By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – With Cade McNamara currently in concussion protocol and unavailable to play against Wisconsin on Saturday, this is exactly why Iowa added Brendan Sullivan from the transfer portal in June.

Kirk Ferentz needed an insurance policy for the injury-plagued McNamara, and he found one in Sullivan, who played his previous two seasons for Northwestern where he started four games last season.

Kirk Ferentz announced at his weekly press conference on Tuesday that McNamara suffered a concussion in the first half last of Saturday’s 40-14 victory over Northwestern at Kinnick Stadium.

The concussion is believed to have occurred on the play in which Northwestern was penalized for roughing the passer in the first quarter.

McNamara’s head slammed against the turf and he appeared to be in some pain when he stood up.

However, he stayed in the game until throwing an 85-yard pick-six early in the second quarter.

Sullivan was then inserted at quarterback and he would go on to for play the rest of the game.

Kirk Ferentz explained on Tuesday why McNamara kept playing after taking the hit on the play in which Northwestern was penalized.

“He wasn’t feeling great, but it wasn’t like he was incoherent by any stretch,” Kirk Ferentz said. “So, as I said Saturday, we had already planned a rotation going into the game and it just so happens that was the time coincidently if you will. We were going to that regardless until the all was on the one-inch line and we had 99-plus to go. that’s not fair to throw a guy in there cold doing that.

“It wasn’t like any symptoms really presented themselves other than he was sore and shook up. But then at halftime they diagnosed it and held him out. I’m not sure they diagnosed the concussion actually. He just wasn’t fit to play at halftime.”

With McNamara out for Saturday’s game, redshirt freshman Marco Lainez moves to the backup quarterback spot, while Colorado State transfer Jackson Stratton  climbs up to the third spot.

But this will be Sullivan’s game to win or lose.

The fact that Iowa had planned to use Sullivan in more than just goal-line packages against Northwestern suggests that Sullivan had narrowed the gap with McNamara and was preparing for an expanded role.

Kirk Ferentz wouldn’t go as far as to say that McNamara was benched against Northwestern, even though it might have looked that way.

For now, it doesn’t really matter with McNamara unavailable to play on Saturday.

If McNamara was on the verge of being benched, his injury helped to avoid what could have been an awkward situation, considering McNamara is a team captain, and someone that was highly coveted from the transfer portal in 2022.

Iowa has invested a great deal in McNamara, who led Michigan to the 2021 Big Ten title as its starting quarterback.

But it just hasn’t worked out, partly because of injuries.

Since leading Michigan to the 2021 Big Ten title, McNamara has suffered two season-ending knee injuries, a quad injury and now a concussion.

His first knee injury happened while playing for Michigan in 2022, while the other three injuries have occurred at Iowa.

McNamara has certainly struggled on the field in 13 starts for Iowa, but he also has been unlucky.

“Feel badly for him because it’s been a tough stretch really for about two and a half years,” Kirk Ferentz said.

Sullivan, meanwhile, has a chance to make this switch permanent if he were to play well.

The bar hasn’t really been set very high, so there is definitely an opportunity for Sullivan to seize the moment.

Because if he were to play well against the Badgers, there is no way Kirk Ferentz could justify making McNamara the starter again once McNamara is healthy, because for one thing, the fans wouldn’t accept it.

But if Sullivan were to struggle and Iowa loses to Wisconsin on Saturday, then we might have a quarterback controversy, or maybe a quarterback problem would be a better way of describing it.

Sullivan has been in this position before as an off-and-on starter for Northwestern.

He knows how it feels to wait for his turn, and to be thrust into a starting role.

He also brings a dimension that McNamara doesn’t have, which is mobility.

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Sullivan only passed for 79 yards in the win over Northwestern, but he was also Iowa’s second leading rusher with 41 yards.

The Iowa running game also started to produce after Sullivan was inserted in the game.

Sullivan’s longest completion against Northwestern was for 40 yards to tight end Johnny Pascuzzi.

But what really stood out about that play, besides it being Pascuzzi’s longest reception as a Hawkeye, is that Sullivan instead of just standing around after throwing the ball raced down the field to be Pascuzzi’s lead blocker.

“It wasn’t an official race, but you could probably say he’s faster than Pascuzzi,” Kirk Ferentz said jokingly on Tuesday. “I guess that was the takeaway. But it says something about his personality, too, him wanting to get down there and help the play. He could have stood there and been a spectator, but he threw the ball and then he started basically trucking down the field. That to me was being a good teammate. His block was okay. His guy came off.

“But nonetheless, just had effort, but that’s kind of who he is. He works hard, and that’s kind of what I was referring to back in the summer program. We need to watch those guys compete during conditioning and stuff. He goes hard. He goes one speed. He acts like a football player, a total football player, not a specialist.”

There is always a certain buzz when a quarterback change occurs.

This one, of course, is tempered from McNamara being injured.

But at least this injury isn’t season-ending, which in McNamara’s case, would’ve meant career ending.

Kirk Ferentz said Tuesday the hope is that McNamara will be cleared to play the following week.

But for now, Sullivan is the starter without McNamara having to be benched.

Sullivan also seems to have made a strong impression in his short time as a Hawkeye, on and off the field.

“He played quarterback at a high last year for Northwestern and he’s doing the same thing for us right now. He did a lot of red zone, but now he’s got the reins and he’s going to play a full game for us, and I think he’s going to do a lot of great things.

“We love playing with him. He’s fun to be around, a lot of energy. He’s just a lot of fun to be around.”