Iowa

Flexibility Key to Iowa Success in ’24

Published

12 hours ago

August 25, 2024

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Color me surprised by Kirk Ferentz (basically) announcing his starting quarterback 10 days before the season-opener. There wasn’t a competitive advantage to the Iowa Football coach doing so.

The news likely won’t put the Hawkeyes at a disadvantage against FCS Illinois State, though. No disrespect intended, but the game shouldn’t be close if Iowa is a College Football Playoff contender, which some of us believe.

Public opinion on the Hawkeye quarterback competition formed on Aug. 10 during the team’s only open practice. Sixth-year senior Cade McNamara struggled, to put it mildly. Backup Brendan Sullivan, a Northwestern transfer, was marginally better.

Ferentz said Thursday that McNamara would be the starter if the team were playing the next day. While it didn’t completely close the book on the competition, it meant something to say that after camp had just wrapped up.

Nobody should be surprised despite the Kids Day disaster. Ferentz has publicly backed McNamara since he arrived through the transfer portal from Michigan. He’s just rarely been healthy enough to show people outside of the football building what the coach sees.

That could change next week. McNamara said last month that he felt the best he had since becoming a Hawkeye late in ’22. He underwent knee surgery a few months before that. Then, he tore his ACL in Week 5 last year after injuring his quad during training camp.

McNamara was early into his return to practice on Aug. 10. Rust made sense. Improvement also did.

McNamara’s play convincing Ferentz to name him the leader in the clubhouse is a good thing for the Hawkeyes. It means he’s been better than how he and Sullivan looked Aug. 10, which was a must. And Sullivan likely has improved, too.

At the risk of eliciting a “no crap” response from you, Iowa needs much better quarterback play than it experienced in 2023. It’s better positioned to do so. I know, “breaking.”

The key moving forward is flexibility, however. The offensive staff must be precise in its continued evaluation and then act if change is warranted.

If you just began following this program, you might say “no crap” again. If not, there’s evidence showing that the few close quarterback competitions witnessed during the last quarter century have been wonky.

This month’s competition was close, according to the coaches. The student-athletes observed that as well.

As the saying goes, you can’t fool the team. It will be watching and judging along with the staff. Fairness is essential for culture.

It can’t be like ’12 and last season, when rigidity overrode what our eyes were seeing. Poor quarterback play can’t keep this team from reaching its potential. Nobody around here can handle that emotionally.

The stars are aligned for a memorable Iowa Football season, perhaps one of the most memorable in a long, long time. If, in the end, the prevailing perception is that the offense kept that from happening, first-year coordinator Tim Lester will face less blame than did his predecessors. More will be directed at the boss.

We’ve been told that it’s Lester’s show on that side of the ball. Heed history. Believe it when you see it. Know it’s not out of the question, however.

Phil Parker and Seth Wallace were given more control of the defense in ’18 after being beat again having a linebacker covering a receiver. The Cash position was born.

Afford Lester the same opportunity. Welcome advancements within the pro-style offense and adjust better to rule changes. Take advantage of player strengths.

Ideally, McNamara will be what Iowa saw in recruiting. It’s plausible he presides over an efficient, opportune offense. It doesn’t need to be great.

It’s also possible that Sullivan keeps developing and ends up being a better fit for Lester’s scheme. He’s more mobile than McNamara.

Let it continue playing out with an openness to switching. There’s no time to waste. A formidable Iowa State team is the opponent Week 2. The Big Ten opener at Minnesota is two weeks later.

It’s tricky, of course. It’s much easier making imaginary decisions sitting in the stands or on the couch or typing on a computer in your underwear. Nobody’s impacted, with the possible exception of the latter.

Personnel decisions always play a critical role in determining success and failure. The stakes are raised when it’s at the game’s most important position. That’s the current dynamic.

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Iowa

Iowa vs. Illinois State odds: Early point spread released on Hawkeyes, Redbirds

Published

5 hours ago

August 26, 2024

Press Room

Iowa vs. Illinois State odds: Early point spread released on Hawkeyes, Redbirds

Luke Lachey Calls Out Jokes About Iowa’s Offense- ‘No One Likes To Hear That Kind Of Stuff’ | 08.16.24

Iowa’s opener received a stunning twist less than a week out from kickoff. However, the Hawkeyes are still a sizable favorite over their first opponent of the season in Illinois State.

Per FanDuel, Iowa, the No. 25 team in the nation, is a 23.5-point favorite (-115) over the Redbirds on Saturday. The over-under for the game between them is set at 41.5 points.

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How to watch Illinois State vs. Iowa

Time: 12:00 p.m. EST
Channel: Big Ten Network
Location: Kinnick Stadium (Iowa City, Iowa)

Iowa and Illinois State will be the opening game of the weekend on the Big Ten Network. Purdue, Indiana, Northwestern, Oregon, and Washington will be on the channel throughout the day as well.

More on Illinois State vs. Iowa

The only other meeting for this pair came back in the opener back nine years ago 2015. Iowa won 31-14 behind 341 yards of offense in a balanced attack by QB CJ Beathard and RB LeShun Daniels Jr..

Again, though, this game is going to be more different than anyone was expecting a week ago with the suspension of the Hawkeyes’ head coach in Kirk Ferentz. He along with one of his assistants in Jon Budmayr will serve the one-game punishment this weekend. It will be the first time in his tenure of over a quarter century that he won’t be on the sidelines for Iowa with Seth Wallace set to be their interim against Illinois State.

Beyond that, Iowa once again looks to be among the top teams in the Big Ten.

The Hawkeyes return most of their roster from 2023 that went 10-4 and played in the Big Ten Championship. There was still quite the difference between their two sides of the ball with their defense finishing fourth in the country by allowing only 14.8 points but their offense finished second from last nationally by scoring just 15.4 ppg..

Still, with much of the defense back and a new offensive coordinator, Iowa wants to be one of the teams in the mix for the College Football Playoff.

As for Illinois State, they enter their 15th season this fall under Brock Spack. He has become the school’s all-time winningest coach in that span with an overall record of 95-65 (.593). That includes their 6-5 finish from 2023.

This game will be unlike any other in this century for Iowa if for no other reason than Ferentz not being present for it. Still, the Hawkeyes plan to be alright without him in this opener against the Redbirds as they remain over 20-point favorites in Vegas.

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Iowa

Iowa QB Cade McNamara on quest to ‘play like me’ again

Published

19 hours ago

August 25, 2024

Press Room

Iowa QB Cade McNamara on quest to ‘play like me’ again

Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Cade McNamara (12) poses for a portrait during Iowa Football’s 2024 media day on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, at Iowa City in the Iowa Football practice field, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

IOWA CITY — Cade McNamara’s “biggest goal” for the 2024 may seem relatively straightforward at first glance.

“I just want to play like me,” the Iowa quarterback said.

McNamara’s pursuit to play at a McNamara-esque level — more specifically, his ability to even attempt that pursuit — already resembles a modest sign of progress for the sixth-year quarterback after back-to-back years of injuries inhibiting him from fulfilling his potential.

McNamara’s last fully healthy football season — or at least healthy-enough season to play every game — was three years ago.

In 2022, the then-Michigan quarterback suffered a season-ending injury to his right knee. A year later as a Hawkeye, he made it to Week 5 before suffering a season-ending injury to his left knee in the Iowa’s win over Michigan State.

“I’m just really hoping that everything stays the course,” McNamara said at Iowa’s media day on Aug. 9. “I’ve been very healthy so far.”

Of course, there’s the question of what exactly does a McNamara-esque level of performance look like.

In his 2021 season as Michigan’s starting quarterback, he completed 64.6 percent of his passes and threw 15 touchdowns versus four interceptions. His 2022 numbers were down — 14-of-25 with one touchdown and one interception — but that was with a minuscule sample size, as he backed up J.J. McCarthy in two of the three games.

Then McNamara completed a career-low 51.1 percent of his passes for the Hawkeyes in 2023 while throwing four touchdowns and three interceptions. But those five games followed a preseason quad injury that seemed to linger.

McNamara said he did “not really” ever reach the point of playing like himself in 2023.

“You can’t move as well,” McNamara said as he discussed playing through the injury. “Your reactions are a little slower. … We didn’t really do much stuff on the run really until the week that I got hurt.”

If McNamara can produce at a 2021 level, it would be an obvious game-changer for the reigning Big Ten West champions. Iowa has not completed 60-plus percent of its passes in a season since 2015, when the Hawkeyes went 12-0 in the regular season and appeared in the Rose Bowl.

But any prognostications based on McNamara’s Michigan and Iowa numbers carry a few asterisks.

When McNamara completed 64.6 percent of passes in 2021, he had the benefit of throwing to eventual 2024 NFL Draft picks Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson at wide receiver and Erick All at tight end. He also worked behind a Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line and benefited from a formidable rushing offense.

Iowa’s change to new offensive coordinator Tim Lester’s Shanahan-style system is another wild card. If the scheme proves to be effective in games — a big “if” — a 60 percent completion rate would be much more feasible for an Iowa quarterback in 2024 than in past seasons.

Having already spent five years playing college football, McNamara’s knowledge of opposing coverages also could be an asset in 2024.

“He knows when the blitzes are coming, and he can change protections,” Lester said. “He’s really done a good job of using that to help us move forward as an offense.”

McNamara did not put fans’ minds at ease earlier this month when he frequently struggled to connect on what should be high-percentage passes during Iowa’s Kids’ Day open practice on Aug. 10.

It was McNamara’s first open practice since being medically cleared this summer. He was “really limited” in spring practices.

“He’s thrown seven-on-seven, things like that, but it’s still not real football,” Ferentz said on Big Ten Network less than a week after McNamara’s underwhelming open practice. “You have to get out there, and you have to operate. You’ve got to be on the field with 11 people on your side and their side.”

Ferentz also was optimistic about McNamara’s improvement when talking to reporters on Thursday, saying McNamara has “done a really nice job” and had a “really good week.” He said that McNamara would be Iowa’s first-team quarterback “if we were playing tomorrow.”

Raimond Braithwaite, Iowa’s head strength and conditioning coach, said on The Gazette’s Hawk Off the Press podcast earlier this month that McNamara has “gotten a lot stronger.”

“He’s definitely all the way back, and he’s ready to compete at a really high level, which he’s doing in practice day in, day out,” Braithwaite said.

Braithwaite has particularly had an eye on McNamara’s “overall strength and resiliency.”

“I want to make sure that he’s fully prepared for the rigors of playing that position,” Braithwaite said, “because you’re going to get knocked around, you’re going to get hit and you have to be strong enough.”

For now, though, McNamara can at least enjoy being healthy enough to be on the football field. When he took his first set of team reps after being medically cleared, he “had the butterflies for the first time again.”

“It’s been so long since I’ve had that,” McNamara said with a smile. “That’s the stuff that reminds you of how much you love the game.”

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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Iowa

Iowa City Police searching for missing adult

Published

1 day ago

August 25, 2024

Press Room

Iowa City Police searching for missing adult

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – The Iowa City Police Department is searching for a missing adult.

Jessica Myr left her home in the 2000 Block of Grantwood Street the afternoon of Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. Myr is 38 years old, 5′2″, 150 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair. She goes by the name “Dax.”

Anyone with information on Myr’s whereabouts should contact the Johnson County Joint Emergency Communications Center at 319-356-6800.

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