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Kirk Ferentz explains why QB change to Brendan Sullivan was not ‘demotion’ for Cade McNamara
Kirk Ferentz says decision to give opportunity to Brendan Sullivan in Northwestern game was ‘preplanned’
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IOWA CITY — Iowa football made the quarterback change that so many fans desired (and vociferously cheered for) when Brendan Sullivan replaced Cade McNamara.
“The amount of support they had for me when I’m out there — it was pretty cool,” Sullivan said.
Kirk Ferentz does not view the change as a “demotion” for McNamara, the sixth-year senior and ex-Michigan quarterback, however.
“It wasn’t, ‘We were benching Cade,’” Ferentz said after Iowa’s 40-14 win. “We were going to give Brendan a chance, too. He’s done some good things. Gives us a chance to look at him.”
In other words, the decision to go with Sullivan was “preplanned.”
“We made the decision during the week that we would rotate Brendan a little bit about third or fourth series,” Ferentz said.
But the quarterback situation was hardly a rotation. Once Sullivan took the reins in the second quarter, McNamara did not see any more game action.
McNamara was “shook up” and “hit the turf pretty hard,” Ferentz said. He stayed in the game for the rest of the drive after a roughing-the-passer penalty and played in one more drive before the quarterback change.
“Took a pretty good shot from that guy,” Ferentz said. “We’ll see what he feels like here.”
McNamara was 7-for-13 for 73 yards and a pick-6. He would have had a second interception, but the roughing-the-passer penalty negated the turnover.
Sullivan, on the other hand, was 9-of-14 for 79 passing yards and another 41 yards on the ground. He had a 6-yard rushing touchdown and three other carries that resulted in first downs.
Sullivan “did a really nice job,” Ferentz said. He later said Sullivan’s mobility is a “clear contrast.”
“I think that’s one of Brendan’s strengths,” Ferentz said. “He’s a really good athlete, really good at that. The other thing is he commanded the game. No matter what your style is as a quarterback, you have to do that.”
Asked if Iowa was going to go with Sullivan as the permanent starting quarterback, Ferentz was noncommittal.
“We’ll see on that,” Ferentz said. “Permanent is a strong word.”
He also did not rule out rotating quarterbacks in the future.
“We did it in ‘81,” Ferentz said. “It worked out OK. ... Hopefully we have two guys we can win with.”
Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com
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