Cade McNamara saw something special right away in his new Iowa teammates
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Cade McNamara had just recently committed to the Iowa football team, but had yet to join the team when he received an invitation to participate in a zoom conference this past January.
The invitation came from some of his future Hawkeye teammates, and to say that McNamara was touched by the offer would be an understatement.
To be included in this team-bonding experience had a profound effect on McNamara because it showed that he belonged and that his future teammates were thrilled to have him and eager to work together for a common cause.
“There was a group of leaders on the team already who were holding a player-led zoom call and they decided to invite me to the meeting before I even came to Iowa, and that just instilled confidence in myself,” McNamara said at Iowa’s annual media day event this past Friday. “I hadn’t even met these guys, but they already trusted me enough, like there was no reason for me to be in that call, but they decided to invite me to that.
“Just how welcoming everybody has been has just made me that much more comfortable being myself and just getting right into the flow of things. I think the transition really couldn’t have been easier.”
The transition now faces its first obstacle, however, with McNamara having suffered what Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz described as a soft-tissue injury in the Kids Day practice this past Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.
The injury occurred on a play in which McNamara scrambled from the pocket before falling to the turf. He limped slightly after getting back on his feet and did not return to practice.
Ferentz said to the media afterwards that he wasn’t alarmed by the injury because he didn’t believe that McNamara had suffered any structural damage.
But the injury will cause McNamara to miss some practice time, and that’s a concern with the season opener against Utah State on Sept. 2 at Kinnick Stadium in less than three weeks.
“I wouldn’t say he’s upset, but he’s not happy because you don’t want to miss time,” Kirk Ferentz said of McNamara. “He doesn’t like not playing. He doesn’t like not practicing.
“I just told him injuries are part of the game. It sucks, but they’re part of the game. All you can do is all you can do. My guess is he’ll wear the training staff out the next couple days or whatever it takes.”

Ferentz’s comment about McNamara wearing out the training staff was meant as a compliment. It was Ferentz’s way of recognizing McNamara’s work ethic and determination.
McNamara has made a strong impression in his short time as a Hawkeye, on and off the field.
His new teammates rave about his leadership qualities and about his work ethic and team-first mentality.
His long-time teammate, tight end Erick All, who transferred from Michigan to Iowa with McNamara, has seen all this before.
They both helped lead Michigan to the Big Ten title in 2021 and to the four-team college playoff.
McNamara started every game at quarterback, while All had over 400 receiving yards.
All was asked at media day what makes McNamara such a great leader.
“Because he’s just such a great guy,” All said. “He cares about his teammates. He competes and he just lets it be known that he wants to win.
“He’s always letting off positive energy with anything. It’s contagious.”
Sixth-year senior defensive end Joe Evans was among the veteran players that participated in the zoom call prior to McNamara joining the team.
“He was going to be one of us. He was going to be one of our teammates and coming in as a quarterback, we just wanted him to feel like he belonged on the team, and, obviously, he does,” Evans said when asked why McNamara was invited on the call. “He was a part of us, and he was going to join the brotherhood. He had committed here, so he was going to be a part of the brotherhood and we just wanted to get to know him and just kind of go through our goals.”
Evans and McNamara didn’t hit it off right away as friends, but that eventually changed as Evans watched McNamara interact with his new teammates.
Evans was among about a dozen Iowa players that joined McNamara on a June trip to California to train and to bond.
And now they’re roommates, and close friends.
“He’s just been a great leader since the day he stepped in here,” Evans said.
McNamara credits the zoom call for giving him the confidence to be a leader of new teammates.
“I think from that meeting on, I think those guys recognized, I guess, my potential as a leader.,” McNamara said. “But I truly appreciate those guys looking at me, especially that early on.
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The news about McNamara’s injury spread quickly on social media.
The Kids Day practice was the first chance for fans, and for the media, to watch McNamara in a full practice.
He was limited in spring practice as he recovered from a leg injury that he suffered as a Wolverine.
So, all eyes were focused on McNamara during the Kids Day practice this past Saturday, and when he fell to the ground in obvious pain, Hawkeye fans inside Knnick Stadium and beyond were concerned.
It appears that Iowa has avoided a huge setback if what Kirk Ferentz said about McNamara’s injury this past Saturday proves to be accurate.
Ferentz, obviously, was just repeating what he was told by the medical staff.
McNamara has overcome adversity before, from previous injuries to losing his starting position at Michigan early in the 2022 season, and less than a year after having led the Wolverines to the Big Ten title.
Some might say that the transfer portal was intended for players such as Cade McNamara because it provides an opportunity for someone who has been stripped of an opportunity.
McNamara didn’t want to spend the rest of his college career as a backup, and he already had shown that he could perform at a high level on the biggest stage.
He wanted to be a starting quarterback again, and Iowa wanted him to be its starting quarterback, to help jumpstart an offense that finished last season ranked 130th out of 131 FBS teams in total offense, and that had just seven touchdown passes.
McNamara was asked at media day this past Friday if he had any concerns about the Iowa offense as he navigated through the transfer process before deciding what school was best for him.
Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, who is Kirk Ferentz’s son, has been widely criticized for the problems on offense, and he also recently had performance incentives added to his contract, including Iowa must average at least 25 points per game, and win at least seven games for his contract to return to the two-year rolling contract.

So, with all the negativity surrounding the offense, McNamara certainly would’ve have been justified to have concerns.
But he credits Jon Budmayr, whose title is senior special assistant to the head coach, for helping to ease those concerns and for convincing McNamara that he could excel in the Iowa offense.
Budmayr is a former college quarterback who played for Wisconsin and then spent six seasons as a Badger assistant coach, including the final three as the quarterback coach.
He also was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Colorado State in 2021 before joining the Iowa staff last season on a part-time basis as an offensive analyst.
“I really do trust coach Budmayr and I really trust his word,” McNamara said. “Through the conversations that I had, they were able to sell me on it. It’s just like any kind of recruiting.
“When someone was trying to convince me to go to Michigan before I went to Michigan, Michigan hadn’t won a Big Ten title in a while before I got there. So, why would I make any kind of decision based on what some team has done in the past.”
Budmayr appreciates and admires the way in which McNamara embraces all of his teammates and makes them all feel important.
“I think one of his strengths is he doesn’t just put himself into a hole or I’m just going to be around these guys,” Budmayr said. “He tries to not only make himself available, but go out of his way to reach different guys, different ages, and that’s a strength of a quarterback because it takes a whole team because that can change real quick who’s out there with you, who’s on the other side of the ball, who you’re counting on and they want to know that their leader is connected with all of them.
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McNamara has been a Hawkeye for about seven months, and when asked at media this past Friday if there is one moment that has stood out as far as convincing him that he made the right decision, McNamara couldn’t pick one because there have been too many.
“To be honest, I’m probably reminded of that every single day of how truly happy I am here,” McNamara said. “I really love everything about this state, about this school and about this program, and I honestly could not be happier that I made the choice to be a Hawkeye. Any time I call my parents I tell them how happy I am here. Anytime my teammates ask me how I’m doing, I’m doing great. And I’m not trying lie or act like mister happy all the time, or like be a phony.
“But honestly, that’s just truly how I feel. Everyone here has just been so welcoming to me, from my teammates to the people of Iowa. I’m just reminded every day how grateful I am to be here.”

McNamara made being a Hawkeye sound almost like heaven on earth as he talked about his transition at media day.
Erick All then took it one step further by saying his time at Iowa has felt like heaven when he was asked the same question about picking one moment that has stood out.
“Every day. Every day, man,” All said. “Every time I step into the building and I sit down at the breakfast table and just chat with the guys, it’s just a bunch of humble dudes, a bunch of like-minded guys that just love the game,” All said. “And I just love it. I love coming here every morning. I love being at the hotel with the guys. I love coming out here and walking all the way down to the practice field.
“It’s just like we’re in heaven right now, honestly. Any time you’re around guys that just love the game, it’s the best feeling and I’m around a whole bunch of them. So, it’s amazing.”
A cynic might say since these comments came from media day that everybody would gush and express hope and optimism in that situation.
And while there is some truth to that, the comments from McNamara and All seemed genuine and sincere, partly because their answer to the same question was so similar, but unscripted.
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McNamara is from Reno, Nevada, but he has spent the past five years away from home in Michigan and now Iowa.
He has grown to appreciate the Midwestern values and just how friendly everyone is in Iowa.
“I’ve been in the Midwest for five years, but there is definitely something very special about Iowa and there’s definitely something special about the people here,” McNamara said. “It almost feels like southern hospitality. The people here are so nice, whether it’s from the people in restaurants or really anybody. I haven’t had any bad experiences where people were rude to me or anything.
“I’m not trying to say that the people aren’t nice anywhere else, or where I’m from, but sometimes it almost seems fake how happy and how nice people are to you. I think that was kind of the biggest change for me.”
McNamara and All are part of a group of players that joined Iowa this offseason via the transfer portal.
Kirk Ferentz recognized that his offense needed help and he was more aggressive and active in the transfer portal than usual.
In addition to McNamara and All, Iowa also has added offensive linemen Rusty Feth and Daijon Parker and receivers Seth Anderson and Kaleb Brown from the portal.
McNamara encouraged the Iowa coaches to pursue All in the portal.
Iowa had recruited All as a high school player in Ohio, so both sides were familiar with each other.
“Once I was aware that Eric was going to enter the transfer portal, I told them, we have to get this guy,” McNamara said. “Besides being just a tremendous football player, he’s just a tremendous dude also.
“I think now that a lot of us transfers, now that we’ve been in the program for a while, I think everyone is really happy they decided to make this decision.”