Cade McNamara announced his intention to enter the transfer portal on Wednesday morning. He spent two season at Iowa after starting his career at Michigan.
After sustaining a concussion in the Hawkeye victory over Northwestern in October, McNamara did not play another snap at quarterback for the Hawkeyes.
After transferring to Iowa from Michigan in the winter of 2022, McNamara worked through rehab from an injury he sustained with the Wolverines during the spring and summer, earning his first full-bore 11-on-11 reps during fall camp. With Deacon Hill, Joe Labas and freshman Marco Lainez as the only other scholarship QBs on the roster, McNamara was the clear starter for the Hawkeyes at the beginning of the 2023 season.
Expectations for McNamara and the Hawkeyes were high after he helped lead Michigan to a College Football Playoff appearance as their starter in 2021.
Thanks to a quad injury at Iowa's Kids' Day open practice, the start of McNamara's career on the field in Iowa City was hampered by injury. He began season as the starting QB and continued to play despite clearly being limited.
Following a 3-1 start to the season, the gunslinger went down with an ACL injury against Michigan State and did not see the field again in 2023. He quickly affirmed that he was planning on returning to Iowa in 2024.
Over his five starts in 2023, McNamara completed 46-of-90 passes for 505 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions.
After a limited spring and offseason of rehab, McNamara returned as the Iowa starter in 2024 and had a roller coaster of a season. With high highs against Illinois State, Troy and Washington, McNamara's lows were just as low. Against Iowa State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Michigan State and Northwestern, McNamara's poor play was often a key factor in Iowa's struggles. Sometimes in victories, the Hawkeyes appeared to win in spite of his struggles on the field.
Despite the early season struggles, offensive coordinator Tim Lester spoke highly of McNamara following his 11-of-19 for 62 yards performance against the Gophers.
"Everything is about your feet and timing in the passing game," Lester said at a media availability. "I had him, I think, at 11-of-13. We had two drops, we had two great reads and throws where routes weren't run right, I called a bad play and he threw it away which was a good decision and we had one batted away."
Overall, Lester said his quarterback showed improvement, especially relative to his tough game against Iowa State.
"I was very impressed with his feet, and that's what I grade. Can you operate this offense on time?" Lester said. "Week two was probably his worst game as far as his footwork goes, which when your feet aren't set, you're not an accurate thrower of the ball. I really thought he played a pretty good game on Saturday."
He finished the season 5-3 as the starter, completing 104-of-172 passes for 1,017 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions.
McNamara finishes his career at Iowa having completed 150-of-262 passes for 1,523 yards, ten touchdowns and eight interceptions over 13 starts.
