When looking at the quarterback position for the Iowa Hawkeyes, do not forget about sophomore Joe Labas.
While much attention has been given over the offseason to transfer additions Cade McNamara and Deacon Hill, the Hawkeyes still have a returning backup candidate in Labas. Though his playing time wasn’t extensive over the past few seasons in Iowa City, Labas has been able to learn the offensive system. He’s spent more time with Brian Ferentz than any other quarterback on the roster and has been groomed into his system over the past couple of seasons.
Also, this goes without saying, but Joe Labas is the only quarterback currently on the roster who has actually thrown a pass for the Black and Gold. He started and saw his first career action in the Hawkeyes’ 21-0 Music City Bowl victory over Kentucky. While his stats were not spectacular in his first outing for Iowa, he did manage to throw a touchdown and limit the bad plays.
Much of what Iowa asks from their quarterbacks is to game manage and simply not mess up. Labas sort of already showed that he can do that, albeit in some weird circumstances. Kentucky really looked like they were just there for a scrimmage in that bowl game.
With the competition for the backup quarterback slot behind Cade McNamara heating up, here is a look at Joe Labas.
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