When Cade McNamara announced his intentions to transfer from Michigan to Iowa, he was hailed as the quarterback that would help reverse the Hawkeyes’ meager offensive fortunes.
Unfortunately, 2023 never really worked according to plan. McNamara suffered a quad injury during Kids’ Day at Kinnick before the season.
That limited his mobility and prevented McNamara from being the best version of himself throughout the season’s first four games. Then, just when McNamara was starting to heal, he suffered another injury.
The second injury was season-ending. Early in Iowa’s 26-16 win over Michigan State, McNamara scrambled out of the pocket and out of his own end zone to avoid a safety. As he crossed his own goal line, McNamara crumpled to the Kinnick Stadium turf.
In that moment, it certainly didn’t look good. Tests revealed it was a torn ACL.
The thought was McNamara would be back to lead Iowa in 2024 after surgery and a successful rehab. On Wednesday night, McNamara confirmed that line of thinking.
McNamara announced his return to the Hawkeyes with a social media post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
— Cade McNamara (@Cademac_12) October 26, 2023
“Was not anticipating one of these when this year began however, there are some things in life that can not be explained but the best we can do is put our faith in God and follow the path the has chosen for us.
“I want to thank everyone for all the love and support. The road ahead is a rigorous one but nothing I haven’t overcome before. I can’t wait to get back to Iowa City to support my teammates for the rest of this season!
“I had a vision when I decided to come to Iowa and that vision remains the same. There is still a lot I want to accomplish in the Black and Gold and look forward to bringing it to life in the 2024 season. Go Hawks!” McNamara wrote on X.
McNamara ended his 2023 season with 505 passing yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions on 51.1% completion rate. In his career, McNamara has thrown for 3,686 yards, 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions with a 61.0% completion rate.
Though it was expected, it’s huge news all the same that Iowa will have its starting quarterback return in 2024.
Given a clean bill of health in the future, McNamara sounds motivated to prove that he can provide the type of play that helped lead Michigan to a 2021 Big Ten Championship and College Football Playoff berth.
Iowa opens its 2024 season on Saturday, Aug. 31 versus Illinois State from inside Kinnick Stadium.
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