University of Iowa Athletics
Cade McNamara - Football - University of Iowa Athletics

#12 Cade McNamara

Position QB
Height 6-1
Weight 210 lbs.
Class Gr.
Hometown Reno, Nev.
High School Damonte Ranch
Previous School Michigan

Career – – Has tallied 5,191 career passing yards.

2024 Honors – – Named to Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and Comeback Player of the Year Award preseason Watch List… one of nine graduate students named to 2024 Player Council… 2024 – – Started at quarterback in eight games, marking his 29th career start… has completed 104-of-172 passes with five interceptions for 1,017 yards and six touchdowns on the season… completed 21-of-31 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed once for 12 yards as Iowa recorded 492 yards of total offense in season-opening 40-0 shutout of Illinois State… the 251 passes yards are the most by a Hawkeye quarterback since 2021… it was his fifth career game with 250+ passing yards and his third career game with three or more passing touchdowns… completed 19-of-23 passes for 176 yards (long of 33 yards) in 38-21 win over Troy… completed 14-of-20 passes with one interception for 98 yards (long of 22 yards) in 7-35 loss at #3/3 Ohio State… completed 8-of-14 passes for 108 yards (long of 33 yards) and two touchdowns in 40-16 win over Washington… completed 11-of-23 passes with one interception for 150 yards and one touchdown (long of 28 yards), and rushed once for six yards in 20-32 loss at Michigan State… completed 13-of-29 passes with two interceptions for 99 yards in 19-20 loss to Iowa State… completed 11-of-19 passes for 62 yards (long of 20 yards) in 31-14 win at Minnesota… completed seven-of-13 passes for 73 yards (long of 42 yards) and one interception in 40-14 win over Northwestern.

2023 Honors – – Named to Maxwell and Johnny Unitas Awards preseason Watch Lists… 2023 – – Completed 46-of-90 passes for 505 yards, four touchdowns, and three interceptions, with a long reception of 36 yards before sustaining season-ending injury in fifth game of the season… started at quarterback in first five games… completed 17-of-30 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns in his first appearance as a Hawkeye in season-opening 24-14 win over Utah State…. his 36-yard touchdown pass on his first career attempt as a Hawkeye made him the first Iowa quarterback since Chuck Long in 1983 to have a touchdown pass on his first completion of the season (24 yards to Norm Granger against Iowa State)… completed 12-of-22 passes for 123 yards, with one interception and a long reception of 35 yards in 20-13 win at Iowa State… completed nine-of-19 passes for 103 yards and a season-high two touchdowns, with two interceptions and a long of 34 yards in 41-10 win over Western Michigan… completed five-of-14 passes for 42 yards and a long of 20 in 31-0 loss at Penn State… completed three-of-five passes for 46 yards and long of 23 yards before leaving game in the first quarter due to a lower leg injury in 26-16 win vs. Michigan State… letterwinner.

At Michigan – – Two-year letterman, appearing in 21 games with 16 starts… compiled 13-3 record as a starter and helped lead team to 2021 Big Ten Championship.

2022 Honors – – Academic All-Big Ten… 2022 – – Completed 9-of-18 passes for 136 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown pass vs. Colorado State… completed 4-of-6 attempts for 26 yards vs. Hawaii, with one interception… completed one 18-yard pass vs. Connecticut.

2021 Honors – – Third-team All-Big Ten by league coaches and media… Academic All-Big Ten… Shared Offensive Player of the Week honors for his performance against Northern Illinois… shared Hard Hat Player of the Week against Indiana… 2021 – – Started all 14 games… completed 210-of-327 pass attempts for 2,576 yards and 15 touchdowns, with six interceptions… also rushed for one touchdown… completed 9-of-11 attempts for 136 yards and two touchdowns vs. Western Michigan… completed 7-of-15 pass attempts for 44 yards vs. Washington… completed 8-of-11 passes for 191 yards and one touchdown against Northern Illinois, while also rushing for one touchdown… completed the third-longest touchdown in program history with an 87-yard connection against NIU… totaled 163 yards passing on 9-of-16 performance against Rutgers… completed 17-of-28 attempts for 197 yards and two touchdowns at Wisconsin… completed 22-of-38 attempts for 255 yards at Nebraska… completed 20-of-27 pass attempts for 129 yards vs. Northwestern… passed for 383 yards and two touchdowns at Michigan State, completing 28-of-44 attempts… completed 10-of-18 attempts for 168 yards vs. Indiana… connected on 21-of-28 attempts for 259 yards and two touchdowns at Maryland… completed 13-of-19 attempts for 159 yards in win over Ohio State… completed 16-of-24 attempts for 169 yards and one touchdown against Iowa in Big Ten Championship game… completed 11-of-19 passes for 106 yards against Georgia in the Capital One Orange Bowl/CFP Semifinal, with two interceptions.

 

2020 Honors – – Academic All-Big Ten… 2020 – – Appeared in four games with one start… completed 43-of-71 pass attempts for 425 yards and five touchdowns, with no interceptions… one rushing touchdown… first career touchdown pass vs. Wisconsin, where he completed 4-of-7 attempts for 74 yards… saw relief action at Rutgers, completing 27-of-36 pass attempts for 260 yards and four touchdowns in a little over one half of action… added one rushing score for five total touchdowns… passing line at Rutgers featured the highest single-game completion percentage among quarterbacks with 36-plus pass attempts in one game in Michigan history… first career start against Penn State, completing 12-of-25 attempts for 91 yards.

2019 – – Did not see game action.

High school honors – – Selected first-team all-state as a junior and senior… two-time Gatorade Player of the Year in Nevada (2017 and 2018); first player in state history to win the award in back-to-back seasons… named Nevada Offensive Player of the Year in 2018… named 2017 USA Today All-Nevada Player of the Year… three-time conference Player of the Year (2016-18)… Sierra League Player of the Year as a senior… two-time region Offensive Player of the Year (2017-18) and Northern 4A All-Region selection (2017-18)… selected first team all-conference and first team all-region on three occasions… named the State Farm Player of the Week on five occasions… 2018 Elite 11 finalist… attended the finals of the Nike The Opening 2018 in Frisco, Texas… selected to participate in the U.S. Army All-American Game… No. 1 prospect in the state of Nevada by 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals… 247.com four-star prospect ranked No. 275 overall and No. 1 recruit in Nevada… ESPN four-star prospect, rated the No. 13 pro-style quarterback, No. 257 overall prospect in the country and top player in Nevada… earned academic excellence award seven times… Career – – Four-year starter at quarterback… holds all of Damonte Ranch High School’s quarterback records… led team to a 12-1 record as a senior, with the lone loss coming in overtime in the Northern 4A Regional title game… led prep team to Nevada Division One Northern Region Semifinals and an 11-1 record as a junior… prep team claimed Northern 4A Regional title as a sophomore… set the Nevada state record for career passing yards (12,804) and career touchdowns (146) as a prep… threw for 2,995 yards and 39 touchdowns as a senior, with six interceptions… completed 225-of-384 (58.6%) passes for 3,470 yards and 44 TDs as a junior… passed for 3,577 yards as a sophomore, completing 218-of-374 (58.3%) passes and tossing 46 touchdowns… as a freshman completed 150-of-285 passes for 2,042 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Personal – – Born 5/28/2000… entrepreneurial management major… earned bachelor’s degree in American Culture… parents are Nicole and Gary McNamara… father, Gary, was an outfielder at Fresno State and was an assistant baseball coach at Nevada… high school coach was Shawn Dupris.