Dating back to the spring, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz has remained consistent that it would take time for graduate quarterback Cade McNamara to work himself back into full game shape.
Ferentz has also remained optimistic that it would happen for McNamara and the Hawkeyes.
Through three games, Iowa owns a 2-1 record. Like the Hawkeyes’ offense as a whole, McNamara has shown some good and some bad. The 6-foot-1, 210 pound quarterback has completed 63.9% of his passes for 526 yards with three touchdowns against a pair of interceptions.
As he previewed Iowa’s Saturday date at Minnesota, Ferentz was asked how he feels McNamara’s progression is coming along and how close McNamara is to being back into complete game shape.
“We’ll see. I don’t mean that in a negative way by any stretch. But we’ve played three weeks right now, and I can’t stand here in front of you and say we’ve played a complete game start to finish yet. I wasn’t here for the first one, but I watched it.
“So, we’ve had peaks and valleys. As I said, the good thing is we’ve faced some adversity the other day, and it could have gotten worse after that muffed punt, too, just for the record. Nestor did a good job being there and scooping that thing up, but that could have been interesting. We’re at 17-14 at that point and the ball is at midfield. Those things are going to be good for us in the long run. I’d just as soon not have to go through all of them that we’ve done,” Ferentz said.
Ferentz remains optimistic that McNamara’s best football can still be in front of him.
“I think to the point, whether it be Cade or the offensive line, hopefully our best football is in front of us. That’s the way it’s got to work and does typically work for us. I know more about our program than I do others, but that’s usually how it works.
“But we have to be working at it and doing right, and I do think he’s more comfortable now, and now the challenge is can we keep it going week to week knowing that the degree of difficulty is going to get a little tougher, too. Because these guys, two straight shutouts in a row, it’s going to be a big challenge for us,” Ferentz said.
Iowa is slated for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday at Minnesota with the game to be broadcast on NBC.
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