Nathan Stanley named Iowa’s starting quarterback
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – And the winner is Nathan Stanley, as expected.
Months of drama and speculation finally ended on Monday as it was announced that Nathan Stanley would be Iowa’s starting quarterback in Saturday’s season opener against Wyoming at Kinnick Stadium.
It always has felt like Stanley’s job to lose, even though the Iowa coaches with their comments were careful not to show any favoritism between Stanley and Tyler Wiegers.
Stanley either created separation this past week in practice, or Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, with input from Brian Ferentz and Ken O’Keefe, relied on his instincts to finally make a decision.
Stanley was good enough to surpass Wiegers on the depth chart last season as a true freshman, and did so in just a matter of weeks.
So why would Stanley suddenly have regressed?
It seems more a case in which the Iowa coaches wanted to keep Wiegers engaged for as long as possible by saying the competition was too close to call throughout the spring and for most of preseason practice.
But on other hand, maybe the competition was too close to call, and it finally came down to Kirk Ferentz having to make a decision with the season opener looming.
If that is the case, was it caused by Stanley regressing or by Wiegers narrowing the gap? There are pros and cons to both of those scenarios.
The job is now without question Stanley’s to lose.
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You certainly don’t want Stanley looking over his shoulder if he struggles on Saturday.
But it also is hard to imagine Stanley having a long leash with Wiegers as his backup. If the competition truly was a competition then the Iowa coaches shouldn’t be reluctant to turn to Wiegers as a fourth-year junior should Stanley struggle.
This isn’t like 2012 when James Vandenberg took every snap as the Iowa quarterback. Vandenberg had thrown for over 3,000 yards in the previous season and was firmly entrenched as the starter.
That still doesn’t justify using him for every snap during a 4-8 season in which the offense sputtered throughout, but it might help to explain Kirk Ferentz’s logic.
“Both guys are extremely capable and it’s just going to come down to what we feel is best for the team and who gives us the best chance to win,” Brian Ferentz said after practice last Wednesday. “But like I said three weeks ago, and I’ll say it again, I think we’d be silly or foolish if we didn’t think we were going to need both guys before it’s all said and done.”
The 6-foot-5, 235-pound Stanley has a powerful arm and he performed better than Wiegers during the Kids Day practice on Aug. 12 at Kinnick Stadium.
Stanley will be the fifth sophomore, including the second true sophomore, to start at quarterback under Kirk Ferentz at Iowa.
Drew Tate started as true sophomore in 2004 and was name Big Ten Offensive Player of the year. He also led Iowa to a share of the Big Ten title that season and to a 10-2 record.
Ricky Stanzi won the starting job after four games as a sophomore in 2008 over Jake Christensen, who had started every game as a sophomore in 2007.
Jake Rudock was the last sophomore to start at quarterback for Iowa in 2013.
So having a sophomore starting at quarterback is hardly anything new for the Iowa coaches.
Stanley, with a chance to start for three seasons, is in the right place at the right time. It will come down to whether the Wisconsin native can seize the moment, which starts on Saturday.
If not, look for Wiegers to get his chance.
We finally got the answer on Monday to a question that Iowa fans have asked ever since C.J. Beathard used up his eligibility last season. Who would replace him at quarterback?
Now it’s just a matter of whether Stanley is the long-term solution at quarterback.
In other news concerning the depth chart, seven true freshmen are listed on the two-deeps, including defensive end A.J. Epenesa, offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs and receiver Brandon Smith. The others are cornerback Matt Hankins, free safety Geno Stone, kick returner Ivory Kelly-Martin and punter Ryan Gersonde.
All seven of the true freshmen are currently listed as backups, although Epenesa and Smith should see considerable action.