Rudock is now a ‘lost letterman’

IOWA CITY - The Iowa quarterback news had been leaked long before Wednesday's news conference with coach Kirk Ferentz. Still, it was a little jarring to see senior Jake Rudock's name in the spring media guide listed under 'lost lettermen.”

Ferentz confirmed he has given Rudock, a two-year starter for Iowa, a release to transfer with no restrictions, including Big Ten schools. Reports out of Michigan had Rudock visiting the Wolverines last week. Michigan is a possible landing spot for the Weston, Fla., native, but that has yet to be finalized.

'He's exploring some other options at this point with our support - certainly not encouragement but support - but we'll work through the process,” Ferentz said. 'Until he decides what he's going to do definitively, we'll just keep him outside the program at this point.”

In Iowa's case, Ferentz made it final in January that junior C.J. Beathard would be Iowa's starter in 2015 and that all QBs involved should plan accordingly.

Yes, Rudock started 25 games in two seasons for the Hawkeyes. In 2014, he cut his interceptions from 13 in as a sophomore to five. He increased his completion percentage from 59 percent to 61.7, but it wasn't enough to keep the job.

And that's what this is. However you want to phrase it, Beathard was given/won the job in January and that was the clear directive. Plan accordingly.

'We had made the decision,” Ferentz said. 'We talked to both quarterbacks at that point, and that was part of the thought process behind that, giving him an opportunity to handle it in an appropriate manner, whatever is best for them.”

Ferentz didn't say it was a competition. Whether it would've been or wouldn't, last season was a year where the quarterback competition never seemed to end. The January announcement, at the very least, was a clear directive and an unmuddling.

'At some point you've got to make a decision,” Ferentz said. 'You've got to name a starter, I think you do. You could've played it a couple of different ways, but I think in the best interest of our football team, after that ballgame (the TaxSlayer bowl), it was best to name a No. 1, name a No. 2, and then move on from there.”

A by-product of this is Rudock's departure. With Rudock's final destination announced, Ferentz said there was a possibility of a return to the Hawkeyes (more likely a courtesy from Ferentz), but even then, Iowa quarterback will not be an open competition. This is Beathard's offense now.

'I think it's always a competition, but just like we were committed to Jake when we started the season last year, it would be just a flip right now, and we'll move forward, and that's the call I just felt we needed to make back in January,” Ferentz said.

Ferentz acknowledged the ambiguity that hung over the QB position last season. It started in April during spring practice, when Ferentz and offensive coordinator Greg Davis said Beathard would see meaningful snaps in the fall. He played one series in the first quarter against Ball State before Rudock suffered an injury at Pittsburgh. Beathard started the next game at Purdue and then was relegated to mostly mop-up duty.

Beathard and his father, Casey, spoke to The Tennessean in December and lightly mentioned the possibility of transfer if there wasn't some movement along the lines of an open competition. Ferentz and Davis said during TaxSlayer week that the competition had opened and that both QBs would play in the bowl game.

Beathard played 49 snaps, completing 13 of 23 for 145 yards, two TDs and an interception. Rudock played 19 snaps and threw just eight passes.

Ferentz said part of the reason for the clear decision in January was to give the QBs some time to look around if they wanted to leave. The same thing happened last year when Cody Sokol left before spring practice and won the job at Louisiana Tech.

Also, the possibility that a QB could transfer was something Ferentz said he and his staff reconciled last August when they made the decision to go with Rudock.

Now, the decision has been made and that decision is Beathard and that's that.

'We made the decision then [January],” Ferentz said. 'In my opinion that was the best thing to do for our football team at that given point, so that was the driving force behind it. It's been close between both of them. They're both really good quarterbacks. They're both tremendous young guys. I've been saying that consistently.

'I still feel that way, and should Jake leave, I wish him all the best. I just want him to be successful and happy, and you want that for every player in your program certainly.”

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com