Cade McNamara will miss having head coach Kirk Ferentz on the sideline for Iowa’s season opener against Illinois State. However, McNamara knows the Hawkeyes are going to rally in support of their head coach.

News broke last week that Ferentz was serving a one-game self-imposed suspension related to a transfer recruiting violation and improper contact with a recruit and the recruit’s family. Wide receivers coach Jon Budmayr is also suspended for the season opener.

According to reports, the violation involved contact with McNamara and his family coming off the 2022 season at Michigan. The quarterback would not address the details of that report but he did speak positively about his support for Ferentz while talking with the media.

“Anything regarding coach Ferentz for the rest of this year and especially this week, this team loves coach Ferentz, and we’re going to rally for him,” said McNamara.

“As far as any other questions go, I appreciate the question but I’m not going to comment on any NCAA review or anything. But this team really loves coach Ferentz, and we’re going to rally for him.”

McNamara was quick to land the starting job with Iowa prior to the 2023 season, but his first year in Iowa City did not go as planned. He missed time in training camp with an injury and eventually sustained a season-ending injury in his 5th game of the season.

Now, he’ll try to guide the new-look offense under OC Tim Lester to an improved performance after the unit was one of the worst in the country last season. If McNamara shines, the Hawkeyes stand a chance to compete in the 18-team version of the Big Ten.