Perhaps there was no better Nate Stanley last season than the one who showed off a special No. 4 jersey covered in black with a hint of charcoal gray and included splashes of the famous Iowa gold with a pattern of an “I” inside the numbers.
That Stanley — adorned in the rare Hawkeye alternate uniform — tossed 5 touchdowns with no interceptions in a 226-yard performance against the country’s No. 6 team. That was the Hawkeyes’ 55-24 shellacking of Ohio State.
But then again, there was the Stanley who threw for 333 yards and another 5 touchdowns on 27-of-41 passing in overtime against a much-improved in-state rival in just his second college start.
No matter which Stanley was better last fall, one thing is certain: Iowa has a special quarterback on its hands.
It wasn’t long ago when the Hawkeyes had a quarterback controversy, with the coaches trying to decide between young Stanley and veteran backup Tyler Wiegers.
Eventually, Stanley out-performed Wiegers in summer and fall camp, earning the starting job. He went on to throw for 2,437 yards and 26 touchdowns — which, despite its being his first full season under center, is tied for second all-time in the Hawkeye history books for touchdown passes in a season, trailing only Chuck Long’s 27.
And now, Stanley can go beyond the mark he set in 2017.
He entered last season with a receiving corps whose experience amounted to only one wideout having caught a pass for the Black and Gold.
Although Matt VandeBerg is gone, sure-handed Nick Easley, with more than a year’s experience wearing the Tigerhawk, returns. So do speedy Ihmir Smith-Marsette and athletic beast Brandon Smith, each now with a year of Big Ten football under his belt.
Combine those receivers with a scary tandem of future NFL tight ends in Noah Fant and T.J. Hockensen, and you have an air attack that can do some real damage.
Even Brian Ferentz has more experience, as he enters his second year as Iowa’s offensive coordinator.
Iowa lost a 1,000-yard rusher in Akrum Wadley, and even though Toren Young and Ivory Kelly-Martin have some experience, Wadley’s departure clears the way for a higher use rate of a potentially dangerous passing game.
While there were times last year when Stanley overthrew a receiver on a deep ball, it seems as if he has taken steps to correct those errors. Which is good, because they seemed to occur all too often in 2017.
Stanley is going to have a chance to make plays this season, and he has demonstrated that he can. He stepped up in big games last season; in his two best performances, against Ohio State and Iowa State, he combined to throw for 559 yards, 10 touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Despite all of his success, this season remains different. This year, there is no worrying about whether Iowa picked the right quarterback to start. This year, Hawkeye fans can be more confident in Stanley’s supporting cast.
And this year, there is a Tigerhawk on a water tower across the street from Kinnick Stadium that proves good things can happen at any time.
