Cade McNamara’s status still unclear ahead of Iowa’s season opener

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) - Cade McNamara’s right knee and quadricep have been topics of intrigue for Hawkeye fans; McNamara’s injuries only kept him out of practice for a couple weeks, but his status from Saturday’s game against Utah State is still unclear.

“I can’t put a percentage on where (McNamara’s) at right now,” said Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz. “He’s been cleared medically, that’s the good news. The thing we have to just as we go along is how effective can he be?”

McNamara spoke to the media, but did not go into great detail while talking about his injury.

“I’m getting better every single day,” McNamara said. “(The decision to play) is going to come down to the coaches and medical staff.”

Ferentz clarified what he meant by “effective,” regarding McNamara’s play.

“What I mean by that is playing in a representative way, if a guy can’t throw the ball the way he supposed to needs to that’s not helpful,” Ferentz said. “I worry too about can a guy escape a little bit?”

Ferentz also said the next quarterback up, should McNamara not play, is Deacon Hill.

Ferentz didn’t rule out the possibility of using McNamara as an emergency backup quarterback, but he said it was unlikely.

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