By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The easy thing right now is to focus on everything that is wrong with the Iowa football team’s offense because there is plenty from which to choose.

From the sputtering passing attack to the inconsistent rushing attack to the lack of explosive plays to the inability of the receivers to get separation, the Iowa offense is a mess right now.

The extent of the mess was on full display in Monday’s 35-0 loss to a depleted Tennessee squad in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida.

Tennessee was one of three ranked teams that Iowa faced this season, with Penn State and Michigan the other two. Iowa lost all three games by a combined score of 92-0 and averaged just 134.7 yards in the three games.

Brian Ferentz lost his job as offensive coordinator because of how poorly the offense performed this season and last season.

But even with all the dysfunction and ineptitude on offense, maybe there is a sign of hope.

For years, Hawkeye fans been saying that Iowa should recruit more mobile quarterbacks to keep up with the changing times, and maybe the message finally was heard because with a healthy Cade McNamara, and with Marco Lainez and incoming freshman James Resar, Iowa will have three quarterbacks on the 2024 roster that aren’t the typical pro-style quarterback that has been so common under Kirk Ferentz.

McNamara showed as the Michigan quarterback when he was healthy in 2021 that he could move the pocket and be a running threat when the play breaks down.

But he was never completely healthy this season after having suffered a soft-tissue injury in August that limited his mobility.

McNamara’s season then was cut short when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the fifth game against Michigan State.

Lainez showed this past Monday in the Citrus Bowl that he could be a force as a runner. He led Iowa with 51 rushing yards on six attempts, all of which came in the fourth quarter.

He showed the ability to elude tackles and to break them.

Though a small sample size in mop-up duty, it was probably the most impressive rushing performance by an Iowa quarterback since Brad Banks way back in 2002.

Lainez’s performance also now has fans wondering why Kirk Ferentz stuck with Deacon Hill at quarterback despite all the dysfunction.

Lainez hadn’t taken a single snap heading into the bowl game, and he was inserted only after Hill had committed his third turnover in the game, which was a pick-six.

Hill struggled with accuracy throughout his time as the starter, and he sometimes threw the ball too hard.

And weighing nearly 260, pounds, Hill also lacks mobility, which kept him from moving the pocket and from scrambling from the pocket.

Former Iowa quarterbacks Drew Tate and C.J. Beathard both had decent running skills, but neither were as physical as the 225-pound Lainez was against Tennessee.

James Resar, meanwhile, signed a letter of intent with Iowa in December. And in addition to being an accomplished quarterback in high school, the Florida native is also a talented sprinter in track with a personal best time of 10.67 seconds in the 100-meter dash.

That’s fast for a running back, let alone a quarterback.

It remains to be seen how Resar’s skill set will translate to college.

But speed is speed.

Iowa also has received a verbal commitment from 2025 Indiana quarterback Jimmy Sullivan, and he reportedly has good speed.

A more mobile quarterback wouldn’t fix all the problems on offense, but it would give Iowa more flexibility, and at least a chance to do something positive when the play breaks down.

Tennessee freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava hurt Iowa more with his running than his passing in the Citrus Bowl.

The game just becomes so much easier for an offense if the quarterback is a threat to run.

That’s why it was so strange that Iowa stuck with Deacon Hill, even during the worst times, knowing that Lainez could at least be a running threat.

The hope is that McNamara will be fully healthy by next season, and if so, defenses will have to account for his scrambling ability.

And if Lainez were to be the backup next season, the new offensive coordinator could create some packages in which his running skills are utilized.

There still is a place for a pro-style quarterback in today’s age of spread offenses and aggressive defenses.

But unless he is super talented or surrounded by dynamic playmakers that can stretch the field, the options are limited, especially when the play breaks down.

It was encouraging, and entertaining, to watch Lainez run through and around the Tennessee defenders because that has happened so rarely with Iowa quarterbacks under Kirk Ferentz.

Kirk Ferentz still believes that his style and approach to offense can work, and he also believes that injuries were largely responsible for the problems this season.

So, it would be naïve to think that he would overhaul his offense, even with a new offensive coordinator.

But maybe he wouldn’t have to overhaul his offense if his quarterback has mobility.

Teams that don’t use mobile quarterbacks are cheating themselves because defenses don’t have to worry about shadowing the quarterback when the play breaks down.

So, while Kirk Ferentz hasn’t come out and said that Iowa is recruiting more mobile quarterbacks as part of a philosophical change in strategy, it still seems to be happening.

And that’s encouraging.