The Iowa Hawkeyes are in the midst of their summer workouts as they continue to ramp up for the 2024 college football season.
Coming out of the spring, the biggest question with Iowa was how healthy graduate quarterback Cade McNamara was and how healthy he would be when the 2024 season kicks off.
In the open spring practice, McNamara’s mobility was very clearly still limited as he works his way back from an ACL tear to his left knee that ended his 2023 season.
When the Iowa media got the chance to speak with a number of Hawkeyes on Tuesday, McNamara’s health was naturally a primary point of discussion.
On Wednesdays, Iowa has its skills and drills portion of its summer workout regimen. Junior wide receiver Kaleb Brown said McNamara is improving from where he was when the spring ended.
“He’s working his way back. He’s getting moving in skills and drills and everything like that, rolling out,” Brown said.
Brown said he and McNamara are continuing to develop their rapport with one another.
“Oh yeah. I’ve been comfortable with Cade. It’s just good to see him moving around and more active than he had been before. That’s for sure,” Brown said.
McNamara has been taking part in the sprints portion of summer workouts, too.
“Yeah, that’s what I told y’all. I said I seen him in the sprints and he looked good, so it was pleasing to me,” Brown said.
Brown said McNamara’s desire to return was obvious after his season-ending injury and in his work ethic since.
“He never really lost the leadership role or anything. He’s always been invested. I don’t think he ever really backed off of it. Obviously, it’s a different excitement.
“Him and Luke Lachey, just talking to those guys just off the field with injuries, you know, season-ending injuries and it’s just like you already know that they want to be back. That’s what they talk about. You see it in the way that they move. I definitely sense that he wants to be back bad,” Brown said.
Iowa went out and added Brendan Sullivan from Northwestern to bolster its quarterback depth. Still, a healthy McNamara might still be the Hawkeyes’ best option.
Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz said as much at the annual Polk County I-Club event in May.
“If he’s healthy, he’s our starter. There’s no delusion there, no misconception about that. And there’s no reason to think he won’t be healthy in August. Then, if somebody beats him out, great,” Ferentz said.
During the second week of Iowa’s spring practices in late March, Ferentz shared his thoughts on McNamara’s status and said he expected the signal-caller to be full speed in June.
“But as far as Cade goes, he’ll be limited right now. He can throw the football standing, but he can’t be really moving back, moving around or dropping, that type of deal.
“I have a harness on him, because he’s always anxious to do a little bit more than what he probably should. What we don’t want to do is go backwards, but I would like to think in June he will be full speed, so do everything and then have a couple months to get used to operating and get comfortable and confident again,” Ferentz said.
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