Let’s just call it as it is. The Iowa Hawkeyes’ quarterback play has not been good since Nate Stanley graduated from the program in 2020. He is the last quarterback who could carry the Hawkeyes’ offense.
Since his departure, the quarterback position has been a revolving door of Spencer Petras, Alex Padilla, Deacon Hill, and Cade McNamara with no good answer coming to fruition yet.
That said, Iowa knows what they have in current starter Cade McNamara and the only way to see what else there is on the roster is to try out Brendan Sullivan or Marco Lainez full-time.
As is common at Iowa, that is much easier said than done. During his weekly press conference, Kirk Ferentz discussed why there is such reluctance to experiment at the QB position.
“Really it’s pretty much the same every position that we have out there on the football field. We assess it daily and then weekly, and then you learn more as the season goes on and the game goes on.
“But ultimately it’s about putting players on the field in situations where you think it gives you your best chance to win at that given point.
“When those times come where you’re going to make a change or sub somebody out, then you do it. Again, we discuss that pretty much on a daily basis. I think the only day we don’t meet as a staff would be Saturdays. We do it on Friday afternoons. If it’s a night game we do it Saturday morning. But we’re talking constantly about the update of our team, where we’re at, what do we need to be thinking about. We just take it a day at a time, try to give ourselves the best chance to be successful,” Ferentz said about the quarterback position.
Sitting at 3-2, the season is far from over and a long way from collapsing, but it has provided ample time to get a clear view of what the current quarterback play looks like.
Through five games, Cade McNamara is 78-122 (63.9%) for 686 yards, 3 TD, and 3 INT. He is averaging 137.2 yards per game and just 5.6 yards per attempt.
All three of McNamara’s touchdowns came in Week 1 against an FCS program, Illinois State. He has not found the end zone with a pass in Iowa’s last four games. His last two games are a combined 25-39 for 160 yards, 2 INT, and two fumbles.
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