Iowa Football: 3 upperclassmen who must step up in 2022

1. Spencer Petras, QB

There is no doubt that the Iowa offense struggled last year for a plethora of reasons. A big reason Iowa did not hold on to the No. 2 spot in the country, which they were ranked in Week 7, was in large part due to the lack of offensive production. Spencer Petras, the redshirt senior quarterback for the Hawkeyes, will have one last year to make a statement and attempt to take this team back to a Big Ten Championship.

Petras must step up this year and trust his arm to get the job done.

In 2021, Petras threw for 1,880 yards, 10 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. While Petras did improve on his completion percentage from 57.1 percent in 2020 to 57.3 percent, he will have to trust his arm more for the Hawkeyes to take another jump.

There have been many times over the course of Petras’ career at Iowa where he has missed an open man downfield and opted for a check-down to the running back out of the backfield. While playing it safe is the move to do at times, this has lowered his confidence, and it showed on the field over the course of the 2021 season.

With one season left, Petras will have to mentally leave it all out on the field and play with confidence for this Iowa offense to complement one of the best defenses in all of college football.