Iowa football recruiting: Quarterback depth chart gets interesting

Let's see if we can figure out what the optimum number of scholarship QBs Iowa can keep entertained.

Let's rewind to 2013. That's when sophomore Jake Rudock won the job over redshirt freshman C.J. Beathard and junior Cody Sokol, with true freshman Nic Shimonek in his first season.

That was too many.

Three (!!!!) of those four eventually transferred, with Shimonek (Texas Tech) seeing the light early and then Sokol wanting to play his senior season (won nine games including a bowl at Louisiana Tech) and finally, after two years as the starter, Rudock took off for Michigan.

That left Iowa with Beathard, a junior and a second-team all-Big Ten pick and best of the lot, and Tyler Wiegers in 2015. That was a fourth-year junior who kept saying to himself, basically, that it's year four for him in the system and he better darned well know the offense and a redshirt freshman who hadn't thrown a pass in his career.

Iowa also had true freshmen Ryan Boyle and Drew Cook, but they took their redshirt seasons. The highest either climbed was a handful of second-team reps for Boyle in October when Beathard was going through the worst of his what would eventually become sports hernia surgery.

We move to 2014. Rudock started, Beathard was the No. 2 and Wiegers was the redshirt. Beathard showed he was deserving of the job in 2015. Iowa hadn't had an all-Big Ten QB since . . . Drew Tate in 2004 (he was named first- and second-team that season).

Everyone brushes it off now, but at the end of 2014, there's no denying that hint of a QB coup showed up. You remember the Tennessean story in which Beathard and his dad, Casey, did everything they could to say he was thinking about transferring. Kind of. Maybe. Let's see how the bowl (the TaxSlayer Bowl) goes.

The TaxSlayer was a disaster for Iowa, but it was clear that Beathard held an edge going into 2015. Beathard played 49 snaps and had 359 net yards, two turnovers and three touchdowns. Rudock had 19 snaps and produced 116 net yards, no turnovers and one touchdown.

A couple of days after the Jacksonville, Fla., game, Ferentz called Beathard and told him he was the starter for 2015. And sometime during spring practice, Rudock announced he would graduate-transfer to Michigan. It worked out for everyone.

Beathard fought the sports hernia for a good two-thirds if not more of the 2015 season. He was named second-team all-Big Ten. Wiegers picked up some investment reps as a No. 1 when the injury flared to the point Beathard couldn't practice. Boyle got a taste, too.

And now Nathan Stanley is a Hawkeye. Iowa goes into 2016 with Beathard, Wiegers, Boyle, Cook and Stanley. That's five scholarship QBs. The big question is will Iowa end spring practice with that many?

Nathan Stanley

Stanley passed for 1,728 yards and 16 touchdowns with four interceptions during his senior season at Menomonie (Wis.) High School. He holds school records for passing yards (3,674) and career touchdown passes (36). Stanley was a four-year letterman as quarterback, defensive back and punter.

Stanley was Iowa's first commitment for the 2016 recruiting class, which signed on the dotted line when the national signing period began Wednesday. The 6-5, 215-pounder who leads Menomonie High School basketball in scoring and who has a 90 mph fastball said yes to Iowa all the way back on Nov. 10, 2014.

Stanley's first camp stop was Pittsburgh, where Paul Chryst then was head coach. Chryst was the first to offer. Then, Stanley next went to camp in Iowa City. His mom, Donita, is from Iowa. Donita and Jay Stanley went to Wartburg. The family saw a fit and said yes to Iowa.

'We were fortunate that he camped here,' Iowa assistant coach Seth Wallace said. 'We really were. It was obvious when he got here that this kid was a big-time quarterback. Once we started learning more about him, it became obvious that we really, really wanted Nate Stanley.'

Since Stanley committed to Iowa, Chryst became head coach at Wisconsin. Stanley soon had an offer from the Badgers. Chryst kept the pressure on.

'They never backed off and credit to them, they knew what they were doing with an in-state kid,' Wallace said. 'They worked until the last second.'

Rivals: 3 stars

Scout: 4 stars

247Sports: 3 stars

Composite: 3.33

Depth chart in 2016?: Really don't see it. No. Beathard is the king of Iowa City. Wiegers knows what he's doing. Boyle and Cook are eager pups who've been in the system for a year. Even if Stanley comes in and has superior arm strength or some trait that absolutely pops, there's the playbook. He might also be able to handle that, but there are four QBs ahead of him.

Off-the-top-of-my-head Hawkeye comparison: Ricky Stanzi

I mostly say that because of their size. Stanzi ended up being a jumbo 6-4, 230-pound QB. I don't know if Stanley bulks up that much, but he starts with 6-4 and a good frame. A 90 mph fastball also suggests a stronger arm.

Iowa recruiting coordinator Seth Wallace: 'Nate went to two or three camps in high school and only went to the camps where he was on somebody's campus. He was offered at Pittsburgh before he came here. He came to our camp and we offered him. We were fortunate he came here, we really were. It was obvious when he got here that this kid was a big-time quarterback. Once we started learning more about him, it became really obvious that we really, really wanted Nate Stanley.

● Interactive Map: Iowa's 2016 football recruits, with insight from Seth Wallace

'His dad is a high school coach. He's got a brother who plays football at North Dakota. He's a three-sport athlete. He plays baseball and throws the ball 90 mph. In basketball, he's going to be the leading scorer in the history of his high school, which is a pretty good high school. That's everything that's outside of playing football, which he's pretty good at, too.

'The reason he probably wasn't up there with some of the higher ranking quarterbacks is because he didn't go to any of the Rivals or the Nike camps. That's not really his style. He played in a Wing T offense. He didn't spend all of his time sitting back in the shotgun and throwing it all over the place.

'Very good leader. Soft-spoken, not someone who is flamboyant or anything like that. He goes to work. We had to recruit the heck out of him.'

HawkeyeNation's Rob Howe: Stanley doesn't conduct many interviews. He keeps his Hudl videos private. He seeks no attention. It's why he's flying under the national prospect radar. That's good for Iowa, which held off Wisconsin for the strong-armed signal caller. He thrives throwing darts out of the pocket but can hurt opponents with his legs as well. Stanley has a presence about him that screams 'leader.' He reminds me of a bigger C.J. Beathard in terms of skill set.

ESPN scouting report: There are times when he will really flash quality arm strength, but needs to get his lower body involved and transfer weight properly. Shows good RPMs and the ability to drive the ball. Ball has a wobble and he does not look like he has great ball control. Has a wild delivery. Can be long and loose. Ball does not pop off his hand — slight wind-up. Needs technical work, but does have quality arm strength.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz: '. . . He really impressed us in camp, to start with the things that he can do, throwing the football, his release, all those kinds of things, footwork and what have you.

'. . . He's a good athlete. He's got a real command, a real presence about him, and then in a quiet way I would say, kind of like C.J. Beathard or Brad Banks, not necessarily a boisterous guy, but a guy that players rally around and gravitate to. I think he's got all the physical attributes that you would look for, and then on top of that, all the characteristics you kind of like to see a guy embody.

'I'll throw in there, too, he might have the biggest hands of any player I've ever shook hands with. I thought he had a basketball glove on the last time I shook his hand. So, that's a good thing in the midwest.'

My take: I think Stanley is a QB who'll have staying power. Right now, I see the progression post-Beathard, Wiegers and then . . . ask me after spring. OK, I won't let myself off that easily. I think Boyle and Stanley will have a Highlander competition (There can be only one, remember?). I'm not crossing off Cook, but off the top of my head, this is my opinion.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com