QB Controversy

     Who will be the quarterback for my Hawkeyes in August?  So many names are in for consideration.  I can’t remember a year where there wasn’t a clear starter.  Ruddock didn’t play pretty much at all for who knows why.  Beathard has the stats and talent to become the starting quarterback.  Let’s take an in depth look at the situation.
     Certainly, Beathard could be Iowa's starting quarterback next fall. This is the most wide open the quarterback race has been at Iowa since... well, probably since the beginning of Ferentz's tenure here. In years where there hasn't been a returning starter, there's usually been a clear favorite -- Chandler in 2003, Tate in 2004, Christensen in 2007, Vandenberg in 2011.  No such clear favorite seems to exist heading into 2013. Jake Rudock spent the entire 2012 season listed behind James Vandenberg on the depth chart -- but he also never saw a single solitary snap in a game in 2012, which seems to put him on equal footing with Iowa's other quarterback options, Cody Sokol, C.J. Beathard, and even incoming freshman Nic Shimonek.
There are a lot of ways to interpret the fact that Rudock never got into a game in 2012; one of the most popular interpretation was that Rudock didn't play because he wasn't the real back-up quarterback in the eyes of the coaches, but that they didn't want to burn a redshirt to give Sokol or Beathard a few meaningless snaps. This interpretation was supported by occasional whispers that Sokol or Beathard was looking better in practice at the time as well.
     Look, C.J. Beathard could win the starting job next September and I wouldn't bat an eye. He led the state of Tennessee in passing yards, completions, and touchdowns as a junior and a senior, so he certainly doesn't seem to be without talent. It's entirely possible that he's able to form to the Greg Davis offense at a level beyond any of our other quarterbacks.
     The race is wide open and filled with 200 opinions.  I don’t know who the best starter is for Iowa but whoever it is, they better show up.  I will not tolerate another losing season.  It is embarrassing.
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