From the moment Iowa landed Brendan Sullivan in the portal, Kirk Ferentz was adamant that Cade McNamara would remain the Hawkeyes' starting quarterback heading into fall camp.
"If he's healthy, he's our starter," Ferentz said in May. "There's no delusion or misconception about that, and there's no reason to think he won't be healthy in August. That's how we're starting out, and that's pretty much the way it is."
And as far as we know, McNamara is full go.
"This is my first time since I've been at Iowa that I've been able to participate in every training phase, activity and drill," he said at a July media availability. "So far, I'm a little bit more sore than I'm used to, but my body's handled it very well. I'm 100%, and I have been for at least a month now."
Wee saw him in Iowa's first-day hype video from camp, too -- plus Sullivan.
Ferentz and McNamara sound plenty confident that the job will remain his as well, as Ferentz didn't mention to Iowa's incumbent the plans to add the former Northwestern starter when the portal was open.
"I didn't even have a conversation with Cade," he said at Big Ten Media Days just over a week ago. "I shouldn't assume things, but I am -- I don't think Cade is worried. I don't think he's looking in the rearview mirror, I think he's looking straight ahead."
"We got down to like two quarterbacks in our QB room, so they had to add someone eventually," McNamara laughed. "At some point, there has to be depth. Even in the NFL they have more than two guys. Anywhere we need depth, and any level of competition is good."
The solidified belief in McNamara as the starter over Sullivan and redshirt-freshman Marco Lainez fall on his experience as a winner.
"Cade's got an impressive resume, he's done it," Ferentz said. "He has directed his team to wins, which is what the quarterback is supposed to do."
The one negative for McNamara is that Lainez and Sullivan have both played competitive football more recently than he has, due to the ACL tear he suffered in October last year.
"He's got to get back in the swing of things," Ferentz said. "He's missed significant time, but that's easier if you've played and played well. Getting him back to where he can play is going to be priority number one."
With that in mind, Ferentz noted that McNamara is ready to show Iowa fans what he's really got.
"None of you guys have seen him play full speed thus far in an Iowa uniform," he added. "So I'm eager to see him perform for us this year. Nobody's more eager than he is."
That's not to say the staff in Iowa City doesn't see the value they've brought in with Sullivan. After the difficulties the offense faced last year with Deacon Hill under center, they appear to feel much more confident, should McNamara be sidelined for any reason in 2024.
"With all due respect to Deacon, he'd probably be the first to tell you he wasn't ready," Ferentz said. "I mean, he wasn't equipped to play in the Big Ten at that point. So, yeah, I think with Brendan we're in a little different of a situation."
Beyond depth, they liked what they saw on film from Northwestern's 33-27 win over Maryland last season, where Sullivan completed 16-of-23 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns. He also took 14 carries for 56 yards.
"He looked extremely impressive in that game," Ferentz said. "They really got into a good rhythm, and he was a big part of that. So, I'm anxious to see him with the helmet on now and be coached and play on the offense."
Assuming McNamara is the full-time starter throughout the year, Ferentz said he and offensive coordinator Tim Lester aren't scared to throw Sullivan in a game, even just to confuse opposing defenses.
"I think all of us were unanimous in thinking that he's a guy that we could maybe put a package together for," Ferentz said. "And hopefully when he comes in he can be a competitive guy for us. ...Watching the summer program, he's extremely competitive, an extremely high effort guy, so it's a positive start."
At the end of the day -- returning starter or not -- each of McNamara, Sullivan and Lainez will be given the opportunity to fight for time on the field in this month-long lead up to Iowa's first game.
"All three of them are great guys," Ferentz said. "They're all going to compete and that's good for our football team. It's going to be that way at every position. There are no incumbents."
