Ferentz Says QB Competition Wide Open

A good follow-up question from the media during spring practice would be something along the lines of: "Do you plan to incorporate any changes into the offense which might make better use of the individual skills of each QB on the roster? I know you've said their skill sets are similar, but clearly Spencer does not have the quickness or elusiveness of Padilla. Do you feel your offense is creative enough to do that, or do you feel it's the responsibility of each QB to simply tailor their skill-set to Iowa's standard offense, which rarely asks the QB to do more than stand in the pocket, QB sneak, or fake handoffs and roll-out?"
 
The cynic in me would bet good money that Petras will be lining up under center coming opening day. But, we have seen at least two instances where a back up has overtaken an incumbent starter (Stanzi and Beatherd).

I believe Petras is as good as he is ever going to be. Certainly a running attack may help maximize his skills, but I do not see him getting markedly better in accuracy or scrambling ability.

Alex has had three years to show. He hasn't shown the coaches that he is better than Petras, which is concerning, and he wasn't exactly electric when he did see the field last year. If its truly a blind, start from scratch competition, my eyes tell me Padilla is slightly better than Petras. While there still may be some upside there, I am not optimistic it is so much better that he jumps Petras.

That leaves Labas. The internet savior. Let's hope he is what we hope he is. But man, this kid had better be lights out if he is going to jump over two upperclassmen in the eyes of three very old school, conservative coaches. #PleaseBeTheRealDeal
 
Grady said:
Iowa's standard offense, which rarely asks the QB to do more than stand in the pocket, QB sneak, or fake handoffs and roll-out?"
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I think you forgot in your QB skills list that they do actually throw the ball. If any of the 3 can jump out with more consistent accuracy and finding open receivers they should place themselves as the starter.
 
NorthKCHawk said:
The cynic in me would bet good money that Petras will be lining up under center coming opening day. But, we have seen at least two instances where a back up has overtaken an incumbent starter (Stanzi and Beatherd).

I believe Petras is as good as he is ever going to be. Certainly a running attack may help maximize his skills, but I do not see him getting markedly better in accuracy or scrambling ability.
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Very good points. Petras has shown he can laser balls on target, get in a groove for a couple of possessions, but then he gets jittery or something and his mechanics and footwork half go to hell. If he can correct that and have a running game and some pass protection he could improve a lot.

It is sort of the same with Padilla, he is hot and right on target for a couple of possessions then he gets wobbly.

Actually, Petras ordinarily starts slow and Padilla starts fast so maybe they should platoon them based on what part of the game it is. Start Padilla and when he wobbles bring in Petras who has been rifling warm up passes for 30 minutes on the sidelines.

I just hope one of the 3 qbs really improves and standouts, takes the reins and plays great and then no more of this talk.
 
This will probably the first step in Labas passing Padilla on the depth chart by August. Petras will remain the starter, at least until game #1.

Then around mid-season Petras will struggle and that's when the Labas era will officially start at Iowa.
 
haydensly said:
No matter who starts, a competent O-Line and running game will make that person look much better than anything we saw last year.
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Not necessarily. Kentucky was the ideal defense for Petras to face in the bowl game: they rarely blitzed, and Iowa's run game was far better than usual. On multiple plays Petras had as much time as he wanted to sit comfortably in the pocket....and he was still missing wide open receivers -- sometimes by 5-10 yards. There's really no excuse for that -- MAC QBs make those throws consistently.
 
Of course you say this at this time of year.
By announcing a starter now, both lose motivation and one moves on, disgruntled.
 
Grady said:
Not necessarily. Kentucky was the ideal defense for Petras to face in the bowl game: they rarely blitzed, and Iowa's run game was far better than usual. On multiple plays Petras had as much time as he wanted to sit comfortably in the pocket....and he was still missing wide open receivers -- sometimes by 5-10 yards. There's really no excuse for that -- MAC QBs make those throws consistently.
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And as we saw throughout the O'Keefe era, the offense did enough to win the game, but when the chips were on the line, the defense choked.
 
guffus said:
This will probably the first step in Labas passing Padilla on the depth chart by August. Petras will remain the starter, at least until game #1.

Then around mid-season Petras will struggle and that's when the Labas era will officially start at Iowa.
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Yep. And by then, we will already have three losses and squandered a Top 10 defense. But hey, there is always 2023!!!!
 
To be a fly on the wall at practice this spring... Define open would be my question. Those 3 guys will all get equal reps with 1st team for what % of camp? Not that they have to be split equal in Spring game so much because those practices are where they make decisions off of. I'm not sure too many QB decisions have been made off of the game itself going into summer/fall camp.
 
JoeyLabasForPresident said:
Poo Hogan will be as beloved by this fan base as Jake Christensen at worst. Book it.
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Both were highly rated high school prospects who were huge Iowa boosters before even stepping on campus. That is where the similarities end. Hogan never even sniffed the field and left relatively professionally and opened up space for Labas. I have no hard feelings at all over Hogan and wish him success.

I watch JC for nearly 2 years not be able to complete a 10 yard crossing pattern that an average high school JV QB could hit. I watched KF trot him out there game after game when it was beyond clear that he was not even a serviceable QB at this level. He is in my Top 5 wish he never came to Iowa list.
 
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