Tag: Marco Lainez

It seems each passing week features a new storyline with the Iowa Hawkeyes‘ quarterback room and depth chart. It is an ongoing merry-go-round of injuries, new starters and depth chart shuffling.

This week, in a bit of good news, Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz provided a positive update on redshirt freshman quarterback Marco Lainez, who had been sidelined with a broken thumb per reports.

“Then getting guys back, Lachey and Ostrenga have both been cleared and they’ve been able to practice and will be back. I think Marco Lainez will be back. After that, we’ve got a few guys who are clearly cloudy right now. We’re going to see how the week plays out and go from there,” Ferentz said in his opening statement of his weekly press conference.

Ferentz was asked about Lainez’s ability to get reintegrated into the offense with minimal practice time.

“Marco started back. That’s the good news. Somebody told me yesterday that Brendan had been pronounced done for the season, which I chuckled because at that point it was a 12-day season. Talk about headlines, I guess you try to grab attention. Not that you guys write the headlines. I understand that.

“But yeah, he’s out this week. We’ll see what next week brings. I’m not optimistic. But I would assume the bowl game. But nothing is broken, so hopefully we get him back,” Ferentz said about Lainez and junior quarterback Brendan Sullivan.

Lainez’ return to the depth chart and practice field is a very welcome sight for the Hawkeyes as their quarterback depth chart remains extremely thin.

Sullivan is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season with an ankle injury. Graduate quarterback Cade McNamara is still unclear if he will play following a concussion suffered a few weeks ago versus Northwestern.

If those two are out, Lainez and redshirt sophomore Jackson Stratton are the two healthy quarterbacks.

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One of the lone bright spots in Iowa‘s 35-0 loss versus Tennessee in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl was the play of freshman quarterback Marco Lainez.

In his first career action, Lainez directed a pair of Hawkeye drives in the fourth quarter. Both ended as turnovers on downs, though the first would have led to a field goal attempt and probably been a scoring drive under different conditions.

Lainez’s first drive under center was a 13-play, 53-yard drive that began at the Iowa 25-yard line and ended with a turnover on downs at the Tennessee 22-yard line.

Lainez’s mobility provided a dimension to the Hawkeye offense that has been sorely lacking. In just his two drives of work, Lainez finished as Iowa’s leading rusher against Tennessee with 51 rushing yards on six carries.

Lainez completed 2-of-7 passes for four yards.

Afterwards, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz shared his thoughts on how Lainez performed.

“Marco’s done a really good job, the improvement he’s made. He basically started with us in August. So the improvement he’s made, it’s been really impressive. He’s a great young guy, great attitude.

“It’s hard to practice three quarterbacks. He certainly got work as the season went on, but he’s still got a lot of learning to do, a lot of time in front of him and all those types of things. Yeah, he went in and competed like you’d think. He’s got some things to learn. All this will be good experience for him. Something to draw upon and doesn’t burn a year of eligibility, so it’s a good thing,” Ferentz said of Lainez.

Proud dad moment!!! He’s a walking 1st down. Avg’d 10+yd/run and 15+yd/pass in HS. 4star till he stopped posting offers. Don’t forget it….Room for improvement? Absolutely. But, he’ll have a full year to do that. Go Hawks! Go MacIII @MarcoLainez5 ! @Tonyrazz03 @Red_Zone75 pic.twitter.com/Mh95rEHWnS

— Marco Lainez (@macrock43) January 3, 2024

Ferentz said Iowa came into the game considering playing Lainez, but not in a starting role.

“No, not starting. He’s practiced well. So, you think about that with all your guys. We played a couple young backs a little bit today. You think about all the guys, but, obviously, we felt our best chance to win, because we started Deacon and played Deacon the majority of the game, we thought that gave us our best chance to win. At some point, you just felt like making a change would be the best thing. That’s what always drives every personnel decision,” Ferentz said.

“Anybody that can run at any position is a good thing. Again, he’s a young player, he’s got a lot to learn and he’s got a good future. He’s got good throwing skills, running skills.

“But just, you know, Deacon’s obviously got a lot of experience through the season, Deacon’s done a lot of good things for us. That was kind of the decision. But, we’ll let everybody compete in the spring and see where it all goes,” Ferentz said.

Lainez certainly provided a spark with this Hawkeye offense that Iowa fans have been missing. What the quarterback room ultimately looks like in the spring will be fascinating to watch unfold.

Senior Cade McNamara is expected to be back after rehabbing a second knee injury in as many seasons. The thought was that McNamara would be the Hawkeyes’ projected starter.

But, the Hawkeyes are reportedly getting a visit from former five-star signee and Oregon Ducks transfer quarterback Ty Thompson on Friday. If Thompson picks the black and gold, that could change the direction of the offseason for the Hawkeyes.

Would McNamara sign up for a full-fledged quarterback competition this spring? What about sophomore quarterback Deacon Hill? Would Hill stick around as the Hawkeyes’ No. 3 or No. 4 option?

Iowa also signed four-star quarterback James Resar out of Bishop Kenny in Jacksonville, Fla., in the 2024 class and the Hawkeyes brought in walk-on quarterback Tommy Poholsky as a freshman this season.

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