Iowa Coach Delivers Puzzling QB Update

The Iowa Hawkeyes don't seem to know what they are doing at quarterback.

Iowa football’s offensive coordinator Tim Lester watches warmups before the game against Washington Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. / Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Iowa Hawkeyes have already made multiple changes at quarterback this season, and it's not just due to poor performance.

Iowa began the season with Cade McNamara under center, but the Hawkeyes replaced him with Brendan Sullivan during their win over Northwestern on Oct. 26.

However, it wasn't solely due to the fact that McNamara wasn't playing well, as it turned out that the former Michigan Wolverines signal-caller had a concussion.

Then, last week versus UCLA, Sullivan suffered an ankle injury and was supplanted by Jackson Stratton.

So, what will be the case once Iowa faces Maryland in its next game on Nov. 23?

Hawkeyes offensive coordinator Tim Lester replied to a question as to what the team would do if both McNamara and Sullivan were healthy, and he gave a diplomatic response.

“I would let them compete. It would be a great week," Lester said. "It would be like a real live, you know, ‘You guys have both done a lot of great things and you affect our offense differently. Let’s see who’s playing well.’ It would be a great battle. I wish that was the case, but rarely is that the case. Camp’s like the one time that you can have a real live competition. But, I don’t think that’s going to be the case. My guess is that’s not going to be the case this week.”

In other words, neither McNamara nor Sullivan are going to be ready for the matchup against the Terrapins, but you have to admit that Lester's answer was rather vague.

Perhaps he just doesn't want to play his hand, or maybe Iowa genuinely does not know what to do at signal-caller moving forward.

The Hawkeyes are just 6-4 on the season, and much of that has to do with their inability to find reliable production from the quarterback position.