Starter for Iowa in Bowl Game Will Have No Prior Experience
If I do say so myself, there's plenty of upside in playing either Joey Labas or Carson May in Iowa's upcoming bowl game.
Well, kind of.
As was announced by Kirk Ferentz in his media availability on Sunday, December 4, the injury Spencer Petras suffered against Nebraska a little over a week ago will keep him out of the Hawkeyes' appearance in the Music City Bowl at 11 AM CT on New Years' Eve.
And thus, after Alex Padilla announced last week that he'd be entering the transfer portal, it's between third and fourth-string quarterbacks Labas and May who will start against Kentucky. Neither of which have seen any in-game action for the Hawkeyes so far in their young careers.
Earlier in the season, when the options were Petras or Padilla, I (like many) others, said the unknown of Labas or May was better than the known of the other two. All any Joe Schmo had to do to come to that conclusion was look at the statistics Petras and Padilla put up this season. Somehow, it's made worse by watching the film.
Here's the thing, though -- as David Eickholt and I discussed on Cornstalks and Sports Talk this weekend -- if Labas or May go off and pass for 300+ yards and three or more touchdowns and lead Iowa to a win in their upcoming bowl, that may be a nightmare scenario.
Ultimately, that means the Hawks will have yet another quarterback controversy. With former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara will soon be joining the Iowa program as a transfer, and he's fully expected to be the guy going into the 2023 season. He's also been on the recruiting trail via the transfer portal to add new players to the Iowa roster after several Hawkeyes have entered themselves.
If he's leading the transfer portal commitment and somehow isn't named the starter in 2023, Kirk Ferentz and company will receive plenty of heat -- on top of what they've already gotten.
You can see the clip of our conversation below:
Labas, a red-shirt freshman from Brecksville, Ohio was considered a four-star recruit by 247Sports and received offers from Central Michigan, Toledo, Ball State, Bowling Green and others out of high school. As a senior, he completed 67 percent of his pass attempts for 2,349 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Here are some highlights from Labas' high school career:
May, a three-star, was offered a scholarship from Old Dominion and Western Michigan while receiving interest from programs like Kansas State, TCU, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Iowa State, Colorado and others. He completed 198-308 passes for 3,082 yards and 37 touchdowns as a senior for Jones High School in Oklahoma.
Here are highlights of the true freshman's high school career: