Iowa football: Is there a curse on Iowa Hawkeye quarterbacks?

4 of 5

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – OCTOBER 8: C.J. Beathard #16 of Iowa is tackled by Jonathan Celestin #13 of Minnesota during the second quarter of the game on October 8, 2016 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

CJ Beathard

The guy who Nate Stanley would ultimately replace is also on this unfortunate list.

CJ Beathard had quite the interesting career in the Iowa football program. Coming as a three-star recruit, he sat on the bench behind Jake Rudock his freshman year. Rudock was never quite the game changer some anticipated he would be and during Beathard’s sophomore season, he began seeing a bit more playing time.

Finally, in the last game of the season, the TaxSlayer Bowl against Tennessee, Beathard overtook Rudock’s job. The next season there would sort of be a quarterback battle, but Beathard would ultimately win and Rudock would transfer to Michigan.

In CJ’s first season as the starter, Iowa had one of the best seasons in the history of the program and he had Iowa within a few seconds of reaching the college football playoffs. During this incredible season where Iowa went 8-0 in conference play, CJ passed for 2,809 yards and 17 touchdowns with just five interceptions. Additionally, he completed 61.6 percent of his passes and posted a 139.5 QB rating.

Iowa would finish ranked ninth in the country with a 12-2 record. There was talk about Beathard being in the running for the Heisman and potentially being a first round draft pick.

For an Iowa football program that doesn’t consistently enter the top 10 rankings, it was inevitable there would be a slight regression the following season. The regression was much more than many anticipated though for both the Iowa football program and CJ Beathard.

Beathard didn’t even throw for 2,000 yards and doubled his interception total from the previous year (5 to 10). Although Iowa would still go 8-5 including huge wins over a ranked Michigan team and a ranked Nebraska, there times during this season where the offense just felt bland. Receivers couldn’t get open and Beathard couldn’t hit them up when they were.

At the conclusion of his senior year, Beathard would be selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round. He is now in his second season in the NFL.

Home/Iowa Football