway we've ever done on this site, and it's a great opportunity for two lucky fans to experience the joy of attending a Hawkeye football game at Kinnick Stadium.
Click here to automatically become a member to enter the contest! Additional contest details can be found in our community section, too!
HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at [email protected]
