Colin Cowherd praises Nate Stanley, calls him top-10 QB in nation

Quarterback Nate Stanley earned high praise from one of Iowa’s biggest critics.

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David Harmantas/The Daily Iowan

Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley drops back to pass during the Iowa/Illinois football game on Saturday, 7 Oct. 2017. Iowa won the game 45-16. (David Harmantas/The Daily Iowan)

Adam Hensley, Pregame Editor

Colin Cowherd, Fox Sports’ host of “The Herd” radio show, hasn’t been Iowa’s biggest fan in the past, referring to the football program as “the fake ID of college football,” among other pleasantries.

On Aug. 8, however, Cowherd brought up Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley’s name during a set with Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt. He was going through the schedules of the top Big Ten teams, and while on Wisconsin, he noted the Badgers’ contest with the Hawkeyes in Kinnick on Sept. 22.

“Wisconsin goes to Iowa, which has the best quarterback, maybe, in the country,” Cowherd said at the 11:25 mark of the video. “Watch that kid be a top-10 quarterback, Stanley.”

Last season, Stanley threw for 2,432 yards, compiling 26 touchdowns with only 6 interceptions. Stanley’s TD passes were tied for the second-most in school history (Brad Banks had 26 in 2002) for a single season, behind only Chuck Long’s 1985 mark of 27.

Iowa will open the season against Northern Illinois in Kinnick at 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 1.