Kirk Ferentz 'optimistic' about Cade McNamara's chances to start Week 1

Iowa transfer quarterback Cade McNamara has been hampered by an injury through the middle portions of fall camp, but head coach Kirk Ferentz is hopeful he won’t be out too much longer. Ferentz shared on Wednesday that he expects McNamara back in practice more fully by the end of the week.

With that being the case, he’s also hopeful for McNamara to be practicing during the first week of game prep. If that all holds up, then Ferentz thinks McNamara can be good to go to start for Iowa in Week 1.

“We’ll know more at the end of the week but I’m really optimistic and we’ll see,” Ferentz said.

McNamara hurt his right leg during an Iowa practice on Aug. 12, eventually walking off under his own power and heading up the tunnel with trainers.

Ferentz later described it as a “muscle issue,” indicating it wouldn’t hold back McNamara’s long-term outlook this season.

On Wednesday, Ferentz is still optimistic about that being the case.

“The bad news is he’s not practicing like you’d expect week three of camp but the good news is, I think he very realistically has a chance to start working in end of this week, certainly next Monday when we hit the field thinking about our opponent. So, you know, hopefully that’s the case,” Ferentz said.

McNamara transferred to Iowa this offseason after starting his career at Michigan. He led the Wolverines to a Big Ten championship and a College Football Playoff berth as the starting quarterback in 2021 before being beaten out by J.J. McCarthy for the starting job in 2022.

With his transfer to Iowa, McNamara was expected to slot in immediately as the starting quarterback and has, save for his injury in camp. But now that seems to be subsiding, clearing the way for McNamara to play Week 1 with his new team.

McNamara has impressed at Iowa so far

There’s no question the Hawkeyes struggled in the quarterback department and had a less-than-exciting offense in recent years. McNamara could change things, according to offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz.

Ferentz commended the leadership abilities of McNamara.

“Every player is different,” Ferentz said. “We bought Cade in here to do a job and we felt pretty good about who he was and what he could do dating back to high school and we’ve seen him be able to progress through college and he’s lived up to the expectations.

“The reality is, just like any football player that we have on the roster, expectations don’t change. We want to see our guys make daily improvement, get better at the craft, hone in on their job and he’s done all of that.”