Iowa Hawkeyes Snapshot Profile: No. 8 Alex Padilla
If the Iowa Hawkeyes want to maintain their seat atop the Big Ten West division, they need their offense to take a step forward in 2022.
Iowa cannot expect to stave off West division contenders with an offense that averaged only a hair over 23 points per game in 2021 and was held under 10 points in three different conference matchups. The division has some heavy competitors to fight off in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Purdue and a Nebraska team that’s much more formidable than their three-win 2021 season suggests. If they want to score more, it starts at quarterback.
The quarterback battle will come down to returning senior starter Spencer Petras and last year’s junior backup Alex Padilla. Due to a shoulder injury that sidelined Petras for a few weeks, Padilla was given the keys to the Iowa offense.
While the statistics were not great for the first three games, the former three-star Padilla still did enough for the Hawkeyes to recover from their first two losses and Iowa went 3-0 in games he started. While not necessarily the sole cause of victory, he wasn’t costing them games. His performance was pretty similar to Petras’ to start the season: good enough to not mess everything up while the rest of the team did their thing. Everything went off the rails for Padilla against Nebraska, completing only 35% of his passes and throwing a pick before getting the hook for a returning Petras.
Typically, an event like that with the starter coming back the next season would close the door on one’s tenure with the team and open a new adventure in the transfer portal. However, Padilla is still here and ready to fight for the starting spot.
After taking back over for Padilla, Petras’ play did not inspire much confidence after throwing just a single touchdown pass in his final two starts. The offense only scored 20 combined points to close out the season and the lowlight was a 42-3 beating by Michigan in the Big Ten Championship.
The Hawkeyes’ offense took a big step back last year and will lose some key starters on offense this year, including potential first-round 2022 NFL draft pick in center Tyler Linderbaum. With an experienced defense that was already one of the best in the country last year, the Hawkeyes just need average quarterback play to have a successful season. Petras will most likely get that opportunity first, but if he doesn’t take a step forward, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz might look to Padilla to inject some life into the offense.
Preseason Player Profile
Hometown: Englewood, Colo.
Ht: 6-1
Wt: 197
Class in 2022: Junior
247Sports composite ranking
2019 three-star / No. 35 pro-style quarterback / No. 8 in Colorado
Depth Chart Overview
Currently, Padilla is listed as the backup behind Spencer Petras, the same as last year. Given the play of the returning starter last year, Padilla has a shot to take the starting gig… but right now it appears Petras has the advantage. The quarterback battle is one to keep an eye on.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Jacob on Twitter: @Jacobkeppen
Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.
