Hawkeyes stand behind hungry QB Cade McNamara

Five starts and one ACL surgery later, the Iowa Hawkeyes are not about to run away from quarterback Cade McNamara.

The Michigan transfer opens fall camp next week as the expected starter in Iowa's new offense, and head coach Kirk Ferentz expects him to prove a lot of naysayers wrong about his ability to serve as a No. 1 quarterback in the Big Ten.

"We played against him right here on this field a couple of years ago in December and got to see him that entire season on film, so we had great respect and admiration for him as a player, a competitor," Ferentz said in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium, referencing Iowa's loss to Michigan in the 2022 Big Ten championship game.

"Unfortunately for our fan base and the media, none of you guys have seen him play full speed thus far in an Iowa uniform. So I'm eager to see him perform for us this year. Nobody's more eager than he is, and hopefully he's not too eager."

McNamara gives the Hawkeyes a "chance to be a good offense" in part because of the Iowa offensive line, Ferentz opined.

"This is my 35th year coming up, going back to the '80s. I think one common theme, when we play well up front and we've got good quarterback play, we've got a chance to become a good offense. That's kind of been a common denominator," Ferentz said. "We haven't had that opportunity the last couple of years, but I think we're finally in a position where maybe that is realistic. We're certainly hopeful. We'll know more here in a couple of weeks."

Iowa hired Tim Lester as offensive coordinator, the position Ferentz's son, Brian, previously held. Lester was head coach at Western Michigan from 2017 to 2022 and was an assistant coach with the Green Bay Packers last season.

Iowa's offense was historically bad the past two seasons. The Hawkeyes finished last in total offense in 2022 and in McNamara's first season -- albeit an injury-shortened one -- Iowa was next-to-last.

Any turnaround starts with Lester and his starting quarterback, the position he played before entering coaching.

"He did play the position. He's coached it for a long time," Ferentz said. "So he does have a level of expertise with the quarterback spot -- I'm not saying he's right or wrong with his opinions, but I'm just saying he's firm on what he believes and he's been pretty successful. The players have really jumped in full bore with him, and that's what you hope to see with any coach."

--Field Level Media