Iowa QB Cade McNamara will be coming back next season, according to Iowa’s Swarm Collective CEO Brad Heinrichs.
Iowa's Swarm Collective CEO Brad Heinrichs said on @KXnOMorningRush that he spoke with Cade McNamara and his father yesterday.
Cade will be returning to the #Hawkeyes next season.
— David Eickholt (@DavidEickholt) October 3, 2023
Heinrichs said on KXnOMorningRush in Des Moines that McNamara, who suffered a knee injury in Saturday’s win over Michigan State and is likely to miss the rest of the season because of it, per 247’s David Eickholt, will be returning.
Heinrichs said he spoke with McNamara and his father Monday.
McNamara has been playing college football since 2019, spending his first four seasons at Michigan. In 2021, McNamara started all 14 of Michigan’s games, helping the team to its first Big Ten championship since 2003 and its first College Football Playoff trip ever. But the next season, McNamara only started one game, being benched in favor of JJ McCarthy.
McCarthy ended up quarterbacking Michigan to its second straight conference title and playoff berth, and McNamara ended up transferring to Iowa over the winter. In five starts this season, McNamara threw for four touchdowns, three interceptions and had a 51.1 completion percentage.
At Penn State Sept. 23, McNamara went 5-for-14 for 42 yards and no touchdowns in Iowa’s ugly 31-0 loss in White Out conditions at Beaver Stadium. This was a far cry from McNamara’s other start at Penn State. In 2021, McNamara went 19-for-29 for 217 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in Michigan’s 21-17 win.
Cade McNamara also played against Penn State in 2020, playing in an empty Big House due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He went 12-for-25 for 91 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions in Michigan’s 27-17 loss— which is coach James Franklin’s only win in Michigan Stadium.
The 2024 Big Ten schedule isn’t out yet, as it will have to be revised due to Oregon and Washington announcing their intent to join the conference after the schedule’s initial release. So it’s unclear if Penn State and Iowa will play.
