Iowa’s antiquated offense hindering quarterback growth
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – From 1983 to 1991, the Iowa football team had three different quarterbacks that combined to make first-team all-Big Ten seven times under former head coach Hayden Fry.
Chuck Long made first-team all-conference in 1983, 1984 and 1985, while Chuck Hartlieb made first-team all-Big Ten in 1987 and 1988, and then Matt Rodgers received the same honor in 1990 and 1991.
Only twice since then, however, has an Iowa quarterback made first-team all-Big Ten as Brad Banks earned the honor in 2002 followed by Drew Tate in 2004.
That points to a lack of quarterback development or to some questionable recruiting at the quarterback position, or perhaps it’s a little of both.
Whatever the case, Iowa quarterbacks aren’t being developed like they used to be, and this season is certainly no exception as Saturday’s 12-10 loss to Minnesota showed as sophomore Deacon Hill passed for just 116 yards, committed three turnovers and was sacked four times.
He also led an offene that had eight 3-and-outs.
Kirk Ferentz is in his 25th season as the Iowa head coach, and this season will mark the 23rd time under him that Iowa hasn’t had a first-team All-Big Ten quarterback.
C.J. Beathard was the last Iowa quarterback to receive all-conference recognition as he made second-team All-Big Ten as a junior in 2015.
Matt Sherman also made second-team All-Big Ten in 1996 under Fry.
But that’s it.
The game of football has evolved considerably on offense over the past three decades, but the Iowa quarterback position doesn’t seem to have kept up with the times.
Iowa caught lightning in a bottle with Banks as he used his skills as a dual-threat quarterback to sort of redefine the position in his one season as a starter in 2002.
But that was 21 years ago, while Tate’s All-Big Ten season was 19 years ago.
It’s even been eight years since Beathard was named second-team All-Big Ten.
Tate was spectacular as a first-year starter in 2004 when as a true sophomore he led Iowa to a share of the Big Ten title. He was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year despite having hardly any threat of a running game.
Tate also played well as a junior and senior, but he struggled with injuries and never really recaptured the magic from his sophomore campaign.
Ricky Stanzi was solid as a multi-year starter from 2008 to 2010, but he never made all-Big Ten.
You could go down the list, from Scott Mullen to Deacon Hill and so very few Iowa quarterbacks have performed at an All-Big Ten level under Kirk Ferentz, and under three different offensive coordinators.
Spencer Petras was widely criticized in his nearly three seasons as the starter from 2020 to 2022, and while some of it was deserved, you now wonder if his problems had more to do with the system than with his ability.
Because neither Cade McNamara nor Hill have played any better than Petras as the starter, and you argue that they’ve been worse.
Hill transferred from Wisconsin this past January and previously was committed to Fordham before switching to the Hawkeyes.
To go from being committed to Fordham to now starting for a Big Ten team just months later is a massive leap.
There are times when Iowa has struggled just to complete a forward pass, especially to a wide receiver, while so many other teams make it look almost routine.
Nate Stanley started at quarterback for Iowa from 2017 to 2019 and had some huge performances, including throwing five touchdown passes in the stunning 55-24 victory over Ohio State in 2017.
Stanley finished his career with over 8,000 passing yards, but he never even made third-team All-Big Ten.
In fairness to Stanley, though, his statistics seem worthy of Hall of Fame consideration compared to his successors at quarterback.
This column could be the result of being a prisoner of the moment caused by the offense’s stunning decline since the start of the 2022 season.
Offense rarely has been a strength, or a source of entertainment under Kirk Ferentz.
But this current skid under offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz is by far the low point, and right now, it’s hard to see a way out of it.
The system on offense is antiquated, and quarterback development and growth doesn’t seem to be a priority.
And if it is a priority, then the approach isn’t working.
Brian Ferentz never had coached quarterbacks when his father made him the quarterback coach in 2022.
Former Wisconsin quarterback and Badger assistant coach Jon Budmayr was brought in to help with the offense in 2022, but his presence doesn’t seem to have helped much at all, at least on game day.
With this being a bye week, Iowa (6-2, 3-2) has two weeks to prepare for its next game against Northwestern on Nov. 4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
As bad as things might seem right now, the Big Ten West is the gift that keeps on giving from an opponent standpoint, although, given the condition of Iowa’s offense, nothing will probably come easy.
You wonder if the extra week will give the coaches a chance to take a closer look at backup quarterback Joe Labas in practice.
Because even if Labas hasn’t performed as well as Hill has in practice, what would it hurt to give a Labas a chance?
Labas started for Iowa in the 21-0 victory over Kentucky in the Music City Bowl, and the best thing he did was not lose the game.
He was serviceable at best, but that looks pretty good right now.