Van Wilder would be proud.
Cade McNamara entered the transfer portal Wednesday after playing out his 2024 campaign with the Iowa Hawkeyes. He’s hoping to return for his seventh year of college football in 2025 — at a location to be determined.
Competing next year would require McNamara, 24, to obtain a waiver for an additional year of eligibility from the NCAA.
“My last two years at the University of Iowa have been an incredible journey,” McNamara wrote in a statement on social media. “Through so many ups and downs, I couldn’t be more thankful for the amazing people and experiences I’ve had here. I am deeply grateful for the relationships I’ve built with my teammates, coaches, and newfound friends.”
In two years with the Hawkeyes, the Nevada native competed in just 13 contests due to injuries.
A season-ending ACL tear cut his 2023 campaign short, and a concussion kept him sidelined for the final four games of 2024.
Iowa was 5-3 this season with McNamara under center, finishing with a record of 8-4.
Across the two partial seasons, he totaled 1,522 passing yards, 12 total touchdowns — 10 through the air, two on the ground — and eight interceptions.
McNamara’s end in Iowa was mired by online accusations about his status with the team.
The quarterback did not travel to a late-season game at Maryland, later explaining in a post on X on Nov. 22 that he had been cleared to practice but not to play.
Prior to his stint with the Hawkeyes, McNamara spent three years at Michigan.
In 2021, he started all 14 games for the Wolverines and led the team to a Big Ten title and the College Football Playoff.
Captaining one of the nation’s best offenses, he threw for 2,576 yards, 15 touchdowns and just four interceptions that season.
But in the Orange Bowl against the eventual national title winners, the Georgia Bulldogs, McNamara tossed two picks and was benched late in the game in favor of backup quarterback J. J. McCarthy.
The two duked it out for the starting job in 2022 — a battle McCarthy eventually won, resulting in McNamara entering the transfer portal after the season’s conclusion.
Because he suffered a knee injury at Michigan in 2022 and appeared in only three games that season, he is eligible to seek medical redshirt status and get the year back.
“l’m looking forward to this offseason, being the healthiest I’ve been in years, and continuing my growth as a player, leader, and person,” McNamara added in his statement Wednesday. “I am excited to see where God takes my football journey next.”
