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Iowa Football: 5 takeaways from 2018 season

By Quinn Douglas

TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 01: Nate Stanley #4 of the Iowa Hawkeyes calls a play during the 2019 Outback Bowl against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Raymond James Stadium on January 1, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 01: Nate Stanley #4 of the Iowa Hawkeyes calls a play during the 2019 Outback Bowl against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Raymond James Stadium on January 1, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

5. Nate Stanley isn’t appreciated enough

When it wrong for Iowa this season, most of those willing to point the finger pointed it at junior quarterback Nate Stanley. For one game, Stanley would probably agree he deserved some of the blame as his performance against Penn State was not good, whatsoever. But Stanley rebounded and had solid games against Purdue and Northwestern, yet fans still held those performances over his head.

When you look at where Stanley stands in the Iowa record books and what has happened to the team that’s been out of his control, it’s clear to me that he isn’t appreciated enough. Stanley is the big arm quarterback Iowa fans always dream of having. His accuracy was an issue at times, but still jumped up nearly 4 percentage points from his sophomore campaign. Also, if he continues his trend of touchdown passes, he will surpass Chuck Long as Iowa’s all-time touchdown passing leader.

While T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant aren’t returning next season, the Hawkeyes still have experience back in the passing game. Receivers Brandon Smith and Ihmir Smith-Marsette finished the season strong and could prove to be Iowa’s best receivers duo since Derrell Johnson-Koulianos and Marvin McNutt. The Hawkeyes also have talent at tight end as well, while not as good as Fant and Hockenson, Shaun Beyer, Nate Wieting and Drew Cook could all prove to be valuable weapons in 2019.

Next. NFL Mock Draft: Projected first round after bowl season. dark

Stanley will be ripe and ready to make his last ride his best, and hopefully then, will Iowa fans appreciate him like us others do.

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