Ryan Fitzgerald, son of former Northwestern football coach, commits to Iowa football

One of suburban Chicago's best quarterbacks will play in the Big Ten after high school.

Ryan Fitzgerald, a three-star quarterback prospect in the class of 2025 at Loyola Academy, committed to Iowa on Friday as a preferred walk on.

He had scholarship offers from Northern Illinois, Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Temple and Toledo. 

"First, I would like to thank my parents and my brothers for supporting me throughout my whole life and during this process," Fitzgerald wrote in a social media post on X, formerly known as Twitter. "I want to thank Coach Desherow, Coach Vradenburg and Coach Bliss for helping me be the leader and player I am today. To my teammates, I owe everything to you guys and all my success is because of you. It has been an honor to share these experiences with you all. I also want to thank Coach Ferentz and Coach Lester for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. With that being said I'm excited to announce my commitment to the University of lowa!"

Fitzgerald is the son of former Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald.

Ryan led Loyola Academy to a 14-0 record and an 8A state title in the 2023 high school football season. In the 2023 8A state title game, Fitzgerald completed 17 of his 21 pass attempts for 203 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 89 yards and a score in the Ramblers' 26-15 win over Lincoln-Way East. 

He was the Chicago Catholic League Offensive Player of the Year and earned All-CCL quarterback honors after last season where he was responsible for 34 total touchdowns.

In 2023, Fitzgerald passed for 2,056 yards, 20 touchdowns and just one interception. Fitzgerald also rushed for 634 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Fitzgerald is ranked as the 50th-best quarterback prospect in the country, and the 24th-best prospect in Illinois.