Pete Thamel: The 'expectation' is Iowa QB Cade McNamara will play vs. Utah State

Cade McNamara is expected to play in Iowa’s season opener against Utah State after suffering a quad injury earlier this month, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

McNamara transferred in from Michigan this offseason and was the projected starting quarterback from the get-go. The thought was McNamara could elevate the Hawkeyes’ offense in 2023.

Thamel provided the latest on McNamara’s status on ESPN’s College Football Live.

“A little bit of good news out of Iowa, spoke to some sources this morning and the prevailing thought is, as of today, there’s an expectation that Cade McNamara will go,” Thamel said. “He suffered a quad injury at practice about two weeks ago. He has an extremely high competitive level and an extremely high pain threshold. The thought is that he can go, probably won’t run him very much, probably play pretty conservative and limited which is the way Iowa likes to play anyway. 

“The strength of Iowa’s offense is two tight ends, so expect a ton of 12 personnel and expect Cade McNamara to go as of right now, but to be slightly limited. They obviously have a trip to Iowa State next week. They go to Penn State September 23. So the coaching staff is going to look to the big picture as well as getting the win against Utah State on Saturday.”

McNamara has big game experience, such as leading Michigan to a Big Ten title two years ago. Head coach Kirk Ferentz loves how his new quarterback overcame adversity since then.

“He’s just wired that way. It’s natural. He’s a very competitive guy; he’s a very positive guy and very strong-willed,” Ferentz said.. “Going back to the nature part, I always felt like you can only do so much. Like if you got a broken bone, it’s gotta heal. I totally get that.

“But from my experiences with guys, mental toughness really helps guys get back to the field faster. And some are more wired that way than others. So that’s certainly not something he’s lacking, and there’s no question he wants to be out there.”

With the Wolverines, McNamara was controlled and poised in the pocket, throwing for 3,181 yards, 21 passing touchdowns, and seven interceptions, while completing 63.1 percent of his pass attempts.

Ferentz was previously optimistic McNamara would start the season opener and according to Thamel, that seems to be case.