Column: How Will You Remember Nate Stanley?

Nate has been great at times, sometimes not so great. I'll remember a lot to the great plays. Having a quarterback that could do a QB dive for 5 or more yards. Some of his most memorable plays were with a defender wrapped around him.

On the other hand, some of the misses leave us wondering.....What the hell?

I remember his early interviews. He was so nervous. He gradually got better at interviews. I was critical of him from the beginning simply because I compared him to some of the better QBs we've seen in a Hawkeye uniform. He just didn't seem to have that ability to put the team on his back an win in the 4th quarter like Stanzi, Tate or Banks. Overall he got the job done. He'll leave the uniform in a better place.
 
Northside Hawk said:
I should have put a disclaimer on my post.:rolleyes:

Kirk is usually pretty good at sticking to one QB. The only times I remember him being a little wishy washy were 2001 (McCann and Banks) and early 2008 (Stanzi and Christensen)

Of course people were screaming for Beathard over Rudock in 2014, especially when he filled in at Pitt and Purdue and won both starts. But Kirk was sticking with Jake.

Ironically, for as much as a QB guru as Hayden Fry was, he frequently had a more difficult time settling on one. There was 1982 (Grogan and Long) 1986 (Poholsky, Hartlieb and McGwire after Vlasic missed much of the season) 1987 (same three QB's) a hot mess from 1992-1994 that was too much of a web to untangle and 1997 after Sherman went down (McCann, Mullen and others)
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What is noteworthy about Fry is that with Long and Vlasic he did have pretty equal choices and he had no issues settling in one
 
Nice guy.
Great Hawk
His best passes were best ever
His worst passes were among worst ever
Had maybe worst wr s ever
Bulling through linemen
Standing under pressure
Panicking under pressure
Aims to please
Played with some of best and worst linemen
Played with some of best and worst rbs
Couldn't throw to either Fant or Hock in the same play when his wrs were not good.

Watching CJ get creamed by Florida w Nate on bench.

Thinking he has NFL talent
Thinking no way NFL
 
thetrza said:
I will remember every columnist and color commentator comparing him to the exact same pro quarterback every single year that he has been here.
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I can see it on the field, but does Nate have a rape method named for him yet? Nate ≠ Ben.
 
HawkGold said:
Nice guy.
Great Hawk
His best passes were best ever
His worst passes were among worst ever
Had maybe worst wr s ever
Bulling through linemen
Standing under pressure
Panicking under pressure
Aims to please
Played with some of best and worst linemen
Played with some of best and worst rbs
Couldn't throw to either Fant or Hock in the same play when his wrs were not good.

Watching CJ get creamed by Florida w Nate on bench.

Thinking he has NFL talent
Thinking no way NFL
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Longest Haiku in history.
 
As stated - perfect Ferentz QB. Never has "apple doesn't fall far from the tree" been more appropriate ...
- Skittish under pressure and when facing risk / reward.
- Predictable / Methodical / Dogmatic / Lacks adaptability.
- Leaves me wishing he would've expanded his arsenal and seized moments (use his legs and size a LOT more over the last 3 years).
- Left a lot of W's on the field - some directly, some indirectly.
- Overall, really solid, caring, damn fine person ... really, really average on the field.

Not trying to be mean but no regrets when either is gone. Come to think of it, I probably won't remember him much at all.
 
HawkGold said:
What is noteworthy about Fry is that with Long and Vlasic he did have pretty equal choices and he had no issues settling in one
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You, myself, and my old student manager friend may be the only ones who remember how good Vlasic was. He had, for starters, a much better arm than Chuck Long. He would put on a show when he ran the scout team in practice. In the 1985 spring game, which Hayden usually set up as the ones vs the twos, Vlasic put up 28 points for the White team. In the entire time I went to spring games the second team seldom scored more than once.

All that said, he was a couple notches short of Long in other areas. Long could hit those sideline throws with Ken Stabler like precision. He could throw to a spot before the receiver made their break. He had chemistry with Bill Happel and Scott Helverson. He had an edge in intangibles as well. When Vlasic got his shot as a sophomore in 1984 against Michigan State he could produce only three points of offense. A gimpy Long had to come in to lead two fourth quarter touchdown drives before getting screwed on the two point conversion.
 
As I expected, a polarizing subject as has been the case with most Hawkeye quarterbacks I've covered him my 23 years reporting on the Hawkeyes.

I admit to looking at it through a different lens than fans. I get to know these guys as recruits all the way through their careers here. I weigh more heavily what they bring to this university, team and community than a fan who sees it as championship or bust.

As Northside outlined, I see us heading for a Petras-Hogan debate. I think it's inevitable with the nature of this position.
 
trj said:
Of his 37 or so starts, if the defense could have gotten stops late in about 5 of them, we are having a different discussion about his legacy.
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Very true!!! I think the most frustrating thing about being a Hawkeye fan is we are in EVERY ballgame...you can go back and play the "what if's" in every loss and I can find a play that cost us the game... Maybe it's just easier to point the finger at the QB?

Other factors not mentioned and quickly forgotten are receivers getting held up on routes, or simply slowing up on a route and mistiming the jump (like I watched Tracy do yesterday) and of course dropped passes, missed blocks, etc. Stanley, in my opinion, has nothing to hang his head about. I think he will be one that is appreciated more when he's gone.
 
Well, first of all, if you don't root for a guy like Nate Stanley, well...you are probably someone who has his own issues. Second, all you can really ask of a player is that he's committed and works to improve every day. Nate Stanley is both of those things. Third, you have to trust that the coaches have picked the QB that gives them the best chance to win. I think that is the case without question.

The next area I would look at are the intangibles...do his teammates believe in him, look up to him, and work for him. This is not in question...his teammates love him. Can he read defenses and get us in the right play. Yes...he's great at working the line of scrimmage in my opinion.

I'll be the first to admit, it's not hard to find an issue with his game. Accuracy...plain and simple. Sure, some of his receivers need to make a play on a throw behind them (Weiting yesterday for example)...but there is no doubt you can point to several plays throughout games where a big play is there and we just can't get the ball in the right spot. Yesterday was a microcosm of his inconsistency. Starts out hot, goes cold, gets hot...etc. It's somewhat confounding because he's so close to being a great QB...but accuracy and consistency have to be there. He hits a few of those seam routes and we score TDs...and the overthrow INT was just a terrible throw.

Lovie Smith put the game in Nate Stanley's hands yesterday. He bet that Nate couldn't make enough plays. Lovie lost because Nate did make a few big plays...but Lovie's strategy was right on. He just didn't bet on his offense not being able to score more than 10 points.

Listen, at the end of the day, I'm a Nate Stanley fan and I truly wish the best for him...I root for him as a great hawkeye who gave it everything he had. He has an NFL arm...and NFL intelligence...but he has be much more accurate and consistent if he wants to play in the NFL. I hope he gets there.
 
RobHowe said:
As I expected, a polarizing subject as has been the case with most Hawkeye quarterbacks I've covered him my 23 years reporting on the Hawkeyes.

I admit to looking at it through a different lens than fans. I get to know these guys as recruits all the way through their careers here. I weigh more heavily what they bring to this university, team and community than a fan who sees it as championship or bust.

As Northside outlined, I see us heading for a Petras-Hogan debate. I think it's inevitable with the nature of this position.
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It was Stanley's destiny, intended or not, to always brush up against the cold winds of fate. Bill Buckner was like that for reasons I could discuss. Vivian Stringer was like that too.

In Stringer's case, all she wanted to do was coach the basketball team whether it was Iowa or Rutgers. But circumstances kept thrusting her unwillingly into the spotlight. Whether it was her severely challenged daughter or her husband dying young or the pressure on her to stop recruiting east coast kids or getting embroiled with Guns N Roses over availability of Carver during postseason tournament action or Don Imus calling out her players as "nappy headed hoes" fate and destiny were always testing Stringer. And Vivian had the grace and resolve to overcome it all. I have an unbelievable amount of respect for that woman.

In Stanley's case it was his misfortune to come along at a time when most of the pieces were in place for true greatness. All we needed was a quarterback who could make a few more plays consistently in big games, like the wide open post pattern to Hoks at Pen State last year. Stanley came tantalizingly close on many occasions, which may have sealed his fate more than had he never come close at all.
 
I'll remember Stanley as a QB who had WAY too big of a arm for our wide receivers. He's got a NFL arm but accuracy will keep him from ever taking his game to the next level. He's not a QB that you feel when he's got the ball can win you any game at any moment, Chuck Long was that guy and I there were other QBs I felt that way about too.
 
Fryowa said:
Are you old enough that you’ve hit the level where it doesn’t matter what you do to your liver? Like how if someone’s 85 years old it doesn’t mean squat if they smoke cigarettes because they’re about to go tits up anyway?

If not, I hope you realize that getting annihilated every day by 8AM isn’t going to earn you more time with your grandkids. I mean I totally understand gettin shitty once in a while and solving the world’s problems with your buds, but Jesus Christ.

For F’s sake man, have some personal pride in yourself. Every single time you post it’s 9:30 in the morning and you can’t even speak English by that point.

Long ago I thought it was just the same kind of mental disabilities @atomicblue224 has, but then you started saying how you were slamming Rolling Rock at Dave’s place every morning. Get a fucking hold of yourself man and get some rehab. How do you think your kids would feel about their old man getting piss drunk online and embarrassing himself trying to speak Mandarin to people who make fun of him?

Pull your ass together Earl.
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HUH?
 
Northside Hawk said:
You, myself, and my old student manager friend may be the only ones who remember how good Vlasic was. He had, for starters, a much better arm than Chuck Long. He would put on a show when he ran the scout team in practice. In the 1985 spring game, which Hayden usually set up as the ones vs the twos, Vlasic put up 28 points for the White team. In the entire time I went to spring games the second team seldom scored more than once.

All that said, he was a couple notches short of Long in other areas. Long could hit those sideline throws with Ken Stabler like precision. He could throw to a spot before the receiver made their break. He had chemistry with Bill Happel and Scott Helverson. He had an edge in intangibles as well. When Vlasic got his shot as a sophomore in 1984 against Michigan State he could produce only three points of offense. A gimpy Long had to come in to lead two fourth quarter touchdown drives before getting screwed on the two point conversion.
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We ll never know which was better. It was a good situation. Injuries in the NFL impacted both. Fry when ask about starting Long said something like Vlasic had the stronger arm and proved it in practice by consistently overthrowing receivers. One of the few times I heard Fry ever diss a player.

I do wonder if Nate would have been more confident with more athletic recievers.

Fans forget that Fry had paranoia about turnovers, especially ints over the middle. He had some very conservative tendencies. Such as prevent D.
 
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