Familiar Name and Former Big Ten Rival QB Commits to Iowa
With the recent big losses via the transfer portal in QB Alex Padilla and WR Keagan Johnson, Iowa was due for a big win. They got it Thursday night.
According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, Cade McNamara, former Michigan quarterback is headed to Iowa City.
The signal-caller led the Wolverines to the 42-3 victory over Iowa in the Big Ten Championship Game last season, as well as taking them to the College Football Playoff, where they were eliminated by eventual champion Georgia in the semifinals. He was the incumbent starter at the beginning of 2022 before J.J. McCarthy ultimately won the position. The Wolverines are 12-0 heading into their second straight conference championship this weekend, where they'll take on the Purdue Boilermakers.
Last season, McNamara completed 210 passes for 2,576 yards and 15 touchdowns through the air with just six interceptions. In the Big Ten Championship Game, he completed 16 passes for 169 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
Considering Iowa's quarterback and overall offensive play this season, the addition of McNamara is a significant upgrade for the Hawkeyes. Coming in as a grad transfer with two years of eligibility left, the Reno, Nevada native can step in and be impactful right away.
And who knows? With his well-known, highly-respected leadership qualities, he may bring a few more transfers in with him and flip the script on the Iowa offense in 2023 -- barring some changes to the coaching staff, of course.
McNamara will likely have to sit out for spring practices though, as he is recovering from knee surgery he had in November. The remainder of the quarterback group will be in question as well, considering Spencer Petras has another year of eligibility after this season, and Joey Labas may get the start in Iowa's 2022 bowl game after Petras sustained an arm injury against Nebraska last week.
Carson May is also currently on the roster, and 2023 three-star recruit from New Jersey Marco Lainez III will officially be a Hawkeye soon.
I recently talked about the possibility of McNamara joining the Iowa roster on Cornstalks and Sports Talk, your Iowa-based sports show, with David Eickholt of 247Sports: