Citrus Bowl Another Indictment of Iowa's Quarterback Situation
ORLANDO -- Iowa got throttled 35-0 by Tennessee on New Year's Day in the Citrus Bowl. Starting quarterback Deacon Hill finished the day 7-of-18 for 56 yards and two interceptions -- one being a pick six. He was also sacked four times and fumbled a ball that was recovered on the Iowa two-yard line.
Following his play on Monday, Hill will finish the season with 19 turnovers in seven games: 11 fumbles and eight interceptions.
"We felt Deacon gave us our best chance to win," Kirk Ferentz said postgame. "We started him and played him for the majority of the game. At some point, we just felt like making a change would be the best thing. That's always what drives every personnel decision."
In total, Iowa finished the game with 173 yards of offense, the fifth time this season the Hawkeyes have been held under 200 total yards. Iowa ended the game with 60 yards passing -- only its third-lowest passing yards total of the season (credit to Ross for the stats). The Hawkeyes were shut out for the third time in one season since 1972.
Following the pick-six Hill threw at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the decision was made to put freshman quarterback Marco Lainez into the game. In the limited snaps he received, Lainez ran the ball six times for 51 yards -- enough to lead the Hawkeyes in rushing. He completed just 2-of-7 passes for four yards but added a spark to the offense that wasn't available for the first three quarters of the game.
"I don't know if it's critical when we thought of [putting him in the game]," Ferentz said. "We came into the game considering it. Marco has done a really good job. He basically started with us in August. The improvement he has made has been really impressive."
"It's hard to practice three quarterbacks. He certainly got work as the season went on, but he still has a lot of learning to do, a lot of time in front of him and all those types of things. He went and competed like you'd think. He has some things to learn. All this will be good experience for him."
Lainez has impressed some of the older defensive players on the roster, too.
"He started on the scout team -- typically like freshman do," Nick Jackson said postgame. "He was cooking. He's a heck of a football player. His mobility is insane. He just works on his craft a lot, too."
It wasn't just Lainez that ran all over the field at Camping World Stadium. Tennessee quarterback and true freshman Nico Iamaleava finished the day with three rushing touchdowns and 27 yards on the ground, despite being sacked six times. (Iamaleava ran the ball for 51 yards with the sack yardage removed.)
"He definitely presented a lot of challenges," senior defensive end Joe Evans said. "When you have to defend two facets -- whether it's the passing game or running game -- it's definitely a lot tougher. He's a very mobile guy, and you were able to see that today."
"He's a heck of a football player," Jackson added. "For a true freshman to go out and there and compete in a game like this -- he's a heck of a football player."
If Ferentz and the Hawkeyes needed any more of an indication that its offense is behind the times, Monday's blowout loss should be a shock to the system -- the third shock to the system this year. Other teams are using mobile quarterbacks. "Backyard football" as it has been deemed by Ferentz, has led to plenty of success offensively outside of the Iowa football program. It's time for the Hawkeyes to embrace it -- at least to some degree.
Ferentz doesn't have to go out and hire Ryan Grubb or Dana Holgerson to be the next offensive coordinator at Iowa. But he needs to find someone who's willing to embrace athleticism and speed at the QB position.
It's not like the stable of quarterbacks that are, or plan to be in Iowa City next season are incapable of running the ball.
2024 QB signee, three-star James Resar has run a 10.67 100-meter dash (and recruiting coordinator Tyler Barnes believes he can run a 10.4) and 2025 QB commit, three-star Jimmy Sullivan, has clocked a 4.58 40-yard time. We saw the wheels on Lainez today.
Players like Carson May, Joe Labas, Deuce Hogan, Alex Padilla, Peyton Mansell and others have come to Iowa City showing flashes of mobility at the quarterback position. Each of the five listed have since transferred out of the program.
And who started instead, one may ask? Spencer Petras and Hill. With two ACL tears in his college football career, it's not very likely Cade McNamara will be the most mobile quarterback in the world next season, either.
For now, McNamara is the clear favorite to start once again next season -- as he should be. He's the most accomplished, experienced quarterback in the room. If he's unable to stay healthy for the entirety of the 2024 season, Hill can't be the second option again.
It's time to unleash the QB talent this program has been able to bring in. It's time to move the offense forward. It's time to hold this program to a higher standard. It's time to stick up for your world class defense and defensive coordinator. It's time to utilize your quarterbacks before they head for greener pastures. It's time to no longer be a national laughingstock on offense.
It's time to join the rest of college football with a 21st century offense and to use the talent that's on the roster.