Iowa
Notre Dame Named Possible Destination for Iowa QB Transfer
The Iowa Hawkeyes will be looking for a new quarterback in 2025. Cade McNamara opted to enter the transfer portal as a grad transfer and will be looking for an eligibility waiver from the NCAA in order to have another year in college football.
For the time being, he’s an intriguing quarterback target for teams around the nation.
Assuming he is granted the waiver and can play one more year, there are a few intriguing teams that could make sense for him. However, there has been a team suggested that would be an absolutely massive destination for McNamara.
Cody Kluge of BVM Sports has suggested that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish could consider pursuing him in the transfer portal.
“Marcus Freeman has added a veteran quarterback via the transfer portal the last two years, bringing in Sam Hartman for the 2023 campaign and Riley Leonard this season. Leonard hasn’t put up huge numbers as a passer but his dual-threat ability has been valuable for an 11-1 Notre Dame squad. However, Leonard is out of eligibility after this season, so Freeman could look to add an experienced signal caller in the transfer portal yet again. McNamara could be a valuable addition to what’s expected to be a young quarterback room next season with 2024 commit CJ Carr and 2025 commit Blake Herbert. McNamara would likely compete with Carr for the starting job and would provide an experienced voice for both young quarterbacks. Joining the Fighting Irish might also give McNamara one of his best chances to become a national champion.”
Landing with the Fighting Irish would be a very surprising outcome for McNamara. He did not play well for Iowa during the 2024 season and Notre Dame is a yearly championship contender.
Marcus Freeman could very well think that he can help McNamara get back on track.
During the 2024 college football season with the Hawkeyes, McNamara ended up completing 60.5 percent of his pass attempts for 1,017 yards, six touchdowns, and five interceptions. It was a disappointing year for both him and the team.
Even though his statistics look bad, Iowa did not have a great receiving corps. McNamara can not be blamed for all of the passing game struggles.
All of that being said, it does seem like a bit of a long shot that Notre Dame would bring in McNamara. It’s possible, but it seems more likely that the Fighting Irish would pursue a better option.
When it comes to the Iowa Hawkeyes 2026 football season, it doesn’t get much bigger than Ohio State coming to Kinnick Stadium.
No one knows at this stage where the Buckeyes will be come Oct. 3, but Iowa has a chance to make an early impression against a team that is no stranger to winning the big one.
Iowa’s B1G schedule couldn’t get off to a worse start as they head to Michigan and then welcome the Buckeyes to Kinnick.
Hopefully for Iowa’s sake, their first three games against Northern Illinois, Iowa State, and Northern Iowa are enough to get them prepared. If not, things could get ugly.
ESPN Believes Ohio State is Iowa’s Biggest Opponent in 2026
The Michigan game will certainly be a test, but hosting the Buckeyes is a different animal. That gives the Hawkeyes an advantage like no other, and if there was ever a time to give OSU a run for their money, it’s in Iowa City on Oct. 3.
“The Hawkeyes haven’t faced Ohio State at Kinnick Stadium since 2017, when Nate Stanley threw five touchdowns as they stunned the Buckeyes 55-24. An early October win over Ohio State could propel Iowa into the Big Ten title and playoff conversations,” Jake Trotter wrote.
To put things into perspective, Indiana and Oregon were the other two teams that had the Buckeyes listed as their defining game in the 2026 season. Shockingly, Iowa was actually selected against a team, that being Minnesota. Seeing as that’s for the Floyd of Rosedale, it makes complete sense.
Iowa Can’t Let Regular Season Opportunities Go To Waste
Last year was seemingly the Hawkeyes’ first time to actually make the College Football Playoffs. They came up short as their losses to No. 16 Iowa State, No. 11 Indiana, No. 9 Oregon and No. 17 USC all added up. Sure, those were by a combined 15 points, but that doesn’t matter, as it’s bad enough that a three-loss team made the playoffs.
Iowa ended with a bang as they took down No. 14 Vanderbilt in the ReliaQuest Bowl, 34-27. Now, all eyes are on either Jeremy Hecklinski or Hank Brown. One of those men will have a chance to make their first B1G start at the Big House in Michigan.
It doesn’t get any tougher than that, as Iowa is immediately putting their new QB into deep water. They’ll have three games prior to that to get up to speed, but other than that, it’s go time as OSU awaits after their trip to Michigan.
Don’t forget to bookmark Iowa Hawkeyes on SI for the latest news. exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage and more!
MANCHESTER, Iowa — The state of Iowa lost a titan of the prep coaching world this week. Former Kee High School baseball coach Gene Schultz died on Monday at the age of 80.
Schultz spent 45 seasons as the baseball coach at Kee, helping turn the program into an Iowa dynasty. He won 9 State championships (not counting 2 fall titles, which the IHSAA doesn’t recognize in the record books), and took the Hawks to 19 State tournaments, which is also the most in Iowa history.
His 1,754 wins are not only the most in Iowa history, but the most of any high school baseball coach in the country.
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