Trying once again to make sense of Iowa’s quarterback competition
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Kirk Ferentz isn’t budging – at least not yet.
Cade McNamara still is his starting quarterback and McNamara is expected to make his 13th start as a Hawkeye in Saturday’s game against Northwestern at Kinnick Stadium.
Iowa is 8-4 in the games that McNamara has started dating back to last season, but Iowa also has lost two of its last three games, and McNamara’s performance was a big reason why in both cases.
He completed less than 50 percent of his passes and threw a costly interception in last Saturday’s 32-20 loss at Michigan State and he committed turnovers on three straight positions in the 35-7 loss to Ohio State on Oct. 5 in Columbus, Ohio.
Iowa’s veteran squad already has been eliminated from playoff contention, and fans are upset and frustrated with McNamara’s play at quarterback.
Fans would like Northwestern transfer Brendan Sullivan to play more than just in goal-line packages, and there are some in the media that feel the same way.
They don’t understand why Kirk Ferentz is so reluctant to give Sullivan a chance, especially with McNamara having struggled in so many games.
Kirk Ferentz said Tuesday that both quarterbacks are “doing a good job in practice.”
He also mentioned that it’s more difficult to evaluate Sullivan because he has played such a limited role.
“The guys that are playing, you obviously have concrete examples and the guys that aren’t out there, you’re projecting a little bit and that’s part of the deal,” Kirk Ferentz said. “So, there is never a one-hundred percent answer, typically.
“But I think they’re both doing a good job and Cade has to play better, certainly in the first half (against Michigan State) particularly. Really nothing on offense was good enough. We dug a hole that was too deep, quite frankly, and everybody had a hand in it. But the offense certainly has a responsibility. Cade has to throw the ball a little bit more accurately.”
Kirk Ferentz having to defend his decision on who starts at quarterback has almost become an annual occurrence.
Fans see McNamara struggle, and they see his lack of accuracy and mobility, and they see how much better Sullivan is as a runner and they wonder why Kirk Ferentz won’t give Sullivan an expanded role.
In this case, it’s hard not be on the fans’ side.
Kirk Ferentz was asked at his weekly press conference if he would consider using Sullivan more in third-and-short situations regardless of field position.
Iowa had two third-and-1 plays against Michigan State that failed to produce a first down with McNamara playing quarterback.
“Yeah, you could make that argument, treat it like what we’ve done that with the red zone,” Kirk Ferentz said. “You could make that argument. You could make it both ways. It’s a little bit unsettling maybe bringing a guy in.
“But yeah, that’s something you could consider for sure. Maybe it is something we need to look at.”
That seems to be Kirk Ferentz softening his stand maybe just a little bit.
But you would like to think that the Iowa coaches could come up with that idea without it being suggested by somebody in the media.
First-year offensive coordinator Tim Lester played quarterback for Western Michigan where he threw for over 11,000 yards and was the head coach for his college alma mater from 2017 to 2022.
Lester has been there and done it, both as a player and as a head coach.
Kirk Ferentz said Tuesday that most of Iowa’s personnel decisions are group decisions, but he also said that Lester ultimately makes the call.
That seems hard to believe, but if it truly is the case, then Lester still must believe that McNamara gives Iowa the best chance to win.
Because why else would McNamara be starting?
Fans and the media don’t get to watch practice, so they can’t say for sure that Sullivan is better than McNamara.
What they can say, however, is that rarely has McNamara played well for an extended time in a game.
He has shown flashes, but the bad has outweighed the good with McNamara’s game-day performances.
McNamara has shown little resemblance to the quarterback that led Michigan to the 2021 Big Ten title, and to the college playoff that season.
In fairness, he has had to overcome two straight season-ending knee injures and there have been times when McNamara has looked reluctant to run on his surgically repaired knees.
McNamara was asked on Tuesday if he is as comfortable running now as he was prior to having two knee surgeries.
“Throughout my entire career, other than in high school, I haven’t been able to break tackles or do stuff in the pocket that I’ve already done this season,” McNamara said. “At this point, ‘I’m very comfortable with moving around, but for the most part, it’s usually, okay, was I on time here?
“Very rarely is it a case where I should have ran then that means nobody was open. But at the same time, I feel with my accuracy I can give the guy a chance or something. So, as far as me physically, I’m very comfortable with running and moving and all that stuff. Despite the surgery or not, I feel like I’m in a better place physically than I ever have (been).”
McNamara might feel that way, but there have been times, including the Michigan State game, when it hasn’t looked that way.
He seems to be saying that even when healthy, running or scrambling is not much of an option.
So, if running isn’t much of an option, that puts more pressure on McNamara to be accurate as a passer, which he has struggled to be.
It also puts Iowa at a disadvantage against opponents that have mobile quarterbacks, as was the case against Michigan State’s Aidan Chiles, who ran for 51 yards in last Saturday’s game.
To his credit, McNamara made no excuses and didn’t point fingers when looking back at the Michigan State loss.
He blamed himself for the pass to tight end end Luke Lachey that was intercepted, and he basically said that he has to play better.
McNamara does have to play better. That is his only option right now.
He doesn’t seem to be looking over his shoulder at the next man in, but even Kirk Ferentz has a breaking point with his starting quarterback.
Jake Christensen and Jake Rudock both found that out the hard way and they would go on to finish their college careers at Eastern Illinois and Michigan, respectively.
McNamara doesn’t have the luxury of being able to transfer to a third school. This is it for the sixth-year graduate from Reno, Nevada.
Kirk Ferentz seems to be giving McNamara every chance to reach his potential, though some would say that McNamara already has been given too many chances.
The fact that Kirk Ferentz hasn’t made a switch at quarterback isn’t a surprise because he has been very loyal to McNamara since adding him from the transfer portal late in 2022.
Kirk Ferentz wanted McNamara so badly that he committed a recruiting violation by making contact with McNamara before McNamara had entered the portal.
Iowa basically rolled out the red carpet for McNamara and has stuck with him for now going on two seasons.
He missed the final nine games last season due to the knee injury, and then Iowa would go on to add Sullivan this past June as sort of an insurance policy.
Iowa must have said something that made Sullivan believe he would have a legitimate chance to compete for the starting position this season.
Because why else would he have left Northwestern where he started four games last season?
To run goal-line packages for Iowa?
That seems hard to believe.
And while there is no reason to believe that Sullivan hasn’t been given a fair chance to be the starter, there is reason to question under the circumstances why he hasn’t been given more of an opportunity to play.
It just doesn’t make sense, even for Kirk Ferentz.