The Iowa offense looks much different now compared to the beginning of the season.
Two torn ACLs and a broken ankle took out the Hawkeyes’ top three scoring weapons — quarterback Cade McNamara and tight ends Erick All and Luke Lachey.
The Iowa faithful hoped for a better offensive output in 2023 when McNamara and All announced they were transferring to Iowa from Michigan in the offseason.
But without the former Wolverines and an NFL-caliber pass catcher in Lachey, it has been quite the opposite.
The Hawkeyes rank last in the FBS with 232.4 yards per game, 19.1 yards fewer than the next-best team in Eastern Michigan.
“It’s very frustrating, very bad to see those types of things. These guys work hard, but it’s a part of football,” first-string running back Leshon Williams said of his three teammates’ injuries. “Our coaches always preach, ‘next man up.’ Of course, we want them guys out there with us, but they wouldn’t want nothing less for us than to just go out there and move on and try to improve.”
The injury bug
Lachey was the first to go down of the three Hawkeyes.
The tight end was injured while attempting to make a catch near the sideline on third down against Purdue on Sept. 16. After the incompletion, he was helped off the field by trainers and couldn’t put any weight on his right foot. The fourth-year later came back to the sidelines on crutches wearing a boot. Head coach Kirk Ferentz said it was a clean ankle break and nothing medical professionals had not seen before.
On Sept. 30 against Michigan State, the injury bug struck again.
McNamara tried to scramble under pressure on second down deep in Iowa territory. He moved up in the pocket, made a cut off his left leg, and went down on the turf without any contact with another player.
McNamara tore his left ACL, one of the bands of tissue that help connect the thigh bone (femur) to the shinbone (tibia). Matthew Bollier, an orthopedic surgeon in the UI Sports Medicine Clinic who specializes in knee and shoulder injuries, said the ACL helps stabilize and control the front and back motion of the knee.
ACL injuries most commonly occur during sports that involve sudden stops or changes in direction, jumping, and landing. According to the National Institute of Health, 70 percent of ACL injuries occur in non-contact situations.
“Typically, when you have a contact injury when someone hits the leg when it’s planted or the foot is planted, there’s more than just the ACL that’s torn,” Bollier said. “For non-contact injuries when the knee shifts when someone’s planted and cutting or twisting, it’s more common that it is just an ACL tear.”
McNamara had right knee surgery in November 2022, and just when he started feeling 100 percent, he suffered a right quad injury in Iowa’s open spring practice, forcing him to miss two weeks of practice.
He started all five games for the Hawkeyes this season as he continued recovering from the quad injury.
“Pre-existing injuries can play a role, but I would say most of the time that their ACL injuries are unrelated to pre-existing stuff,” Bollier said. “It’s just kind of the nature of especially football. There’s just a lot of injuries like that. So, I’m kind of speaking more generally, you know, without speaking specifically about [Cade’s] situation.”
While McNamara suffered a non-contact ACL injury, All’s was more gruesome.
On Iowa’s second offensive drive against Wisconsin, All caught a 5-yard pass over the middle and was hit hard in the right knee by Badger defensive end Cade McDonald.
He was carted off the field and later came back to the sidelines on crutches to cheer on his teammates to a 15-6 win over the Badgers. It was the first time the Hawkeyes won in Madison since 2015. Punter Tory Taylor revealed on the “Men on Melrose” podcast that when All returned to the sideline, the tight end told him, “They could’ve snapped my leg in half, but they’re not going to get to my heart.”
“It’s obviously tough seeing him go down. But even on the sidelines, he still had a smile on his face. That just kind of speaks to who he is,” Iowa tight end Steven Stilianos said of All. “He’s kind of the glue guy in our room, always making everyone laugh, always having a positive spirit. He’s just like the best dude.”
All is still the team’s leading receiver with 299 yards and three touchdowns on 21 receptions. Lachey is the next top pass-catcher with 131 yards on 10 receptions.
The future
Lachey, McNamara, and All had surgery to repair their respective injuries.
Bollier said it’s typical for someone recovering from an ACL tear to start doing physical therapy in the first couple of weeks post-op. He added those in recovery don’t jog for three to four months and can’t “hardcore” sprint until four to five months after surgery.
“It’s usually six to nine months until someone comes back and can play full go,” Bollier said.
The rehabilitation process for a broken ankle, on the other hand, takes at least six to eight weeks, according to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.
Shortly after Lachey was injured, Ferentz said the tight end was “most likely” out for the season, but the head coach said on Oct. 27 that there is a “window open” for Lachey to return for the bowl game.
Lachey could enroll early in the NFL draft following this season. In July, Pro Football Focus rated him among the top five tight ends for the 2024 NFL draft class.
“There is not a better guy in our program than Luke Lachey,” Ferentz said. “He’s going to be fine, but just a tough, tough development.”
McNamara confirmed via X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram on Oct. 25 that he will return to Iowa next season. Ferentz said on Oct. 3 that the hope is the QB will be fully healthy by next year’s fall camp.
Bollier said the rehab journey can be “grueling” and “frustrating,” but a lot of the time, suffering an injury gives athletes extra motivation to get back on the field and succeed.
“I had a vision when I decided to come to Iowa, and that vision remains the same,” McNamara wrote in his social media post. “There is still a lot I want to accomplish in the Black and Gold and look forward to bringing it to life in the 2024 season. Go Hawks!”
Ferentz said All is on about the same timeline as McNamara, but the tight end has not announced whether he will return to Iowa next season or enroll in the NFL Draft. All was listed as one of ESPN’s NFL Draft sleepers in early October.
“Over 90 percent get back to full go, full function,” Bollier said. “So, it’s a pretty reliable surgery and recovery, and most get back and do very well.”