Little known fact, the Iowa Hawkeyes were a bad passing team last year. The team finished with a 10-4 record and had an appearance in the Big Ten championship game, mostly in spite of the passing attack.
Austin Nivison of 247Sports was recently joined by David Eickholt of Hawkeye Insider to take a look at the fledgling Iowa passing offense and see if it can improve in 2022.
“At the end of the day, Spencer Petras is probably going to be the starting quarterback on Sept. 3, unless Iowa brings in a transfer quarterback … Petras being a third-year starter and you look at the numbers last year, and yeah he dealt with some injuries,” Eickholt said. “Throw in Alex Padilla. He flashed at some moments, but again you look at the numbers, and they aren’t there.” – Nivison, 247Sports.
Last year the Hawkeyes were 109th in total passing yards per game with a measly 180.1 per game. After passing for two touchdowns against Penn State on October offense, the offense did not throw for a single score the rest of the year. Literally, the next passing touchdown came against Kentucky in the bowl game in 2022.
For the passing troubles, it is necessary to look at the quarterback Spencer Petras. All signs point to Petras starting once again, despite some speculation that backup Alex Padilla could provide some competition over the spring. Last year Petras completed his passes at a 57% clip, and only threw 10 touchdowns, one more than his nine interceptions. Add in the fact that he didn’t even reach 2,000 passing yards, 1,880 in 2021.
“Like I said, I think there’s so much pressure on Petras to really stand out and perform. He’s lost some weight, which has helped his mobility a little bit. Losing (Tyler) Linderbaum is obviously massive, but I do think Iowa’s offensive line is gonna take a step forward next year. Then you get Keagan Johnson and Arland Bruce, who I do think will be two pretty capable receivers. I’m very high on Keagan Johnson, former four-star from 247Sports. Sam LaPorta, I think he could be a first-team All-Big Ten caliber tight end with his numbers he put up last year. Again, the pieces are in place. It really is gonna come down to quarterback play for Iowa,” Eickholt said. – Nivison, 247Sports.
Yes, all the past blame shouldn’t be placed solely on Petras. The play calling needs to be better and more creative and the pass catchers have to take a step up.
All that said, Petras needs to be better, and with the rest of the offense expected to take a step forward, it is on him to do the same. He has the experience, multiple years as a starter, and now in his final season as a Hawkeye, he needs to deliver if Iowa has any aspirations of making it back to the Big Ten championship game and hopefully putting in a much better performance.
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