‘I don’t anticipate any changes at this point’: Iowa resolute that Spencer Petras is its starting QB
Iowa heads into the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series against Iowa State with some legitimate question marks surrounding its starting quarterback.
After Spencer Petras completed just 11-of-25 passes for 109 yards with no touchdowns and one interception against FCS foe South Dakota State, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz was asked if he anticipates that Petras will be the starter versus the Cyclones or if there will be a serious evaluation this week regarding the position.
“I don’t anticipate any changes at this point, no. Our job collectively right now is to get better. He’s got some ownership. We all have ownership, every coach, every player, and that’s our job to get better week to week,” Ferentz said of Petras.
In that same vein, Ferentz’s confidence hasn’t been shaken by one poor performance to start the season.
“I’ve still got a lot of confidence in him, and I think the noise on the outside is probably a lot louder than it is inside. I’ve got total confidence. I mean, he practices well, he’s a great young guy, and we’ll be better. We’ll be better next week,” Ferentz said.
Iowa’s longtime coach was also asked why he kept faith in Petras heading into the second half.
“It would probably be the same category as a lot of stuff I saw last year. I just think it’s more multiple than one player. Spencer’s practiced well. I thought he was doing a good job out there, but we just didn’t support him enough. We weren’t clean enough, and that’s something we’re going to have to be better at next week,” Ferentz said.
Ferentz was also asked if he felt his other quarterbacks might have been prone to more mistakes than Petras’ lone interception.
“Those guys are playing hard, and they threw some stuff at us, so you never know. We’ll never know until somebody else gets in there. Again, I evaluate what you see, and there’s a lot of things that were going on today that we’re going to have to get better at and get better at fast,” Ferentz said.
If there’s a change at any point for Iowa, it certainly doesn’t sound or seem like it’s coming any time soon. Ferentz and the Hawkeye coaching staff are publicly showing support for Petras as rivalry week versus the Cyclones begins.
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