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Iowa football head coach Kirk Ferentz is facing a one game suspension because of recruiting violations that happened with quarterback Cade McNamara. McNamara transferred to the Hawkeyes from Michigan after the 2022 season. Ferentz met with the media on Thursday and noted that it is a potential Level II violation, and the suspension is self-imposed.
“Kirk Ferentz says it was a ‘potential Level II violation' and he and Beth Goetz agreed on the self-imposed one-game suspension for himself and Jon Budmayr,” Chad Leistikow said in a post.
Kirk Ferentz noted that he always tells his Iowa football players to abide by the rules, but he didn't do that in this instance.
“As I tell our players, we abide by the rules,” Ferentz said. “In this specific case, I did not do that. It won't happen again.”
Iowa athletic director Beth Goetz also spoke on the self-imposed suspension, and she acknowledged that everyone makes mistakes, but it's important to own up to them. That is exactly what the Hawkeyes are doing here. They are admitting fault, and they are accepting the punishment.
“We all make mistakes,” Goetz said. “Good leaders take ownership.”
Ferentz also thought that it was important for him to meet with the media today and answer the questions that everyone has about what is going on. He has seemed to handle the situation pretty well so far.
“I think it's important that I be here today, to visit with you,” Ferentz said.
Cade McNamara is back for a second Iowa football season
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The one game suspension to Kirk Ferentz, and also to wide receivers coach Jon Budmayr, is because of how the recruitment of Cade McNamara went.
Tampering has been a big topic of discussion in college football recently, and it is a big problem that often doesn't get addressed. Tampering is when a team tries to lure a player from another school to their program before they enter the transfer portal. It is illegal, but it happens often.
Based on how Cade McNamara's recruitment went, it seems like tampering definitely could've been at play. McNamara was the starting QB for Michigan in 2021 and he led the Wolverines to a Big Ten title and College Football Playoff berth. However, in 2022, McNamara had his job stolen by JJ McCarthy. McNamara also went down with an injury that year, and he became very disconnected from the Wolverines.
It seemed like McNamara made up his mind to transfer well before the portal opened up, and that happens. However, there was mutual interest between him and Iowa one day after he entered, and he committed to the Hawkeyes three days after he entered. The Wolverines played in the Big Ten title game two days after McNamara's commitment.
It's unclear what went down during that period between Iowa and McNamara, but Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes did admit to breaking the rules. They are serving the suspension and then they are hoping to be done with it.
McNamara ended up getting injured just five games into the season last year and he ended up having to miss the remainder of the year. However, he is back this season for year two.
