Ferentz Says QB Competition Wide Open

Iowa Coach Letting Petras, Padilla, Labas Battle for Starting Spot

Iowa quarterback Alex Padilla warms up before a game against Illinois on Nov. 20, 2021 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz wants to see a quarterback competition this spring

Spencer Petras, the starter for most of last season, is coming back. So is Alex Padilla, who started when Petras was hurt late in the season.

And there’s third-stringer Joey Labas, who got some work with the No. 1 offense during preparation for the Hawkeyes’ Citrus Bowl appearance against Kentucky.

Petras’ resumé is long. Padilla got a bit of a chance to make his case last season. Labas is the unknown.

Asked if he thought the competition was “wide-open,” Ferentz said, “I do, yeah. I mean, everybody has a right to compete.”

There is no question, though, that the Hawkeyes’ passing game has to get better. Iowa ranked eighth in the Big Ten in passing offense, but 12th in the conference in completion percentage at 55 percent. Iowa had just 12 passing touchdowns, ranking 11th in the conference.

“Yeah, we have to do better,” Ferentz said. “There's several positions, and everybody knows that, we have to do better if we're going to move the ball and score points the way we want to.”

Petras completed just 57.3 percent of his passes last season. Padilla completed 49.1 percent. Combined, the two quarterbacks were sacked 32 times and threw 11 interceptions.

Labas is the wild-card, having not seen any game action, although he did get a good look during the bowl preparation.

“I'm anxious to see Joe compete, too,” Ferentz said. “He was kind of getting spoon fed in December because he was the only guy out there for a while.”

Iowa’s passing game must be a complete effort, Ferentz said.

“We don't have to score 45 points, but we've got to do better, and we've got to make the makeable plays,” Ferentz said. “You have to do that, and that's kind of what I'm getting at on those fundamentals.

“If we've got makeable plays out there, we've got to make them. We've got to throw it and we've got to catch it and we've got to protect. That's kind of where it is, and we've got to make positive yards when we run the football. Doesn't always have to be five, six, seven, but it's got to be positive yards. Those negative yardage plays kill you, or dropped balls or makeable throws that we don't make.”

That doesn’t mean there’s going to be an overhaul of the offense, though.

“I guess my answer would be we're third in wins since (2015),” Ferentz said when asked if he was going to make changes. “Last four years we were second in wins in the conference. That's the ultimate goal for us. It's not all about winning, but obviously when we line up and play on Saturdays, that's what we're trying to do, no matter who we're playing or where it is.

“You do get evaluated on that. I know it's a little bit more detailed now in the sophisticated world of evaluation, but for me that's what I'm fixated on. If they've got the ball 40 minutes and we've got it 20 and we win, I'm happy we won. I'm not happy about the way we won, I'd rather have the ball 40 (minutes), but ultimately it's finding a way to win.”