Iowa football: Is there a curse on Iowa Hawkeye quarterbacks?
By Andrew Wade
Nate Stanley’s future
Hopefully, this means nothing and this is just an overreaction to a few poor games. History doesn’t bode well for that, but for the sake of the Iowa football program I hope that Nate Stanley can turn it around soon.
Nate Stanley is arguably the most talented quarterback to walk through Iowa’s doors since Ricky Stanzi and he has been receiving quite a bit of buzz this preseason. Respected draft analyst Todd McShay listed Stanley as a top-32 prospect for 2019 and he was added to the Maxwell Award Watch List. This all comes after a true sophomore season where he tossed 26 touchdowns and just under 2,500 yards.
He has the look of a NFL quarterback. He is 6’4”, 205 pounds and possesses a big arm, but accuracy has been a big concern for the junior quarterback. Last season he only completed 55.8 percent of his passes.
While he has struggled mightily to begin this season and was on our week one disappointments list, this is a trend dating back to last season. In the final four games of last year, Stanley passed for just 508 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. In those four games Iowa went 2-2.
With a full season under his belt in the Iowa football program, I was hoping he could make that transition from solid college quarterback who relied on a good run game and stout defense to potential NFL quarterback who could carry the team on his back.
Through two games, I am already beginning to question this. He has averaged just 5.4 yards per attempt while completing just 52.9 percent of his passes. Stanley has thrown just one touchdown and hasn’t topped 300 total yards passing combined in two games.
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I can’t exactly pinpoint what the issue is either. Iowa’s receivers haven’t been spectacular but when they are open, Stanley misses them. It will be telling to see if Nate Stanley can lift the Iowa football team to a blowout win over the FCS powerhouse UNI Panthers in this coming weekend. Maybe it will give him the confidence boost or the spark needed to turn his season around.