Iowa Coaches Confident in Joe Labas

Ya know, he did what they asked him to, he won the game. No turnovers, 14-24 passing, not his fault we couldn't run the ball, he has nothing to hand his head about.

I remember thinking, are we really going to try and run out of the clock with no running game? But we did.
 
I remember texting my buddy in the 4th quarter predicting we would win by 21 and not have a first down in the second half. I was damn close.
 
Labas played well enough that I would pen him in as the back-up come Spring Ball. He played well enough that I don't feel the need to see Petras hold anything but a clip board next year if he remains on campus.

He also moved well enough that I am even more pissed that BF did not put some read option packages together for him throughout the season. He was good enough to see the field on a limited basis. BF sucks.
 
That first drive was pretty promising. Iowa has so many other issues on offense with the O-line and WR play. I have never in my life seen a team that looked so similar with 3 different QB's in the game. Weird.
 
He looked ok to me. He didn't look like he was ready to take on the world yet but he didn't look overwhelmed either. I bet if he stays he'll be #2 next yr. ( is it a given he's staying? I haven't heard) Well I just heard that May is leaving. That makes sense.
 
Where's he gonna go? Duece Hogan has already been beaten out by a True Frosh and Kentucky has a stud transfer coming in. Grass is not always greener. I don't see anywhere good where Labas would have any clear shot at a starting position unless he moved down a level or two. He has very little tape, the tape is not that great, and he spent the year as the third string QB of the worst offense in America. Not a compelling resume.

Being the back up for a guy who has spent some time on the IR at a good school is a really good position for Labas right now.
 
NorthKCHawk said:
Where's he gonna go? Duece Hogan has already been beaten out by a True Frosh and Kentucky has a stud transfer coming in. Grass is not always greener. I don't see anywhere good where Labas would have any clear shot at a starting position unless he moved down a level or two. He has very little tape, the tape is not that great, and he spent the year as the third string QB of the worst offense in America. Not a compelling resume.

Being the back up for a guy who has spent some time on the IR at a good school is a really good position for Labas right now.
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If he doesn't have a compelling resume then it's even more of a reason for him to move on. He's only going to have a year left to play if he stayed at backup the next two years. There are plenty of G5 schools that would take him.
 
Zstatman said:
Ya know, he did what they asked him to, he won the game. No turnovers, 14-24 passing, not his fault we couldn't run the ball, he has nothing to hand his head about.

I remember thinking, are we really going to try and run out of the clock with no running game? But we did.
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He won the game. Lmao.. That’s the funny thing I’ve read in a long ass time. That’s something right out of the Ferentz’s That’s Football for dummies manual. I actually could hear Brian Ferentz saying that.
 
Fryowa said:
If he doesn't have a compelling resume then it's even more of a reason for him to move on. He's only going to have a year left to play if he stayed at backup the next two years. There are plenty of G5 schools that would take him.
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Could he find a home in a P5 school? Probably. But, he would assuredly be brought in for depth. Certainly, no one is going to promise him a starting job in the way that Iowa did McNamara. There are not a whole lot of opportunities out there with truly wide open competitions at QB where he would have a fair shot. He would come in behind in the race and have to prove he should move up the depth chart.

We have all seen him play here and there. He seems like a nice QB with some modest upside, but he doesn't look to me like someone with such raw talent that he will eventually blow up and be a compelling P5 starter.

Look, I get that the trendy thing to do is to transfer when you don't win the starting job right away, but I would place a fairly decent wager that he would not win a starting job at another P5 school over the next two years. If he stays at Iowa, he is the entrenched back-up to a guy who is still recovering from a pretty significant injury. And, your primary competition for the back up role just entered the portal. I do not see this young man finding a better situation in the P5.

Now, if wanted to transfer to Drake or UNI to have a better shot at seeing the field next season as a starter, that is a understandable choice.
 
HawkPrdatr40 said:
He won the game. Lmao.. That’s the funny thing I’ve read in a long ass time. That’s something right out of the Ferentz’s That’s Football for dummies manual. I actually could hear Brian Ferentz saying that.
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I always get a kick out of this kind of thing. There are multiple New England players that have "won" a Super Bowl and never saw the field during the game.

Labas played well and didn't make any big mistakes. He looked good, but he didn't "win the game".
 
hawkdrummer1 said:
I always get a kick out of this kind of thing. There are multiple New England players that have "won" a Super Bowl and never saw the field during the game.

Labas played well and didn't make any big mistakes. He looked good, but he didn't "win the game".
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This is a weird debate, but I guess did Tory Taylor win the game? Campbell? Aaron Graves? Who gets to decide?

Do you have to make plays to win the game, or just not screw up?

In college and pros, they keep stats on the number of games that a starting QB wins. Trent Dilfer won 65 games in the NFL and a Super Bowl, but was he the reason they won?

He was the starting QB and Iowa won. He is 1-0 as a starter.
 
hawkdrummer1 said:
I always get a kick out of this kind of thing. There are multiple New England players that have "won" a Super Bowl and never saw the field during the game.

Labas played well and didn't make any big mistakes. He looked good, but he didn't "win the game".
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Like hell he didn't. Baltimore won a Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer just relying on defense. Trent didn't do anything stupid. Same as Labas. Labas handled the rock 45 times and didn't turn it over against a relentless defense. It was an epic start to a career for a guy who had never taken a live snap.
 
Picking one player as the winner of a game, when there are 22 starters and numerous special teams players, is one of the dumbest statements I have ever heard. Good grief. Even MVP is a stretch in reality.
 
With 3 weeks of snaps as qb1, with a sub par oline, I thought Labas movement, progression through reads, quick release, pretty accurate on shorter throws.

Missed on a couple longer throws, but had some good touch.

Wasn't spectacular, but seemed to make good decisions, avoided pressure and a few sacks. Seemed to have decent vision and pocket presence. He had a couple throws into coverage he got away with.

3 weeks practice as qb1, poor oline, no run game. Didn't need to do a lot and wasn't asked to.

A huge thing was escaping pressure and avoided sacks. I counted at least 3 times that I thought would have been sacks with another qb. Kid had some wiggle.

At minimum, he showed as a solid backup option.
 
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HawkeyeWalker said:
With 3 weeks of snaps as qb1, with a sub par oline, I thought Labas movement, progression through reads, quick release, pretty accurate on shorter throws.

Missed on a couple longer throws, but had some good touch.

Wasn't spectacular, but seemed to make good decisions, avoided pressure and a few sacks. Seemed to have decent vision and pocket presence. He had a couple throws into coverage he got away with.

3 weeks practice as qb1, poor oline, no run game. Didn't need to do a lot and wasn't asked to.

A huge thing was escaping pressure and avoided sacks. I counted at least 3 times that I thought would have been sacks with another qb. Kid had some wiggle.

At minimum, he showed as a solid backup option.
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Not only that, but Padilla got the reps as QB2 for the past 2 years. Labas did great, IMHO.
 
HawkeyeWalker said:
With 3 weeks of snaps as qb1, with a sub par oline, I thought Labas movement, progression through reads, quick release, pretty accurate on shorter throws.

Missed on a couple longer throws, but had some good touch.

Wasn't spectacular, but seemed to make good decisions, avoided pressure and a few sacks. Seemed to have decent vision and pocket presence. He had a couple throws into coverage he got away with.

3 weeks practice as qb1, poor oline, no run game. Didn't need to do a lot and wasn't asked to.

A huge thing was escaping pressure and avoided sacks. I counted at least 3 times that I thought would have been sacks with another qb. Kid had some wiggle.

At minimum, he showed as a solid backup option.
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Good analysis.
 
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