COLLEGE PARK -- Jackson Stratton's rise from walk-on transfer from Colorado State to Big Ten starting quarterback is complete.
Stratton, a fourth-string QB who was taking snaps as a scout team linebacker just a few weeks ago, got his first career start on Saturday at Maryland, and his calm performance helped guide Iowa to a 29-13 road win over the Terrapins.
"Jumping in there, first start as our quarterback," said Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz. "He's had a week-plus to think about it, he played with a lot of poise, good awareness out there, made the plays we were hoping he would make, made good decisions and protected the football."
Iowa's quarterback room has looked more like an urgent care facility during the 2024 season. Incumbent starter Cade McNamara, fully recovered from an ACL injury last season, started the season as QB1, but ceded red zone duties to Brendan Sullivan within a few weeks and has missed the last three and a half games after sustaining a concussion against Northwestern. His return to the Iowa team this season remains clouded in doubt.
Brendan Sullivan replaced McNamara as started and led Iowa to wins over Northwestern and Wisconsin before suffering a badly sprained ankle in Iowa's loss to UCLA two weeks ago.
With nominal third-string quarterback Marco Lainez already out with a thumb injury, the QB job fell to Stratton, the walk-on redshirt sophomore transfer. Stratton led Iowa to a game-tying touchdown against the Bruins in his Hawkeye debut two weeks ago, but he could engineer no more magic in LA.
On Saturday, Stratton was QB1 from the opening whistle, with the benefit of two weeks of practice reps with the first team offense. Stratton said he found out on Monday that he was going to be the starting quarterback.
His final line was nothing remarkable -- 10-of-14 (71%) for 76 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions, as well as two carries for -8 yards (the result of a 10-yard sack he took in the first quarter) -- but he did what the job required on Saturday.
Per Stratton, Iowa's gameplan was based on "taking care of the football, trusting teammates, and [playing with] a purpose." He did exactly that against the Terps. He threw no interceptions, nor any passes that were even close to being intercepted. Though he generally tried hard to avoid contact -- a wise approach given that he was the only healthy QB available for this game -- he never seemed at risk of fumbling the ball, either.
Stratton said he's been "learning a lot [and] drinking from a fire hose [over the last two weeks]." The biggest difference from his play against UCLA to his play now? Repetition, repetition, repetition. "It's just about reps," Stratton said. "Just being able to see every play and different coverages and every different formation."
He gave special attention to the coaching from offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Tim Lester over the past two weeks.
"He's a great football coach, he's coached a lot of quarterbacks, he's probably the biggest help I could have," Stratton said. "Especially as a guy just telling me what he saw out there, and helping me get into the right plays and make the right decisions."
While the Xs and Os are obviously critical for executing an offensive gameplan, Stratton was never going to have a "perfect" game — and Lester's ability to keep his young signal-caller confident through turbulence helped Iowa win the game as well.
"Having a guy that believes in you is all you can ask for," Stratton said. "I messed up a few things, but I thought I came through in some instances out there and gave him some confidence."
Unsurprisingly, Stratton's play earned praise from his teammates.
"He just did his job. He got better every day," said left tackle Mason Richman. "It's a little different when you're subbed in halfway through a game, versus when you know you're the guy the whole game. He did a good job of stepping up for us, he got better all week. He was cool on the field, managing the game well."
As a thrower, Stratton was largely able to "make the makeables" in the passing game as well. Six of Stratton's ten completions went for first down conversions. He threw catchable passes (with the exception of a misfire to Jarriett Buie near the goal line, though Buie didn't appear to be ready for the ball, either), didn't put his receivers in harm's way, and stayed calm and poised throughout the game.
In a game where the Iowa rushing attack was able to maul Maryland for 268 yards and two touchdowns on 58 carries (4.6 yards per rush), "making the makeables" and avoiding costly mistakes was all Iowa needed out of the passing game.
"We ran the crap out of the ball today," Stratton said. "It's always a big help when you can run the ball like that. Kaleb Johnson did a great job. So did Kamari Moulton on that big run."
There will be games in the future when Iowa needs more from the passing game, and if Stratton is still the quarterback -- Kirk Ferentz said after the game that he currently expects Stratton to start against Nebraska on Friday -- that will be a new test that Stratton will need to pass. Most of his passes today were near the line of scrimmage and he couldn't find the accuracy needed on a few downfield shots, though he did show good zip on a completion across the field.
Still, Friday is plenty far away, and the experience of this win plus another week of practice with the 1s will only help Stratton be even better prepared to succeed with the Heroes Game trophy on the line.
