Commitment to UNI pays off for new starting QB Aidan Dunne

CEDAR FALLS — The wait and work all paid off this week when redshirt junior Aidan Dunne was named Northern Iowa’s starting quarterback by Coach Mark Farley.

The former Dubuque Hempstead standout prevailed in a three-way quarterback competition against Jaxon Dailey and Matthew Shecklman that began during spring practices.

Dunne will be under center when UNI hosts Valparaiso in its season opener at the UNI-Dome at 4 p.m. Saturday (ESPN+).

“It’s the culmination of a lot of hard work, but I never want to get too far ahead of myself; there’s still a lot of work to do,” Dunne said. “Really pumped to go out there and show what I’ve been working on the past three years.”

Dunne’s three-year wait to earn a starting spot — at quarterback or any position on the field — is increasingly rare in the transfer portal era college football has been in for more than the past half decade.

But, as a native Iowan who’s grown to love UNI, the idea of transferring elsewhere never entered his mind.

“I love this place. I love the people (here) and I never wanted to feel like I was running away from it,” Dunne said. “It’s the right fit. I just didn’t want to leave. I’ve wanted to represent this university ever since I got here; I’m glad all the work finally paid off.”

While Dunne’s limited game experience is worth noting, it’s also worth pointing out he ran numerous offenses at practices in his career as the scout team quarterback and spent all of last season preparing to play on Saturday as the Panthers’ No. 2 QB.

“(Scout team) was awesome — you get a bunch of game-like reps every day,” Dunne said. “I’ve got a lot of practice reps under my belt. Some game reps. It all adds up if you just take (them) one at a time and take them very seriously.”

Listed at 6-foot and 208 pounds, Dunne will be among the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s smaller QBs. He mentioned his lack of size when asked what part of his game he thinks has developed and improved most since arriving at UNI.

“I would say pocket passing, for sure,” Dunne said. “I’m not the tallest guy ever, so I’ve always been weary of it. I’ve never felt as comfortable as I know I needed to in the pocket.

“That’s something that in spring ball I started getting much, much better at. Then, in fall camp, it felt like it came around to the level that I need to be at to have success.”

Along with his own improvements, Dunne is well-aware of what’s available to him to make life easier under center. Starting with running backs Tye Edwards, Amauri Pesek-Hickson and Harrison Bey-Buie.

“We got a three-headed monster back there at running back,” Dunne said. “I love throwing the ball around the yard as much as anybody does, but when you got guys like that you got to feed them too and let them go to work.

“We got weapons everywhere, so my job is just get the ball in their hands and let them go to work.”