IOWA CITY, Iowa — Cade McNamara announced in December that he would be transferring from Michigan to Iowa, and just one month later, he was on a Zoom call with the other returning leaders of the team.
"This isn't a movie out here," offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz said. "Nobody's writing a script. If you want to gain respect, you have to show up on a daily basis and be a consistent person and a consistent worker. And you have to demonstrate reliability before you can even begin to think about maybe vocalizing some leadership. That's what he did first, from day one."
McNamara is coming in to rejuvenate an offense that ranked towards the bottom of the country in nearly every major statistical category. But before he's seen the field, he's taken a big role.
"He's one of my one of my closest friends since since he since he got here," said junior cornerback Cooper Dejean. "He's fun to be around. You know, he a great leader in the locker room. And on the field, he brings a lot of intensity, a lot of confidence."
On the field, he's already building connections.
"As a wide receiver, you want to know what the quarterback is thinking at all times," said senior receiver Nico Ragaini. "I feel like that's something that we've definitely taken a step forward with as a receiver group and quarterback group is just knowing exactly what we're expecting from each other to get the best results as we possibly can."
The fast adjustment already has McNamara feeling at home.
"I mean, anytime I call my parents I tell them how happy I am here anytime. You know, my teammates asked me how I'm doing I'm doing great."
Iowa kicks off the season on Saturday, Sept. 2 at home against Utah State at 11 a.m.