IOWA CITY, Iowa – Cade McNamara hasn’t even joined the Iowa football team as a quarterback yet, but his impact is being felt in a big and important way.

Since McNamara announced on Dec. 1 that he plans to transfer from Michigan to Iowa, the size of the Iowa SWARM collective has nearly tripled, according to SWARM CEO Brad Heinrichs, who made a guest appearance on the Hawk Fanatic radio show and podcast on Friday.

Heinrichs’ interview starts about 75 minutes into the two-hour podcast and lasts for approximately 45 minutes.

Heinrichs said there were 325 members in the SWARM prior to McNamara committing to Iowa, and now that total has soared to over 1,100.

McNamara led Michigan to the 2021 Big Ten title over Iowa and to the college playoff.

But he lost his starting position to sophomore J.J. McCarthy early in the 2022 season, and with Iowa desperately needing a quarterback to help jumpstart its struggling offense, McNamara has embraced the challenge.

McNamara attended the Iowa men’s basketball team’s 75-56 victory over Iowa State Thursday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and received a rousing ovation from the fans.

Michigan tight end Erick All also attended the men’s basketball game as part of his visit in the transfer portal.

Heinrichs didn’t give any specfic numbers, but he did confirm that name, image and likeness (NIL) played a key factor in McNamara picking Iowa.

Heinrichs also said that his goal is to eventually have 10,000 members in the SWARM collective.

Heinrichs was a four-year letterwinner on the University of Iowa golf team and he graduated with degrees in Actuarial Science and Economics in 1997. Since 2005, he’s served as the President and CEO of Foster & Foster Consulting Actuaries, Inc., a national actuarial consulting firm which provides employee benefits consulting services to entities who serve the greater good, such as teachers, police officers, firefighters and others.

Thank you for your support so far, #Hawkeyes.

You can continue to have an impact on the future of Iowa football by joining the @IowaSwarm today.

— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) December 2, 2022