3 questions for Iowa football ahead of fall camp

IOWA CITY — Iowa football will be turning the figurative switch from offseason mode to preseason mode with the start of fall camp this week.

“The key thing right now, just like it is every year, is what kind of growth can we demonstrate throughout the month of August and then certainly as the season goes on as well,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said last week at the Big Ten’s football media days.

Here are three of the pressing questions facing the Hawkeyes as the crucial preseason period begins this week:

How well does Iowa execute Tim Lester’s new scheme? And how does the ‘100 percent’ healthy Cade McNamara look?

Iowa was in clear need of a schematic revamp on offense after a year of predictable playcalling in 2023. In case it was not obvious enough based on the results, former Minnesota safety Tyler Nubin said what many fans may have quietly (or not-so-quietly) thought earlier this year at the NFL Combine.

“Especially in the second half, we knew what they were doing every single time they came out there,” Nubin said, looking back at playing against the Hawkeye offense in 2023.

Iowa’s new offensive scheme — a Shanahan-style system resembling what the Green Bay Packers operate — has given fans some offseason hope ahead of the 2024 season. The system heavily featured presnap and during-snap motions when it was first on display for the public eye at Iowa’s open spring practice.

“It took me 13 practices to really understand the run fits,” linebacker Jay Higgins said after the open practice. “They just do so much. They kept it simple today — smart guys. There’s probably somebody in here with a camera.”

But scheme by itself only goes so far.

“Every offense has its different styles and whatever, but really to me success in offense still gets down to execution,” Ferentz said.

A key part of that execution will fall on the passing game. Iowa has not completed 60-plus percent of its passes in a season since 2015.

With Cade McNamara “100 percent” healthy, can he return to his 2021 form at Michigan (when he completed 64.2 percent of his passes and threw 15 touchdowns versus six interceptions)? Or does his production more closely resemble 2023 at Iowa — when he completed 51.1 percent of his passes and threw four touchdowns versus three interceptions — as he works with an inexperienced group of wide receivers?

What is the winning formula for the offensive line at left guard?

Iowa has an abundance of returning experience on the offensive line.

Six of Iowa’s offensive linemen have 10-plus career starts heading into the 2024 season. Iowa obviously can only start five.

There is little doubt about Mason Richman at left tackle, Logan Jones at center and Gennings Dunker at right tackle. The same can be said at right guard with Connor Colby, who has started 36 games in his Hawkeye career.

Left guard is more of a question mark. Beau Stephens, with 10 career starts, is the first-teamer on the preseason depth chart. But Nick DeJong is back for his sixth and final year of eligibility after earning third-team all-Big Ten honors from league coaches in 2023. Then there’s Tyler Elsbury; he is currently listed as the second-team center, but the senior has limited starting experience at guard as well.

Who wins the competition at cornerback?

Aside from Jermari Harris, who is in his sixth year of college football, the Hawkeyes are relatively young at cornerback.

John Nestor is atop the preseason depth chart after appearing in 10 games as a true freshman. Deshaun Lee, who started six games last season, and T.J. Hall are the second-teamers. What the depth chart looks like in late July might not necessarily be how it looks in early September, however.

“We got good competition at corner right now,” Ferentz said. “The good news there is we weren’t sure what we had at the start of spring practice. So now that we’ve gone through spring, I think we all feel pretty good about John as a football player. It’s going to be a good, competitive room.”

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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