Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz addressed the media on Thursday amid a recruiting scandal. The longtime Hawkeyes coach spoke about the elephant in the room regarding McNamara and his recruitment to Iowa. Ferentz and some of his staff members will serve a one-game suspension as punishment for the violations.
Ferentz also addressed the Hawkeyes quarterback situation for this season. Ferentz announced that McNamara will be the team’s starter, ending the drama with the likeliest outcome.
HawkeyeReport posted about Ferentz’s announcement.
Kirk Ferentz names Cade McNamara as the starting quarterback.
— Tom Kakert (@HawkeyeReport) August 22, 2024
McNamara winning the job isn’t surprising. The transfer from Michigan came to the Hawkeyes with the expectation to start after J.J. McCarthy wrestled the job away from him in 2022. But his tenure hasn’t gotten out to a great start. He’s played just five games with the Hawkeyes and tore his ACL last year. He worked his way back from that though, and the fact that he’s ready to go should absolutely be commended.
It’s perhaps unfortunate that the tampering scandal clouds him a bit, but McNamara has a chance to succeed. Iowa’s offense is getting a revamp under a new offensive coordinator. It’s been a while since the Hawkeyes have had a great attack on offense, but 2024 could be their year if it pans out.
