Former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara intends to transfer to Iowa. McNamara made the announcement Thursday on Twitter after entering the transfer portal at the beginning of the week.
McNamara was considered one of the top players available thanks in his role in leading Michigan to a Big Ten championship and College Football Playoff appearance as the team's starter in 2021. He and current Michigan starter J.J. McCarthy battled through fall camp and into the start of the season before McCarthy, a former five-star recruit, won the job in September. McNamara played in just three games for Michigan in 2022, suffering a knee injury in Week 4 against UConn that required surgery and knocked him out for the remainder of the season. His final career numbers for the Wolverines include 3,181 passing yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 21 career games.
Iowa has struggled to field a dynamic pass attack in the last two seasons, but McNamara's arrival should raise the ceiling for the whole offense. He was a four-star recruit coming out of high school in Reno, Nevada, and ranked as the No. 8 pro-style passer in his recruiting class according to 247Sports.
In 2021 his 15 passing touchdowns in 2021 were good for sixth among Big Ten quarterbacks. McNamara also ranked fourth in the Big Ten in completion percentage (64.2%) and sixth in passer rating that season.
Michigan will play Purdue for the Big Ten championship on Saturday night.