IOWA CITY — Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz press appearances are like jazz: they're notable for the things he doesn't say.
At Iowa's annual Media Day Friday, the first question Ferentz received was about the QB situation. With just 22 days until the season opener against Illinois State, if there's a clear answer at QB1, Ferentz isn't eager to let it on.
"It's like all positions, we'll make decisions here as we go along," said Ferentz. "But the room overall is a lot more competitive than it was certainly at the end of last year, last December. That was the goal: try to get a room where you've got good competition."
The less said about last season's QB room the better, of course. Few need the reminder. While Iowa's current quarterback situation in and of itself certainly makes the offense more competitive than 2023's version, most coaches would likely prefer more certainty. And though Ferentz didn't give any indication that Sullivan's ahead on the depth chart at this point, he didn't do much to tamp down expectations for his transfer quarterback from Northwestern either.
"We're eight days into [camp] right now, so not making any proclamations other than he's done a really great job," Ferentz said of Sullivan. "He's off to a great start, and he's a good athlete and he's versatile. Seems to be really poised under pressure, and he's feeling some pressure — like he's getting it from the defense. So it's good to watch guys react."
McNamara has his own resume, of course, and it includes a Big Ten Championship with Michigan and a College Football Playoff berth, back in the good old days of four teams. Unfortunately, his resume also includes eight total games played over the last two seasons, thanks to a pair of severe knee injuries. Regardless of the condition of McNamara's knee, that time away from the field is an obstacle all its own.
"It's been so long since I've played, so sometimes things don't come as naturally to me as they used to," McNamara said. "But I'm still working through those things, and overall my health feels really good right now."
"I grabbed [McNamara] the other day and just reminded him he's missed a lot of time," Ferentz said. "He hasn't played healthy here, unfortunately, since he's been here last year other than first 8-10 days here, before the first Saturday. He's doing things; he's there mentally. It's just a matter of time, getting back used to playing again so he can be quick and decisive with his throws, all that type of thing."
The season doesn't start tomorrow — just the Kids Day scrimmage — and the whole point of fall camp is competing and improving. Working through the rust of time off the field is an expected part of the process for McNamara, and Iowa fans may finally see him compete closer to his capabilities.
"Honestly, I haven't really thought about my knee at all," said McNamara. "I've been doing stuff that I haven't really repped before, and on film it looks pretty natural, so I'm pretty excited about that."
That's a far cry from how badly McNamara's knee hampered him in 2023.
"When you're playing hurt, it's just tough," McNamara said. "You can't move as well, your reactions are a little slower. We didn't really do much stuff on the run until, really, the week that I got hurt. Being able to do that, those are some of my strengths."
Ferentz also mentioned that Sullivan was playing "catch-up" as well, having only recently joined the team in the spring, but he also kept the door open for creating a specialty package for the ultra-mobile Sullivan.
"If you've got a guy who can do something, then you maybe try and carve out a package or at least be ready," said Ferentz. "Right now we'll just let everybody keep competing, see what happens. But whoever is in the game, hopefully you're going to steer things a little bit to accentuate what they do best. There's certain things that you may not want to do just because they don't do them well. So that's part of the package."
The task of learning the new offense on an even more accelerated timeline than most of his teammates, to say nothing of his own (potential) pocket of the playbook, has hardly slowed Sullivan's optimism for fall camp.
"Learning any new offense, there's always things that you can pick up on and learn from," Sullivan said. "I feel like I've progressed well these first few practices, and I'm pretty happy with my performances so far."
When asked about the quarterback depth chart at Big Ten Media Days in July, Ferentz said that there were "no incumbents" on the two-deeps. After earning praise from coaches and teammates alike for his dedication to the position, Sullivan wouldn't confirm or deny Friday whether he's been taking any first-team reps. He certainly did make the cut for a recent hype video.
There's something there.
And yet none of the seemingly open question about Iowa's starting QB role seems particularly contentious — from any angle. Perhaps that's because there probably isn't a "wrong" answer.
Indeed, regardless of whether McNamara or Sullivan gets a majority share of the reps, the offense is almost certainly going to take a substantial step forward from its recent doldrums. Iowa has two healthy quarterbacks with starting experience and skill sets that lend themselves to the installed offense — compared to zero after McNamara's ACL tear against Michigan State.
Make no mistake, though: both of these guys want to be Iowa's starting quarterback by August 31, and neither is taking a snap of playing time for granted.
"I just want to be back out there on the field," McNamara said. "Obviously, I want to be on the field as much as I can, and I just want to play to my potential."
"Obviously, you want to play," Sullivan said. "My goal is to play, and my goal is to help this team out in whatever role that is. Maybe those goals might contradict each other, but we'll see. I'm just trying to do my part and help this team be as successful as possible."
