Iowa QB Alex Padilla not perfect, but impressive in first career start

IOWA CITY — Walking onto Duke Slater Field in front of nearly 70,000 fans to lead the Hawkeyes’ offense on Saturday, Alex Padilla was experiencing “everything I dreamed of.”

“Couldn’t imagine being in this position as a kid,” Padilla said after the game.

As Padilla lived out his childhood dreams, he also impressed his coaches and teammates.

“I thought he did a really good job,” Ferentz said. “He made some really good throws.”

The sophomore quarterback’s rollouts extended plays, giving the young offensive line ahead of him more leeway. He showed the ability to target receivers deep downfield. He had three touchdowns — two in the air, one on the ground — and threw for 206 yards.

Padilla’s performance wasn’t perfect, though. He completed just 45.8 percent of his passes, a lower mark than in any of Petras’ eight games this season.

He also had a couple near-interceptions that Minnesota couldn’t take advantage of, and one of his passing touchdowns involved wide receiver Keagan Johnson breaking through tackles from two defenders before sprinting down the sideline.

Many of Padilla’s incompletions were catchable passes, though. Johnson was responsible for a few of the drops, and he was the first to admit it.

“I feel like I need to do my part better,” Johnson said. “The game wasn’t perfect, and I wasn’t perfect.”

Unlike the Northwestern game, Padilla spent the practice week as the known starter for the Minnesota game. He said after the Northwestern game that he prepares every week like he’s the starter.

“Obviously it was a little bit different this week when I’m the actual starter,” Padilla said.

Padilla said he had “a little bit of added stress and anxiety” with being the No. 1 quarterback.

Ferentz said the staff didn’t make it a big deal that this was Padilla’s first career start.

“We just acted like it’s his turn,” Ferentz said. “It’s his time.”

“His time” marked the first time an Iowa quarterback threw for more than 200 yards since Petras threw for 259 yards against Maryland.

“I felt like this was our best game offensively, just as far as moving the ball,” Johnson said.

The offensive game plan shifted with Padilla under center instead of Petras. While Petras was more of a pocket passer — he once said, “I'm not like Lamar Jackson back there” — the Hawkeyes implemented more quarterback rollouts to get Padilla outside of the pocket.

The offense also took more deep shots down the field although much of that was a result of what Minnesota’s defense presented.

“We thought there’ll be some favorable coverages for us to take some shots on,” Padilla said. “They were starting to load the box a little bit with those safeties. … Stuff down the middle of the field was open, and our guys ran well. The offensive line blocked really well.”

The next step for Padilla, Ferentz said, is to “just keep playing and keep growing, like every guy out there.”

“There’s no specific thing that he is really lacking, other than experience,” Ferentz said.

Although Padilla was the only quarterback to contribute on the field Saturday, Petras still found ways to help the team without throwing.

Johnson brought up how Petras “has supported Alex through this week” and has been “a great leader on the sidelines.” Padilla agreed.

“Having an experienced starter who could see stuff from the sidelines was really helpful,” Padilla said. “He suggested a lot of great plays for us, and I’m super thankful for him. He helped me all the way.”

Petras kept his tips simple to avoid any overthinking. His main piece of advice? “Just rip it.”

That advice “eased my nerves a little bit,” Padilla said.

Padilla wasn’t the only one to get wisdom from Petras on Saturday. After Johnson’s drops, Petras, a “great teammate,” was there to console him.

“Obviously I didn’t have a perfect game,” Johnson said. “Spencer was over there encouraging me. … That’s a big testament to Spencer’s character.”

It’s not clear how much longer Petras will need to lead without using his arm. Ferentz said the team will continue to take Petras’ recovery from the shoulder injury “day by day.”

“I think we’re gaining ground,” Ferentz said. “It’s going a little slower than maybe we thought.”

The progression of Padilla gives Ferentz less reason to worry about how long Petras’ recovery will take.

“The good news is I feel like we’ve got two quarterbacks now that we have faith and trust in,” Ferentz said.

Who will be the starter once both those trusted quarterbacks are healthy remains a mystery.

“We’ll see what happens in practice,” Ferentz said. “I don’t know.”

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