When Nate Stanley first took the field as a college football player, he was an unknown.

Backing up C.J. Beathard — who had led Iowa to an undefeated regular season the year before — nobody wanted to see him play because that would mean Beathard was hurt.

In the third game of the 2016 season, those fears were realized.

An 18-year-old freshman with only three college pass attempts under his belt, Stanley first put his unknown potential on full display against North Dakota State on Sept. 17, 2016.

When Beathard went down with an injury, Stanley went 2-for-2 for 45 yards on a drive that set up Iowa’s final touchdown.

His 37-yard pass to tight end George Kittle proved to be a sign of things to come.

Now entering his final season, Stanley has a chance to statistically become one of the best signal-callers in Hawkeye history. He’s within striking distance of Chuck Long’s career passing touchdown record.

“He was ready to go, and we weren’t afraid to let him go [against North Dakota State],” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “… He’s been out on the field in tough circumstances, so I think all those things will benefit him, and I’m sure he’ll put those to good use this fall.”

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After the Hawkeyes finished with a 12-0 regular season in 2015 and a Rose Bowl berth, and then Beathard helped the squad to another bowl game in 2016, the future looked blurry.

The question wasn’t whether Ferentz had found his quarterback — Stanley was the go-to guy from the beginning — but rather how the young gunslinger would perform in his first full year as a starter.

But Stanley learned from the player he had sat behind for a year.

“I think [Beathard] understood how hard it is for somebody to come in and be in that position,” Stanley said. “You’re not in your hometown, you’re battling for a position — because he went through it, too. He did a great job of just mentoring me and helping me get through that.”

After a year of backing up Beathard, the question marks surrounding Stanley quickly disappeared.

As a sophomore starter in 2017, Stanley threw for 2,432 yards and 26 touchdowns, only 1 away from tying Long’s single-season passing touchdown record.

He also threw only 6 interceptions, a positive sign for Iowa regarding Stanley’s decision-making.

The Menomonie, Wisconsin, native put up more impressive numbers in 2018, hurling another 26 scores and 2,852 yards.

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Not everything has been perfect, though. Iowa lost a number of close games last season, but Stanley said the losses to such teams as Penn State and Purdue helped teach the team how to respond.

“[My journey] definitely hasn’t been straight line,” Stanley said. “There have been ups and downs. That’s just how it is for everybody. You’re always going to fail, but I think what determines how successful you can be is how you learn from those failures and what you take from them.”

He has also taken strides in his leadership.

Stanley entered the program as a shy freshman, but since that year, he has been selected to travel to Big Ten media days twice, became a permanent offensive team captain twice, and served as a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy this offseason, where he helped develop the games of quarterbacks ranging from seventh grade to high-school seniors.

Now a more vocal leader, Stanley commands the offense. He has grown more comfortable on and off the field, which can be seen in his numbers and in his teammates’ respect.

“He was real quiet when he came in, and now it’s night and day the difference in how comfortable he is,” running back Toren Young said. “He’s emerged as the leader of this team.”