Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz received some good news today when quarterback Nate Stanley decided not to leave for the NFL next year. Stanley has decided not to pursue any additional feedback about his NFL draft prospects and will instead focus on returning for one more season with the Hawkeyes next fall.
“Talking with [quarterback coach Ken O’Keefe] and coach Ferentz, they know a lot about that process,” Stanley said on Monday, according to The Daily Iowan. “I just decided to take the feedback they had, because I don’t think it would have been much different from what they said to what the review board would have said. I just decided to take their advice and let it be, move on, and get back to work.”
Stanley passed for 2,638 yards and 23 touchdowns with nine interceptions this season, with one game left to play in the bowl season. He has already exceeded his passing yardage total from 2017 but is three touchdowns shy of his 26 touchdown passes from last season. Stanley said he received some pointers on what to work on in the offseason, such as mobility and accuracy. Stanley was hardly a threat to run the ball with 22 rushing yards this season, and he completed 58.6 percent of his pass attempts this fall.
The return of Stanley gives Ferentz a reliable option coming back to play quarterback, which is typically beneficial to have in college football. That will allow Ferentz and the coaching staff to focus on bulking up other positions for the 2019 campaign, in which Iowa should once again be a team in the mix for the Big Ten West Division as they usually are.