<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<p>Let’s see if we can figure out what the optimum number of
scholarship QBs Iowa can keep entertained.</p>
<p>Let’s rewind to 2013. That’s when sophomore Jake Rudock won the
job over redshirt freshman C.J. Beathard and junior Cody Sokol,
with true freshman Nic Shimonek in his first season.</p>
<p>That was too many.</p>
<p>Three (!!!!) of those four eventually transferred, with Shimonek
(Texas Tech) seeing the light early and then Sokol wanting to play
his senior season (won nine games including a bowl at Louisiana
Tech) and finally, after two years as the starter, Rudock took off
for Michigan.</p>
<p>That left Iowa with Beathard, a junior and a second-team all-Big
Ten pick and best of the lot, and Tyler Wiegers in 2015. That was
a fourth-year junior who kept saying to himself, basically, that
it’s year four for him in the system and he better darned well
know the offense and a redshirt freshman who hadn’t thrown a pass
in his career.</p>
<p>Iowa also had true freshmen Ryan Boyle and Drew Cook, but they
took their redshirt seasons. The highest either climbed was a
handful of second-team reps for Boyle in October when Beathard was
going through the worst of his what would eventually become sports
hernia surgery.</p>
<p>We move to 2014. Rudock started, Beathard was the No. 2 and
Wiegers was the redshirt. Beathard showed he was deserving of the
job in 2015. Iowa hadn’t had an all-Big Ten QB since . . . Drew
Tate in 2004 (he was named first- and second-team that season).</p>
<p>Everyone brushes it off now, but at the end of 2014, there’s no
denying that hint of a QB coup showed up. You remember the <a
href="http://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/college/vols/2014/12/22/tennessee-vols-iowa-hawkeyes-taxslayer-bowl-cj-beathard/20787273/"
target="_blank">Tennessean</a> story in which Beathard and his
dad, Casey, did everything they could to say he was thinking about
transferring. Kind of. Maybe. Let’s see how the bowl (the
TaxSlayer Bowl) goes.</p>
<p>The TaxSlayer was a disaster for Iowa, but it was clear that
Beathard held an edge going into 2015. Beathard played 49 snaps
and had 359 net yards, two turnovers and three touchdowns. Rudock
had 19 snaps and produced 116 net yards, no turnovers and one
touchdown.</p>
<p>A couple of days after the Jacksonville, Fla., game, Ferentz
called Beathard and told him he was the starter for 2015. And
sometime during spring practice, Rudock announced he would
graduate-transfer to Michigan. It worked out for everyone.</p>
<p>Beathard fought the sports hernia for a good two-thirds if not
more of the 2015 season. He was named second-team all-Big Ten.
Wiegers picked up some investment reps as a No. 1 when the injury
flared to the point Beathard couldn’t practice. Boyle got a taste,
too.</p>
<p>And now Nathan Stanley is a Hawkeye. Iowa goes into 2016 with
Beathard, Wiegers, Boyle, Cook and Stanley. That’s five
scholarship QBs. The big question is will Iowa end spring practice
with that many?</p>
<h2><span class="Body copy bold">Nathan Stanley</span></h2>
<p>Stanley passed for 1,728 yards and 16 touchdowns with four
interceptions during his senior season at Menomonie (Wis.) High
School. He holds school records for passing yards (3,674) and
career touchdown passes (36). Stanley was a four-year letterman as
quarterback, defensive back and punter.</p>
<p>Stanley was Iowa’s first commitment for the 2016 recruiting
class, which signed on the dotted line when the national signing
period began Wednesday. The 6-5, 215-pounder who leads Menomonie
High School basketball in scoring and who has a 90 mph fastball
said yes to Iowa all the way back on Nov. 10, 2014.</p>
<p>Stanley’s first camp stop was Pittsburgh, where Paul Chryst then
was head coach. Chryst was the first to offer. Then, Stanley next
went to camp in Iowa City. His mom, Donita, is from Iowa. Donita
and Jay Stanley went to Wartburg. The family saw a fit and said
yes to Iowa.</p>
<p>“We were fortunate that he camped here,” Iowa assistant coach
Seth Wallace said. “We really were. It was obvious when he got
here that this kid was a big-time quarterback. Once we started
learning more about him, it became obvious that we really, really
wanted Nate Stanley.”</p>
<p>Since Stanley committed to Iowa, Chryst became head coach at
Wisconsin. Stanley soon had an offer from the Badgers. Chryst kept
the pressure on.</p>
<p>“They never backed off and credit to them, they knew what they
were doing with an in-state kid,” Wallace said. “They worked until
the last second.”</p>
<p><strong><span class="Body copy bold">Rivals</span></strong>: 3
stars</p>
<p><strong><span class="Body copy bold">Scout</span></strong>: 4
stars</p>
<p><strong><span class="Body copy bold">247Sports</span></strong>: 3
stars</p>
<p><strong><span class="Body copy bold">Composite</span></strong>:
3.33</p>
<p><strong><span class="Body copy bold">Depth chart in 2016?</span></strong>:
Really don’t see it. No. Beathard is the king of Iowa City.
Wiegers knows what he’s doing. Boyle and Cook are eager pups
who’ve been in the system for a year. Even if Stanley comes in and
has superior arm strength or some trait that absolutely pops,
there’s the playbook. He might also be able to handle that, but
there are four QBs ahead of him.</p>
<p><strong><span class="Body copy bold">Off-the-top-of-my-head
Hawkeye comparison</span></strong>: Ricky Stanzi</p>
<p>I mostly say that because of their size. Stanzi ended up being a
jumbo 6-4, 230-pound QB. I don’t know if Stanley bulks up that
much, but he starts with 6-4 and a good frame. A 90 mph fastball
also suggests a stronger arm.</p>
<p><strong><span class="Body copy bold">Iowa recruiting coordinator
Seth Wallace</span>:</strong> “Nate went to two or three camps
in high school and only went to the camps where he was on
somebody’s campus. He was offered at Pittsburgh before he came
here. He came to our camp and we offered him. We were fortunate he
came here, we really were. It was obvious when he got here that
this kid was a big-time quarterback. Once we started learning more
about him, it became really obvious that we really, really wanted
Nate Stanley.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong>● </strong><a
href="http://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/college/football/iowa-hawkeyes-2016-football-recruits-interactive-map-where-they-are-from-20160203"
target="_blank"><strong>Interactive Map: </strong>Iowa's 2016
football recruits, with insight from Seth Wallace</a></p>
<p>“His dad is a high school coach. He’s got a brother who plays
football at North Dakota. He’s a three-sport athlete. He plays
baseball and throws the ball 90 mph. In basketball, he’s going to
be the leading scorer in the history of his high school, which is
a pretty good high school. That’s everything that’s outside of
playing football, which he’s pretty good at, too.</p>
<p>“The reason he probably wasn’t up there with some of the higher
ranking quarterbacks is because he didn’t go to any of the Rivals
or the Nike camps. That’s not really his style. He played in a
Wing T offense. He didn’t spend all of his time sitting back in
the shotgun and throwing it all over the place.</p>
<p>“Very good leader. Soft-spoken, not someone who is flamboyant or
anything like that. He goes to work. We had to recruit the heck
out of him.”</p>
<p><strong><span class="Body copy bold">HawkeyeNation’s Rob Howe</span></strong>:
Stanley doesn’t conduct many interviews. He keeps his Hudl videos
private. He seeks no attention. It’s why he’s flying under the
national prospect radar. That’s good for Iowa, which held off
Wisconsin for the strong-armed signal caller. He thrives throwing
darts out of the pocket but can hurt opponents with his legs as
well. Stanley has a presence about him that screams “leader.” He
reminds me of a bigger C.J. Beathard in terms of skill set.</p>
<p><strong><span class="Body copy bold">ESPN scouting report</span></strong>:
There are times when he will really flash quality arm strength,
but needs to get his lower body involved and transfer weight
properly. Shows good RPMs and the ability to drive the ball. Ball
has a wobble and he does not look like he has great ball control.
Has a wild delivery. Can be long and loose. Ball does not pop off
his hand — slight wind-up. Needs technical work, but does have
quality arm strength.</p>
<p><strong>Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz:</strong> “. . . He really
impressed us in camp, to start with the things that he can do,
throwing the football, his release, all those kinds of things,
footwork and what have you.</p>
<p>“. . . He’s a good athlete. He’s got a real command, a real
presence about him, and then in a quiet way I would say, kind of
like C.J. Beathard or Brad Banks, not necessarily a boisterous
guy, but a guy that players rally around and gravitate to. I think
he’s got all the physical attributes that you would look for, and
then on top of that, all the characteristics you kind of like to
see a guy embody.</p>
<p>“I’ll throw in there, too, he might have the biggest hands of any
player I’ve ever shook hands with. I thought he had a basketball
glove on the last time I shook his hand. So, that’s a good thing
in the midwest.”</p>
<p><strong><span class="Body copy bold">My take</span>:</strong> I
think Stanley is a QB who’ll have staying power. Right now, I see
the progression post-Beathard, Wiegers and then . . . ask me after
spring. OK, I won’t let myself off that easily. I think Boyle and
Stanley will have a Highlander competition (There can be only one,
remember?). I’m not crossing off Cook, but off the top of my head,
this is my opinion.</p>
<p>l Comments: (319) 398-8256; <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:marc.morehouse@thegazette.com">marc.morehouse@thegazette.com</a></p>
</body>
</html>