Coming off the heels of the news of his one-game suspension, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz officially announced who the Hawkeyes starting quarterback will be.
The verdict is in and it is really no surprise that Ferentz named Cade McNamara as the starting quarterback for the Hawkeyes yet again this year. McNamara won the starting role before the 2023 season started as well, but an injury cut his year short.
NEWS: Kirk Ferentz has officially named Cade McNamara Iowa's starting quarterback.https://t.co/fLrqdsGikj pic.twitter.com/9WbRI0wNgp
— On3 (@On3sports) August 22, 2024
McNamara is coming off an ACL injury from last October, so there are enough questions surrounding that. Then you add in the questions about whether or not he can perform as well as he did at Michigan.
After spending three seasons with Jim Harbaugh and Michigan and underperforming by Michigan standards, McNamara made the move to Iowa where Hawkeye fans had the big hope that he would come and be a savior for their offense.
However unfortunately when McNamara went down with his ACL injury, his stats were not the greatest. He was 46 for 90 with 505 yards, four touchdowns, and three interceptions.
Coming back from an injury, especially one like an ACL tear is tough, but then on top of feeling like you have to perform above and beyond in order to prove yourself makes it all a lot harder. Ferentz might have a short leash on McNamara and has two quarterbacks waiting in the wings to take over the quarterback position.
With how bad the offense performed last season, the Hawkeyes need to show they can have an improved offense, even by a little bit. The running backs will be a great help, but it all starts with the offensive line. The line will need to protect McNamara in order to give him time to perform and be what Ferentz clearly sees in him.