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Iowa football has ‘whole lot of I don’t knows’ regarding Cade McNamara, Brendan Sullivan’s injury status
If Sullivan, McNamara are both healthy, Tim Lester would ‘let them compete’ for QB1
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IOWA CITY — Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester did not want to name a starting quarterback for the Hawkeyes’ next game on Nov. 23 against Maryland.
If Brendan Sullivan and Cade McNamara are both healthy on Monday, Lester said he would “let them compete.” But that is a big “if” as they both recover from injuries.
“It would be a great week,” Lester said. “It’d be like a real live, ‘You guys have both done a lot of great things, and you affect our offense differently. Let’s see who’s playing well.’ … But I don’t think that’s going to be the case.”
Sullivan is recovering from a sprained ankle on Friday against UCLA, and McNamara is recovering from a concussion against Northwestern on Oct. 26.
“There’s a whole lot of ‘I don’t knows’ right now, which is not great answers, but it’s where we’re at at this point in the season,” Lester said of his quarterbacks’ injury status.
Lester thinks McNamara is “getting close from what I’ve heard.”
“I know he lifted, and everything went well, which is good,” Lester said.
Sullivan, meanwhile, had “imaging” on his ankle.
“So we’re waiting to hear from someone that’s smart enough to know what all that means,” Lester said.
Sullivan has completed 68.6 percent of his passes this season while throwing two touchdowns and two interceptions. He has rushed for 144 yards as well. (He ranks fourth on the team in rushing despite only starting in two games.) McNamara has completed 60.5 percent of his passes while throwing six touchdowns and five interceptions.
Should McNamara and Sullivan both be unavailable against Maryland, Iowa’s next-best option would be walk-on Jackson Stratton. The Colorado State transfer went 3-of-6 for 28 yards after replacing Sullivan in the second half against UCLA.
“He needs a ton of reps,” Lester said of Stratton. “So it’ll be interesting on the practice field tomorrow because we have no clue. I don’t know who’s going to be out there. I’m hoping by the end of the day I do, or at least tomorrow morning.”
Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com
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