Will this be the final thing I will write for The Daily Iowan regarding the Iowa football team’s whirlwind of a quarterback situation? One can hope.

Ever since three-year starter Nate Stanley graduated after the 2019 season, the Hawkeyes have had their fair share of inconsistent quarterback play. Spencer Petras has started 19 games over the past two seasons — including in the Big Ten Championship Game and Citrus Bowl last season — although his play at times has pushed the Iowa fanbase to the brink. For better or worse, I think Petras will be Iowa’s starting quarterback for the 2022 season.

Now, this is nothing against Petras personally. He is among the most insightful and comedic athletes I’ve talked to. But his performance on the field in his two years as a starter has been mediocre at best. He has a 57.2 career completion percentage and a 19-14 TD-INT ratio.

Heading into spring practice, Petras was the top quarterback on Iowa’s depth chart. That doesn’t necessarily mean much. Alex Padilla, who started three games last season, will have a chance to earn the starting job. Redshirt freshman Joey Labas will, too. But Padilla was quickly sent back to the bench when Petras recovered from an injury last season. And Labas is inexperienced, although has been reported to look good in practice.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz doubled down on his offense earlier this offseason by making offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz quarterbacks coach. I think Iowa will do the same by sticking with Petras as starting quarterback next season.

Romance novelist Jayne Ann Krentz once said, “Embrace the unknown. It is the only certainty.” Today, I’m going to take a page out of her book.

I’ve watched every in-game snap both Spencer Petras and Alex Padilla have taken as Iowa football quarterbacks. Padilla has completed 56 of his 114 pass attempts, netting 648 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Petras has connected on 57.2 percent of his throws for 3,474 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.

The only quarterback on Iowa’s three-deep depth chart that I haven’t seen in action is Joe Labas. The 6-foot-4, 194-pound redshirt freshman from Broadview Heights, Ohio, was given three-star status by 24/7 Sports before he arrived at the University of Iowa.

Labas only appeared on Iowa’s three-deep depth chart after Deuce Hogan entered the transfer portal on Nov. 30.

With over a year of practice with the Hawkeyes under his belt, Labas could surprise Iowa fans and win what head coach Kirk Ferentz has called a “wide open quarterback competition.”

Obviously, I have no statistical basis to think Labas would edge Petras and Padilla for Iowa’s starting QB job. The only real evidence I’ve got is what was seen from Labas at Iowa’s open Citrus Bowl practice. The Athletic’s Scott Dochterman wrote that Labas “turned heads” in Orlando.

Because I’ve seen what Padilla and Petras are both capable and incapable of, I’m picking the wild card in Labas to win this spring’s quarterback battle.

I say all this, however, with caution. As both Kirk Ferentz and Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz have said, the backup quarterback is always the most popular person on campus until they actually play in a game and make mistakes.