Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz told reporters on Tuesday that he still feels confident with graduate Cade McNamara as the Hawkeyes’ starting quarterback.
“Yeah, I do. I’ll stay on the same page I’ve been on. I just think he needs to play and he needs to learn from his experiences. The faster you learn, the better, obviously. But, he’s missed a lot of time, so I think he needs that.
“It is a new offense for him. Probably, whatever it’d be, his third one in three years, something like that. There’s some learning going on there, but, yeah, he can play better and I think he will play better. It’s just a matter of working at it. There’s nothing magic we can do. Maybe eliminate some things and lean this way or lean that way, that type of thing. But otherwise, just counting on him to play a little better. We need to help him more at all positions,” Ferentz said.
Kirk Ferentz on if he still feels confident with Cade McNamara as Iowa’s starter:
“Yeah, I do…There’s some learning going on there, but, yeah, he can play better and I think he will play better.” pic.twitter.com/AQnrp4BxEJ
— Hawkeyes Wire (@HawkeyesWire) September 10, 2024
McNamara had a strong first quarter against Iowa State, completing seven of his first eight passes and finishing the opening frame against the Cyclones 8-of-11 passing for 72 yards with a long of 21 yards to junior receiver Jacob Gill.
Then, McNamara proceeded to complete just 5-of-18 passes for 27 yards with a pair of interceptions over the game’s final three quarters in the Hawkeyes’ 20-19 loss versus Iowa State.
Ferentz’s remarks on Tuesday are in line with what the Hawkeyes’ 26-year head coach said following the loss on Saturday.
Right after Iowa dropped the Cy-Hawk game, Ferentz said that he expected McNamara to remain as Iowa’s starting quarterback.
“Probably the way I did coming into the stadium today. I think we expect him to be our quarterback and expect some ups and downs. I’ve been saying it pretty consistently. He’s still working his way back into shape, as is our whole team with the offense and whatever. But, we’ll get better. We’ll improve. Our guys have a great attitude, he’s got a great attitude, and we’ll work through this…
“But as I said last week, too, I think I’ve been saying it for a while now, he’s working his way back. He’s still trying to get back in game shape if you will, or game mode, and he’s working hard. I’m confident he’ll do just fine,” Ferentz said following the loss versus the Cyclones.
Ferentz was asked about the possibility of exploring a package for junior Brendan Sullivan. It didn’t sound as though that was an imminent outcome on Tuesday.
“We’ll keep an open mind to anything. Obviously if it’s going to help us win games now, that’s first priority. And then secondly, if a player—we rotate at other positions—it’s a little tougher at quarterback. It would take the right guy,” Ferentz said.
Iowa (1-1) returns to play on Saturday as it hosts Troy at 3 p.m. CT on FS1 from Kinnick Stadium.
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