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Iowa football: Nate Stanley stands way above his 2016 QB peers

By Andrew Wade

BLOOMINGTON, IN - OCTOBER 13: Nate Stanley #4 of the Iowa Hawkeyes runs with the ball against the Indiana Hossiers at Memorial Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN - OCTOBER 13: Nate Stanley #4 of the Iowa Hawkeyes runs with the ball against the Indiana Hossiers at Memorial Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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The Iowa football team offered five pro-style quarterbacks scholarships. Thankfully, they ended up with soon to be three-year starter, Nate Stanley.

Hindsight is always 20-20, and fortunately for the sake of the Iowa football program, they got it right four years ago with Nate Stanley.

Nate Stanley has the opportunity to break multiple long-standing Hawkeye records this year, and if he can put together a great season in the wins column, he could go down as the best quarterback in Iowa football history. However, until Stanley committed, the Iowa football team had been pursuing four other pro-style quarterbacks in the class of 2016.

Looking back it’s easy to see Stanley was the best option of the bunch. Statistically speaking, he has more passing yards, touchdowns, and starts than the other four quarterbacks combined. Here’s an inside look at each of these guys who could have been Iowa football players.

Brandon Peters (4-star quarterback who committed to Michigan) – Peters has thrown for just 680 yards and 4 touchdowns in his Wolverines career, and with Shane Patterson returning to Ann Arbor for another year, Peters will be transferring.

Jake Zembiec (3-star quarterback who committed to Penn State) – Zembiec has been buried on the depth chart behind Trace McSorley and has not even recorded a real snap in his Nittany Lions career. Prior to the start of the 2018 season, he abruptly retired from the game of football.

https://twitter.com/jakezembiec/status/1026977205199532033

Bowman Sells (3-star quarterback who committed to Houston) – After playing just one year with the University of Houston and not getting any game action, Sells left the program without any intention to pursue collegiate football further.

Sonny Abramson (3-star quarterback who committed to Virginia) – Like Sells, Abramson left the Virginia Cavalier’s football program without playing a single down. He left to pursue other interests.

If you’re keeping track at home, three of the five scholarship offers the Iowa football team handed out in the class of 2016 retired before their eligibility expired and the other is looking for a new home without having played much meaningful time.

Next. Three make-or-break games for Iowa in 2019. dark

Stanley’s 5,346 yards and 52 touchdowns are looking pretty nice right about now for Iowa football fans.

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