The Iowa football team is being held back by their quarterback. It’s time for the coaching staff to have an honest conversation about Spencer Petras.
If you’ve watched Iowa football this season, you’ve likely heard about Spencer Petras breaking seven of Jared Goff’s high school records at Marin Catholic in California. Through four games of Petras’ collegiate career, we’ve hardly seen that potential translate.
The Iowa Hawkeyes appear to have one of the most complete rosters in the Big Ten in 2020. Despite having the fifth-youngest team in the entire FBS, the Hawks have quickly proven to be competent in all three phases of offense, defense and special teams. But one major roadblock has prevented the team from ascending to greatness: the quarterback position.
After four games, lowa ranks in the top 20 in several major defensive categories. The running game continues to gobble up yards week-in and week-out. The special teams unit is arguably the best in the country; punter Tory Taylor is an early favorite to win the Ray Guy award, Charlie Jones has more punt return yards than Iowa had all of last season, and Keith Duncan was a finalist for the Lou Groza award in 2019.
Just imagine if Iowa had competent play from their quarterback this season. We’d probably be talking about an undefeated 4-0 team. Just take a look at some of the statistics below. Entering Saturday, here is where Iowa ranks nationally in several major passing categories out of 123 qualifying teams:
Passing yards per game (192.8) – 95th
Yards per completion (10.6) – 97th
Completion percentage (53.3) – 107th
Yards per attempt (5.6) – 110th
Average passer rating (101.9) – 118th
Simply put, Petras has not been good enough. He’s thrown for just 759 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions in four starts. It’s hard to make excuses for a redshirt sophomore who’s been in the program for three years. By now, you’d expect to see more out of his development.
The truth is, based on what we’ve seen so far, Petras doesn’t possess the traits needed to be a Big Ten starting quarterback. He lacks the touch needed to throw into tight windows and doesn’t have the accuracy to consistently place the ball in places that give his receivers a chance to make a play.
So where does Iowa go from here? Obviously, the team is invested in Petras as their quarterback. But for how long? At least, that’s the question the coaching staff should be asking themselves after four lackluster performances from their current signal-caller.
The Hawkeyes have a four-star true freshman in Deuce Hogan. It’s unlikely Hogan has a full grasp of the playbook, especially after limited practice time this past spring and summer. But how much time does he really need to outperform what we’re currently seeing from Petras? And when would Kirk Ferentz likely make a change?
The answer: probably not until next year. It’d be a major surprise if Ferentz gave up on his current starter, especially in the middle of the season. But Ferentz isn’t stupid. He sees the same thing on the field that fans see.
Iowa football is being held back by their quarterback; the most important position in all of sports. It’s hard to succeed when the most critical position on the team is struggling. Let’s just thank our lucky stars the Hawkeyes have a complete roster.