Cade McNamara arrived at Iowa as an experienced quarterback with a championship pedigree from one of the Big Ten’s preeminent programs — and the high expectations to match. With him at the helm, it was thought the Hawkeyes’ infamously languishing offense might improve, and with it, the team’s fortunes.
In its fifth game of the season, Iowa needed to move on to its backup.
McNamara exited the Hawkeyes’ 26-16 victory on Saturday against Michigan State in the first quarter after suffering a non-contact injury. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz on Tuesday confirmed that he will miss the remainder of the 2023 college football season with a torn ACL.
With a void at the game’s most important position, an already-vulnerable Iowa offense will turn to a new face to lead it. Sophom*ore Deacon Hill stepped in for McNamara after the starter left last Saturday’s win and is set to fill the role as the team’s starting quarterback moving forward.
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Before the Hawkeyes take the field Saturday at Kinnick Stadium against Purdue, here’s what you need to know about Hill:
Deacon Hill 247Sports recruiting rank
The Santa Barbara, California, native was rated as a three-star recruit by 247Sports’ Composite rankings, though 247 itself had Hill as a four-star prospect.
Hill’s Composite ranking had him as the No. 493 recruit in the 2021 recruiting class, including the No. 39 quarterback and the No. 40 player in talent-rich California. He was four spots ahead of future Iowa teammate Joe Labas in the national quarterback rankings in his class.
He committed to Wisconsin, choosing the Badgers over Kansas State, UCLA and Nevada, among others. He transferred from the Badgers' program to Iowa ahead of the 2023 college football season
Deacon Hill in high school
Hill was a star at Santa Barbara High School, where he completed 59.3 percent of his passes for 3,183 yards over the course of his career. Much of that production came as a junior in 2019, when he threw for 3,102 yards and 33 touchdowns while rushing for an additional 461 yards and 13 touchdowns. He played an abbreviated schedule during the spring of his senior season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a junior, he was named all-county offensive MVP by the Santa Barbara News-Press. In 2021, following his senior year, he was invited to compete in the 2021 Polynesian Bowl (Hill is of Polynesian descent).
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Deacon Hill career at Wisconsin
Hill redshirted in 2021 for the Badgers and played in just one game in 2022, attempting no passes and taking a sack.
That lack of production in 2022 is due in part to his relatively short stay with Wisconsin that season. On Oct. 9, 2022, one week after Badgers coach Paul Chryst was fired, Hill announced he was entering the transfer portal, noting that he came to the decision “after a lot of self-reflection, prayer, and difficult conversations with my family.”
“This is not a decision I have taken lightly, and while I know I will miss my family here in Madison immensely, I believe this is an important step in continuing to grow and move forward in my football career,” Hill wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Hill was rated by 247 as the No. 47 available quarterback in the transfer portal last offseason. Hill committed to Fordham on Christmas Day but reversed course fewer than two weeks later and announced he would be attending Iowa.
Deacon Hill stats
It didn’t take Hill long to see the field at Iowa, as he came into the Hawkeyes’ 24-14 season-opening victory against Utah State in the third quarter to complete 1 of 3 passes for five yards.
The bulk of his work this season came following McNamara’s injury in Week 5. He completed 11 of his 27 passes for 115 yards (an average of 4.3 yards per attempt) with one touchdown and an interception. The touchdown was a 13-yard pass to tight end Erick All late in the second quarter that gave Iowa a 10-6 lead. His receivers dropped five passes in the game.
Iowa roster, QB depth chart
With McNamara out, the Hawkeyes’ depth chart for Saturday’s game against Purdue lists just two quarterbacks:
- 1. Deacon Hill
- 2. Joe Labas
Iowa has two other quarterbacks, freshmen Marco Lainez and Tommy Poholsky, on its roster.
