Given Kirk Ferentz’s history, hard to see Cade McNamara not starting season opener
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Based on Kirk Ferentz’s body of work as the Iowa football coach, which now covers a quarter century, it seems likely that Cade McNamara will start at quarterback in the Aug. 31 season opener against Illinois State.
In fact, if McNamara doesn’t start, I’ll stop watching Indiana Fever games and re-runs of the Andy Griffith Show and the Rockford Files for two weeks.
Those who know me understand the sacrifice I would be making because a day without Caitlin Clark, Barney Fife and James Rockford is like a day without sunshine and tacos.
That I’m willing to put that much on the line is based on several factors, including Kirk Ferentz’s long-standing loyalty to his No. 1 quarterback.
It’s just hard to see McNamara losing the quarterback competition to Northwestern transfer Brendan Sullivan in preseason practice, given how much Iowa has invested in McNamara.
McNamara performed so poorly in the Kids Day practice on Aug. 10 that some became convinced that he would fall behind Sullivan, who performed just slightly better in the Kids Day practice.
But then the Big Ten Network came to Iowa City this past Friday as part of its its annual preseason tour of all the teams in the conference, and when Kirk Ferentz was asked about McNamara’s status, the head Hawk hardly sounded as if he was ready to make a change on the depth chart.
“I think he’s really making progress right now,” Kirk Ferentz said of McNamara. “Every snap right now in my mind is important for him.
“I think he’s having a good week this week, and hopefully, we just keep pushing that forward.”
The Big Ten Networks clips of practice show that McNamara worked with the starters, and that Sullivan worked with the second unit.
Kirk Ferentz said on the Big Ten Network that the competition at quarterback still was ongoing, while new offensive coordinator Tim Lester said that McNamara and Sullivan were competing for the No. 1 spot and that there still was a long way to go.”
And while that could be true, and probably is true, my prediction that McNamara will start in the season opener still stands barring any unforeseen development such as another physical setback.
McNamara has yet to play in a game for Iowa in which he was fully healthy, and it’s just hard to see Kirk Ferentz giving up on him as the starter so quickly under the circumstances.
McNamara started the first five games last season, but he mostly struggled, partly due to a soft tissue injury that he had suffered in the 2023 Kids Day practice.
The Reno, Nevada native didn’t show the same burst and mobility that he showed as Michigan’s starting quarterback in 2021 when he led the Wolverines to the Big Ten title, and to the college playoff.
McNamara also appeared to have limited mobility in the 2024 Kids Day practice, which could be from having two straight season-ending knee injuries.
He was also inaccurate with some of his throws in the 2024 Kids Day practice and he made some poor decisions.
It was just a bad day at a bad time with fans and members of the media watching.
But again, it seems hard to envision McNamara losing the starting position without having a chance to solidify his No. 1 status in a real game.
Iowa has invested a lot of time and NIL resources in McNamara, and unless Sullivan, who joined the team in June, has been spectacular in preseason practice, the position would seem to be McNamara’s to lose over time.
It took Kirk Ferentz four games into the 2008 season to finally pull the plug on Jake Christensen, who was replaced as the starter by Ricky Stanzi.
Christensen never started again and would go on to transfer to Eastern Illinois, while Stanzi led Iowa to three straight bowl games.
Kirk Ferentz also started Jake Rudock at quarterback for two seasons in 2013 and 2014 despite having C.J Beathard on the roster.
There were rumors that Beathard was considering transferring if he didn’t get promoted to the starter, and then just a few days after the 2014 season, Kirk Ferentz benched Rudock in favor of Beathard.
Rudock then transferred to Michigan for the 2015 season, and he led the Wolverines to a 10-3 record in Jim Harbaugh’s first season as head coach, while Beathard led Iowa to a 12-0 record in the 2015 regular season, and to Rose Bowl.
So, the switch at quarterback actually worked out for both Beathard and Rudock.
But in McNamara’s case, he doesn’t have anywhere else to go at this point with this being his sixth and final season of eligibility.
There is one significant difference from last season in that Sullivan seems far more capable and proven as a second option than Deacon Hill, who started the final nine games last season after McNamara was injured.
To say that Hill struggled last season would be an understatement.
But in fairness, he had no experience playing at this level after having transferred from Wisconsin, and he clearly wasn’t ready to run a Big Ten offense.
Hill has since transferred to Utah Tech.
Sullivan, on the other hand, started eight games for Northwestern and has shown that he could be somewhat effective at this level.
With Sullivan now on the roster, it would seem fair to say that McNamara’s leash will be much shorter this season compared to last season, and that Kirk Ferentz wouldn’t take multiple games before making a switch if McNamara were to struggle.
If McNamara were to perform lousy in the first half against Illinois State, it’s reasonable to believe that Kirk Ferentz would turn to Sullivan in the second half.
This isn’t to say that McNamara will be looking over his shoulder, so to speak.
Or maybe he will be, and should be.