Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz revealed on Tuesday that Hawkeye graduate quarterback Cade McNamara suffered a concussion during Iowa’s 40-14 victory over the Northwestern Wildcats.
McNamara was likely injured on Iowa’s second drive of the game when he took a hard hit on a third-and-20 play with 1:59 left in the first quarter from the Iowa 36-yard line. The hit resulted in a roughing-the-passer penalty, which extended the drive.
That Hawkeye drive ended in an eventual Iowa punt. On Iowa’s ensuing series, McNamara threw an 85-yard pick six to Northwestern defensive back Theran Johnson.
McNamara was replaced on the Hawkeyes’ fourth drive by junior quarterback Brendan Sullivan.
Asked why he felt McNamara was able to stay in the game after the early hit, Ferentz shared that the quarterback showed no concussion-like symptoms initially. According to Ferentz, Iowa was already planning on rotating its quarterbacks and inserting Sullivan for several series.
“I mean, yeah, he wasn’t feeling great, but it wasn’t like he was incoherent by any stretch. But as I said Saturday, we had already planned a rotation going into the game, and it just so happens that was the time coincidentally, if you will.
“We were going to do that regardless unless the ball was like on the one-inch line and we had 99-plus to go. Not fair to throw a guy in there cold doing that,” Ferentz said.
However, team doctors eventually diagnosed McNamara with a concussion at halftime.
“It wasn’t like any symptoms really presented themselves other than he was sore and shook up certainly,” Ferentz added. “Then, at halftime, they diagnosed it and held him out. I’m not sure when they diagnosed the concussion actually, but he just wasn’t fit to play at halftime.”
Due to McNamara’s concussion, he is not listed on the depth chart for Saturday’s game versus Wisconsin.
Junior transfer Brendan Sullivan will assume the starting role under center against the Badgers.
The Hawkeyes’ clash with the Badgers from Kinnick Stadium is set for a 6:30 p.m. CT start and will air on both NBC and Peacock.
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