A glass-half full look at Iowa’s much-maligned offense
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – On the final day of spring practice, it’s easy to see the glass as being half full, even for an old and crusty cynic and skeptic as I sometimes tend to be.
But as strange as this might seem, I left a chilly Kinnick Stadium on Saturday believing there is hope for the much-maligned Iowa offense, which sadly became a national laughingstock and punchline last season.
Before you accuse me of being a delusional homer, let me explain.
It wasn’t that I was blown away by what I saw during Saturday’s open practice because it’s hard to make a fair and accurate evaluation based on one practice in which the defense wasn’t tackling at full speed.
Iowa still has serious issues at receiver where there currently are only four players on scholarship, as well as big-time concerns on the offensive line based on how poorly it performed as a unit for much of last season.
My optimism comes from the circumstances at quarterback, running back, tight end and kicker, and that combines for a big part of the offense.
Cade McNamara was limited this spring as he recovers from knee surgery, but the former Michigan quarterback already is proven at this level after having led the Wolverines to the 2021 Big Ten championship, and to the college playoff that season.
McNamara made some impressive throws in seven-on-seven drills on Saturday, but that was pretty much the extent of his workload.
There is no doubt, however, that McNamara is the clear-cut starter as he should be, and his presence as the new starter doesn’t seem to have caused any resentment with his new teammates.
“He’s been a really great addition to our team,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said of McNamara, who is from Reno, Nevada. “I won’t speak for everybody on our team, but I think they’ve all really embraced him, are really glad he’s here.
“He clearly is our starter right now. It is not a debate. Real happy about him being there.”
The fact that McNamara has been embraced by his new teammates says a lot about him, and about his teammates.
“I don’t regret my decision at all, and I couldn’t be happier to be a Hawkeye,” McNamara said after Saturday’s practice.
Perhaps the biggest surprise from Saturday is that Kirk Ferentz said Wisconsin transfer Deacon Hill, who is listed at 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, ended spring practice as the No. 2 quarterback.
Redshirt sophomore Joe Labas was listed as the No. 2 quarterback heading into spring practice, and he was also coming off a decent performance as the starter in Iowa’s 21-0 victory over Kentucky in the Music City Bowl this past December.

So, it was easy to assume that Labas would hang on to the No. 2 spot during spring drills versus a quarterback that had just joined the program at the start of the spring semester.
But that apparently wasn’t the case based on what Kirk Ferentz said Saturday.
“It’s still wide open. As of today, it would be him,” Kirk Ferentz said of Hill being the No. 2 quarterback. “That could go back and forth. It’s like a lot of stuff right now: nobody’s got any jobs locked up right now. Everybody’s going to keep working here, keep competing. We’ll see who improves and what things look like in August.
“He’s made a good showing for himself. A big, big part of his struggle, he can throw a ball obviously, but the language, the nomenclature, being able to call plays. At least he was in a system, but he wasn’t really working with the ones or twos. I would say he’s been in a system where you go in the huddle and call plays instead of holding signs up and everything.”
Hill, who is from Santa Barbara, California, had a connection to Iowa in that Iowa offensive analyst Jon Budmayr recruited Hill to Wisconsin when Budmayr was a Badger assistant coach under former Badger head coach Paul Chryst
Hill entered the transfer portal after Luke Fickell was hired to replace Chryst as head coach. Hill first committed to Fordham where he had a good chance of being the starter, but he ultimately picked one of Wisconsin’s biggest rivals.
“Knowing coach Budmayr was here, that was a big thing,” Hill said Saturday. “He’s the one that recruited me to Wisconsin.
“Also, knowing he was here and believing in the program. Iowa has always been a stable program in the Big Ten. They always have a winning record, and so, I just wanted to be a part of it.”
Tight end is almost always a strength for Iowa and that should be the case again next season as junior Luke Lachey and Michigan transfer Erick All have a chance to be a potent combination.
The loss of All-Big Ten tight end Sam LaPorta to graduation certainly has to be addressed, and it has been addressed with the addition of All, who had over 400 receiving yards during Michigan’s Big Ten championship season in 2021 with McNamara throwing to him.
Third-team tight end Addison Ostrenga also shows signs of being another in a long and distinguished list of playmaking tight ends for Iowa, and there is also talent behind him.
In fact, Iowa has so much quality depth at tight end that 6-5, 240-pound Dordt transfer Hayden Large has switched to fullback where depth is a concern due mostly to an injury to Eli Miller.
“We were happy to have him join us,” Kirk Ferentz said of Large, who isn’t named after Hayden Fry. “I really wasn’t quite sure where it was going to go. Unfortunately, we’ve had one injury this spring that Eli Miller is probably not going to be able to play in the fall, out of surgery. He was really doing well. All of a sudden we’ve got a void there. Hayden was doing okay at tight end. Give that a shot. Seems like he has a feel for it.
“Right now, I think he can really factor into this whole thing. Funny how you stumble into things sometimes. Great young man. Very enthused about being here. Great attitude. Really glad he’s here. It’s kind of random that it all happened.”

Speaking of quality depth, that also appears to be the situation at running back where Iowa has two proven running backs in sophomore Kaleb Johnson and junior Leshon Williams, along with two intriguing prospects in redshirt freshman Jaziun Patterson and true freshman Terrell Washington Jr., who was previously committed to Purdue before switching to Iowa following a head coaching change at Purdue.
Johnson and Williams rushed for 779 and 413 yards, respectively, last season, and both are fully capable of carrying the load.
Patterson, a former four-star recruit from Florida, showed flashes in limited playing time last season, while Washington showed flashes during Saturday’s practice.
In no way am I suggesting that the Iowa offense, which finished last season ranked 130th out of 131 FBS teams in total offense, is ready to silence all the critics and naysayers.
But there is at least a glimmer of hope, a light at the end of tunnel, mostly because of the circumstances at every position except the offensive line and receiver.
Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, who is widely blamed for the problems on offense, has some key pieces to build around at multiple positions.
So, now it’s up to him and the players to make it work against a 2023 schedule that doesn’t include Ohio State or Michigan.
Iowa doesn’t have to make dramatic changes in style and approach on offense, because frankly, it isn’t built to play much differently from a personnel standpoint.
The offense just has to get better at doing what it’s built to do, and we all know what that is; a mix of heavy run and play-action passes.
It’s easy to think the cupboard is bare based on how poorly the offense performed last season.
But that isn’t the case.
The offensive line returns multiple starters, and the hope is that they will be better with a season of experience under their belt.
And should that happen, and if McNamara and the tight ends and running backs all play up to their potential, that could help compensate for some of the shortcomings at receiver.
Iowa also might add a receiver, or two, from the transfer portal.
“We’re going to keep looking, but we’ll be protective of making sure we bring guys that aren’t going to set us back, just take away from the group, that type of thing,” Kirk Ferentz said. “You want to get a good player, but you want to get somebody that is going to add to your team.”
And while there is pressure on McNamara to help spark the offense, he doesn’t have to be the team’s savior.
With the amount of experience and talent that Iowa has on defense, and on special teams, the offense could just be average, or slighty above average, with McNamara behind center, and that would be a significant improvement, and maybe enough to win the Big Ten West Division.
Iowa also has a proven kicker in Drew Stevens, who made 16-of-18 field-goal attempts last season as a true freshman. His importance can’t be overstated for a team that has a history of playing in close games under Kirk Ferentz.
McNamara, of course, wants to score touchdowns.
But it’s also nice knowing that you have a very reliable kicker to at least score three points.
Just one last reminder that this isn’t a prediction that the offense is poised for a dramatic shift in performance next season.
The situation just isn’t as gloom-and-doom on offense as some make it out to be, at least right at this moment on paper.
“Overall for the guys that were out there participating have been doing nothing but getting better, McNamara said. “That chemistry really has been growing all across the offense and the team, whether it’s the o-line, or even me with the wide receivers.”
McNamara said Saturday that he is “pretty close to 100 percent) from knee surgery, and now he looks forward to preparing for fall camp, and to taking advantage of the potential strengths that Iowa has on offense.
“I think the tight ends are pretty special,” McNamara said. “We’ve got a lot of guys in that room that could go right now, and I think that’s going to be the strength, although, we’ll see.
“Camp is where we kind of find ourselves and see what kind of offense we’re going to be.”