The status of Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara continues to be one of the top storylines for the Hawkeyes as the season opener against Utah State swiftly approaches.
Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz said that his signal-caller still hasn’t been able to practice since he left with a non-contact injury during Kids’ Day at Kinnick.
But, Ferentz has been consistently spreading optimism in regards to McNamara’s eventual return. Immediately following the Kids’ Day at Kinnick scrimmage, Ferentz indicated that it was a muscle issue and not anything structural.
Then, at the end of last week, Ferentz said he was hopeful that McNamara would return this week. While that obviously hasn’t been the case, Ferentz told reporters on Wednesday that he remains upbeat about the Reno, Nev., product’s chances to start the season opener against the Aggies.
“We’ll know more at the end of the week, but I’m really optimistic and we’ll see,” Ferentz said.
In fact, Ferentz and Iowa are holding out hope that McNamara can return in some form to practice by the end of this week.
“Basically, it’s been a recovery process and they got a procedure for it, so hopefully at the end of the week he can start doing some things. I think everything looks like it’s on schedule, so that’s encouraging,” Ferentz said.
Ferentz made sure to make note of McNamara’s toughness with reporters, too. Ultimately, Iowa and McNamara are simply at the mercy of the recovery and rehab clock, though.
“Yeah, I mean, I’m not worried about that. I’m not worried about that at all. It’s just Mother Nature takes part, too, and that’s always been the case with injuries. As tough as a guy might be—and certain guys can do certain things at certain positions—but, a quarterback needs his legs for sure,” Ferentz said.
No stranger to adversity, McNamara has impressed his coach with the way he’s handled this difficult situation.
“He’s just wired that way. It’s natural to him. He’s a very competitive guy, he’s a very positive guy and pretty strong-willed. Going back to the nature part, you can only do so much. If you’ve got a broken bone, it’s got to heal. I totally get that. But, my experience is, mental toughness really helps guys get back to the field faster and some are more wired that way than others. So, that’s certainly not something he’s lacking in. There’s no question he wants to be out there, so keep going here. Hopefully, fingers crossed,” Ferentz said.
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