McNamara excited to lead Iowa's offense
When Cade McNamara entered the transfer portal and left Michigan to play for the University of Iowa, he heard from all the critics.
The Hawkeyes struggled on offense last season, averaging just 17.7 points per game and only 251 yards of total offense, which was next to last in all of Division 1 football. Instead of looking at that as a negative, the graduate transfer quarterback is embracing the challenge.
“I kind of love hearing how people don’t love our offense,” McNamara told the Iowa Swarm Talk show in a clip released on Tuesday.
Iowa has begun work on refining their look on the offensive side of the ball starting this week. Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz indicated last Wednesday that McNamara would likely be included in those discussions.
“Sure, absolutely,” Ferentz said. “Hopefully there’s some parallels between the way we like to play and what I saw those guys do. I tell our guys on anything in the program, you got ideas, bring them forward. We’ll consider them and talk about them.”
While Hawkeye fans might still be down when it comes to the Hawkeye offense, McNamara is taking a positive approach.
“I am actually really excited about our offense,” he said. “I think it’s going to set up for a really good season because a lot of the guys are excited about what the vision is.”
In 2021, McNamara took over the starting quarterback job for Michigan. He guided the Wolverines to a 12-2 season that included a Big Ten title game victory over the Hawkeyes and a trip to the College Football Playoff. McNamara threw for 2,576 yards and 15 touchdowns, while completing 64% of his passes.
This past season he was in a battle for the starting quarterback job with J.J. McCarthy before a leg injury ended McNamara’s season. He arrived on the Iowa campus in January and now he’s working with his new teammates and promises something Hawkeye fans will appreciate, scoring points.
“As we go through spring ball and camp, we are going to find out what the final product is going to look like, but we are going to find the end zone next season,” he said with a smile.
To see the whole interview, go to IowaSwarm.com and become a member.
