Iowa football: Depth-chart puts Brendan Sullivan at No. 1 QB, no mention of Cade McNamara

Posted by Admin October 28, 2024 Football

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(This story was updated to accurately reflect the most current information.)

After Saturday’s 40-14 win against Northwestern in which a quarterback change to Brendan Sullivan led to Iowa scoring 37 consecutive points, head coach Kirk Ferentz was noncommittal about who would be his starter going forward.

Monday afternoon’s depth-chart release has added clarity to that.

Sullivan was listed as the No. 1 quarterback and previous starter Cade McNamara was not listed at all entering Saturday’s home matchup vs. Wisconsin (6:30 p.m. CT, NBC). It is the first time that Sullivan has been on the No. 1 line since transferring to Iowa in June. Redshirt freshman Marco Lainez was listed as Sullivan’s backup.

Ferentz praised Sullivan’s command and poise in leading the Hawkeyes to a victory, moving them to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in Big Ten Conference play entering a November stretch in which they’ll likely be favored in their final four games. Iowa is a 4-point favorite Saturday.

Ferentz also said Saturday he would be open to rotating quarterbacks. That was actually the plan going into the Northwestern game, but McNamara getting hurt on Iowa’s second series eventually brought in Sullivan for good in Iowa’s fourth series.

“We’ll do what’s best for the team,” Ferentz said. “Going back to the point earlier about the rotation, it wasn’t (that) we were benching Cade, we were going to give Brendan a chance, too. He’s done some good things. Gives us a chance to look at him. He did a lot of really good things (Saturday), a lot of things he’ll get better at, too. That’s encouraging. Hopefully, we have two guys we can win with.”

The depth chart seems to indicate McNamara will not be in the plans this week against Wisconsin. The extent of his injury was unclear Saturday. Ferentz will address the media at 12:45 p.m. Tuesday.

Sullivan was 2-6 as a starter at Northwestern. Interestingly, his previous start was a 10-7 loss against Iowa on Nov. 4, 2023, at Wrigley Field. Sullivan would presumably be getting his next start exactly 52 Saturdays later. He came off the bench against Wisconsin in a 42-7 loss in 2022, completing 11 of 17 passes for 114 yards while rushing 10 times for 33 yards.

Other depth-chart news Monday: Luke Lachey is listed

Iowa’s No. 1 tight end and leading receiver (24 catches, 209 yards) did not play in the second half of Saturday’s win. Ferentz thought Lachey’s injury seemed minor and that he could have returned in an emergency, but Zach Ortwerth and Johnny Pascuzzi took most of the tight-end reps as Iowa pulled away. Pascuzzi even caught a 40-yard pass to set up Iowa’s second touchdown.

On Monday, Lachey remained on the top line, a good indication that he can play vs. Wisconsin. Zach Ortwerth was listed as his backup.

Even though Kade Pieper played 41 snaps at left guard in relief of starter Tyler Elsbury, Pieper remained a second-team center with Elsbury listed on the top line. Iowa is awaiting the return of starting left guard Beau Stephens, who has missed the last two games with an ankle injury.

True freshman wide receiver Reece Vander Zee is unlikely to play this week against Wisconsin after starting Iowa’s first eight games. Vander Zee played 16 snaps vs. Northwestern but left the game and had his right foot in a boot the rest of the afternoon. Redshirt freshman Jarriett Buie (one catch, 14 yards vs. Northwestern in 41 snaps) is now atop the depth chart as Iowa’s “X” receiver.

On defense, Kyler Fisher has returned as the No. 1 outside linebacker. Fisher missed Saturday’s game because of an illness that Ferentz said began on Friday and hadn’t improved by Saturday. That’s a good sign that Fisher is good to go this week when Iowa goes with its 4-3 alignment.