The quarterback position has been a bit of a merry-go-round for the Iowa Hawkeyes for the better part of the 2020s. The position has seen struggles, mid-season depth chart shuffling, injuries, transfers, and question marks of who is going to get the nod.
For the first time since Nate Stanley was commanding the offense, the Hawkeyes' QB room finally feels like there may be some depth and stability with Brendan Sullivan returning and a revamped group that includes transfers Mark Gronowski and Hank Brown.
Gronowski is not practicing this spring due to a surgery that he is recovering from. That leaves a lot of reps for Sullivan and Brown. Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz discussed what those reps could mean and look like during spring practices.
"I think the way I'd phrase it, we feel like we know the most, ironically, about Mark, even though he's not practicing. That doesn't make sense. But it's a contradiction in terms, I guess. But he's played the most and he has that production. That's a starting point.
"Then the guys in the room we're excited about, but none of them have played 20 games or 30 games.
"This is a good opportunity for them. Obviously Brendan is a heck of a lot more comfortable now with what we're doing than he was a year ago. He got here in June. To me it's amazing what he did pick up in a short amount of time.
"The same thing with Hank. You have Jimmy there and then Jackson is back, too. We're just going to let thoseguys practice and play and all that kind of stuff, and then whenever Mark is able to join us back, and really we're notgoing to be evaluating or competing until August, then we'll go through that and just see what happens.
"But overall the whole room is - pardon the pun - it's a lot healthier, and I think we have a better situation than we've had.
"Ironically, Spencer has been back in the building. He had another procedure done, but anyway, he's been aroundhere for a while. Whenever he got tackled and that shoulder blew up a couple Novembers ago, it's been a rough go since then. That's just the way it goes sometimes. You do the best with what's in front of you, but I'm optimistic we've got a little potential now as we move forward right now and looking forward to seeing where it all goes," Ferentz said about the quarterbacks this spring.
Last year saw Iowa depleted at the quarterback position and forced to thrust walk-on Jackson Stratton into the starting lineup, where he admirably stepped up and commanded the offense.
A full quarterback room is a welcome site for Iowa and especially offensive coordinator Tim Lester.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Kirk Ferentz talks about Iowa football QB depth, spring ball plan
