In a report that will make every Iowa fan uneasy, Hawkeyes starting quarterback Cade McNamara exited the annual Kids Day at Kinnick open practice with an apparent injury.
It was a non-contact injury as McNamara rolled right and decided to scramble. Via Jack Lido of KCRG-TV9, here’s a look at the play and injury for McNamara.
A look at Cade McNamara's apparent injury, and reaction from Kirk Ferentz.
"Soft tissue… it's not structural… I'm not alarmed right now it's not 'oh boy he broke his leg.' It's one of those things where we take it day by day." pic.twitter.com/KRvA6XLeEq
— Jack Lido (@JackLido) August 12, 2023
Non-contact injuries are always alarming, and McNamara’s importance to Iowa football’s hopes in 2023 doesn’t need a lot of explaining.
While this is certainly scary with McNamara, the early returns appear to be fairly promising. Per David Eickholt of Hawkeye Insider, McNamara returned without crutches and didn’t have any ice on his knee.
The 6-foot-1, 205 pound quarterback transferred in from Michigan this offseason. McNamara passed for 2,576 yards and 15 touchdowns while leading the Wolverines to a Big Ten championship and College Football Playoff berth during the 2021 season.
Iowa also held its local media day on Friday. At media day, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz was asked if McNamara had met or exceeded his expectations thus far.
“Yeah, once we got the cadence part down a little better. I keep forgetting about this, but quarterbacks don’t play under center anymore so it’s been a little bit of an adjustment for him. I keep forgetting we are in a new era of football, no huddles, nobody under center.
“We’re working through that, but he’s been outstanding. He’s just a really good leader. He’s a good football player. He’s got good vision, makes good decisions. It’s really been positive. Excited he’s here,” Ferentz said of McNamara at the Hawkeyes’ media day.
Ferentz also updated the status of Iowa’s backup quarterbacks. If McNamara is injured, it appears the Hawkeyes would turn to Wisconsin transfer Deacon Hill.
“Yeah, I’m going to make that one easy for you. (Joe) Labas has been out. He had a soft tissue injury back in July. So hopefully we’ll get him back on the field right now, but it’s clearly one, two, and then after that, hang on. That’s kind of where it’s at.
“The good news is Deacon is getting a lot of good work. The bad news is Joe hasn’t been able to compete. So hopefully we’ll get him back on the field here soon,” Ferentz said.
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