IOWA CITY — After a leg injury that forced him out of practice for nearly two weeks of fall camp, Iowa QB Cade McNamara met with reporters Tuesday morning to discuss the progress of his rehab ahead of Saturday's season opener against Utah State.
McNamara's message for Hawkeye fans was very much a "good news/bad news" situation: he's healing and practicing, but until he hears otherwise from the Iowa training staff, he's still questionable for Week 1.
"That decision's really going to come down to the coaches and medical staff," McNamara said. "My intention is to play as many games as I possibly can. Of course I want to be out there Saturday, but it comes down to what the coaches feel and how the medical staff feels."
McNamara suffered a non-contact quadriceps injury during the open scrimmage at Kids Day at Kinnick Stadium on August 19, falling awkwardly on a scramble. While the immediate concern among fans was that McNamara had re-injured the surgically repaired knee on the same leg — a potentially disastrous setback for the starting quarterback — McNamara said Tuesday that he knew immediately that wasn't what happened.
"I don't know [what happened]; I was just running and suffered a soft tissue injury," McNamara said. "I knew right away — I knew exactly that it wasn't my knee."
Despite the uncertainty still clouding his Week 1 status, McNamara had no shortage of optimism and confidence for how rehab has gone thus far and what it means for his season.
"I'm progressing every single day, I'm feeling a lot better, and I'm really excited to get out there with my teammates — we've prepared really well so far," McNamara said. "It still comes down to what the doctors and trainers feel; if they feel that it's safe for me to play, then I'm going to play."
Though backup quarterbacks Deacon Hill and Marco Lainez have drawn praise from coaches and players for their work this summer, it's no secret that there's a lot of excitement reserved for McNamara's first start at Kinnick.
"I can't wait, I've been thinking about that day for a really long time," McNamara said. "I've asked so many guys what it's like to play [at Iowa] and everybody says they love playing at Kinnick. We have an unbelievable home atmosphere and all the guys feel that way, and I can't wait to experience it for the first time for myself."
It does bear repeating that McNamara is practicing in as much capacity as trainers will let him, and that has had a positive effect on his teammates.
"It's awesome to see Cade get out there," receiver Diante Vines said. "He commands the offense so well, he's a great leader, so for him to be out there helps us and gives us confidence every single time. He's a great quarterback who understands the game, loves the game as much as we do and wants to win as bad as we all want to win."
Sixth-year senior wideout Nico Ragaini expressed confidence in his signal-caller as well.
"I think he's going to handle it well and we've all got his back," Ragaini said. "He's a pretty tough guy, so I think he's got it all under control."
Sharing that confidence becomes a two-way street among the offense, especially as McNamara fights through this latest bout of adversity as the season approaches.
"[Teammates] just want to make sure I'm doing okay, and I appreciate that — they just want to know how I'm doing," McNamara said. "Those guys instill confidence in me, and hopefully I can do the same for them."
