Spencer Petras’ journey from the Hawkeyes to Aggies, a quick and easy decision that’s set the veteran QB up for success | Sports


It’s been roughly 600 days since Spencer Petras last played in a competitive football game, hard to believe for someone who for five straight seasons between 2018 and 2022 appeared on the field at least once for the University of Iowa.

For the final three years, Petras was the full-time starter and the Hawkeyes went 23-11 in that time span. He threw for more than 5,000 yards with 24 touchdowns. As 2022 drew to its close, there was every indication Petras would be able to use his extra season of eligibility given to him because of the COVID year and be Iowa’s starting QB for a fourth and final time.

One play changed all that.







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Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras drops back to pass against Ohio State during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)




Early in the first quarter of Iowa’s late November 2022 matchup with conference rival Nebraska, Petras was dragged down from behind for a strip sack and landed poorly on his right shoulder. As the Cornhuskers scrambled to recover the loose ball, Petras slowly got up, flexing his arm and rolling his shoulder to try and shake off the initial pain of what would he would later learn was both a torn labrum and torn rotator cuff — a devastating combination of injuries for a quarterback.

The injury immediately ruled out playing in 2023, but with some luck and a good surgeon playing at some point was still an option. Petras ultimately chose to chase that one last season.

One would assume the one more season would be with Iowa, but as early as that December, Petras was pretty open about his future likely being elsewhere. The most likely case of him staying at Iowa would have been if he retired and became a grad assistant. Despite the openness about potentially leaving, Petras stuck around in Iowa City for 2023, rehabbing and working with the Hawkeyes’ next crop of QBs.

As the one year anniversary of Petras’ injury rolled around, the veteran QB had been given assurance his shoulder was good to go for 2024 and he was checking out all his options. Very quickly he identified Utah State, a team he’d gotten to see as a spectator with Iowa having hosted the Aggies in the 2023 season opener.

“(USU) fit what I wanted from the next stop,” Petras said in an interview with Cache Valley Daily reporter Craig Hislop on Tuesday at Mountain West media days. “And that’s an offensive system that I am excited about and that I was interested in. A lot of really good skill position players like we have. And just the opportunity to compete for the starting job and Utah State checked all three of those boxes so I made the decision pretty early.”

And, as it turned out, that Iowa-Utah State game played a part in attracting Petras to the Aggies.

“How the defensive staff at Iowa talked about how hard it was to defend the offense because of the splits (USU has) with, the amount of things (the Aggies) do offensively. It’s hard to defend and that kind of thing is really interesting for me,” Petras said.

Because Petras is a graduate transfer, he was able to enter the portal prior to it’s more broad window opening on Dec. 4. That fact, combined with being out the whole season, allowed him to make the decision on his next landing spot far earlier than most are able to.

“I ended up deciding to come here before the portal even opened,” Petras said. “I was still with Iowa at that time, we were still playing. And I think about four or five days after the Big Ten Championship game, I got to come out to Logan. But that was more just to orient myself than it was to make a decision, because I knew I was going to be an Aggie regardless.”

Nearly eight months after that decision to become an Aggie, it appears to be paying off.







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Utah State quarterback Spencer Petras during the Aggies’ spring scrimmage in April 2024


Although 2023 USU starting QB Cooper Legas took the first snaps with the first team in spring camp, Petras proved his worth, beating out Legas for the job. Head-coach-at-the-time Blake Anderson said at the time that “numbers and the eye test” pointed toward Petras being the right man for the starting job.

Since joining the Aggies, and even since winning the job, the QB room around Petras changed quite a bit. None of the signal-callers on last year’s roster have returned for this year. Not Legas, not McCae Hillstead, nor Levi Williams. 


Recent additions at QB give Utah State back some depth, but not experience, lost to transfer portal

Anderson, not only the head coach and offensive coordinator, but the QB coach as well, is now gone, but the offense is not changing. Kyle Cefalo, who took on co-offensive coordinator duties last year will assume the full-time OC role and the offense will run as previously planned.

“Our system is staying in place,” Petras said. “We have we have a lot of coaches on staff that have worked with coach Anderson for many years and that know the system inside and out.”

That system will be one that allows Petras to throw the ball more than he ever did at Iowa, along with the chance to throw to high-quality receiving talent. USU’s pass-catching crew includes a preseason Third-Team All-American in Jalen Royals alongside potential All-Mountain West talents like wide receiver Micah Davis and tight end Broc Lane. Not to mentioned a quality run game led by productive returning running backs like Rahsul Faison and Robert Briggs.

Almost everything around Petras is setting him up for success. And interim head coach Nate Dreiling has set some pretty high expectations for Petras’ final showing on the collegiate gridiron.

“He’ll have one of the biggest arms in all of college football and even more importantly he has players around him that can go get the ball,” Dreiling said. “He’s going to become quickly a fan favorite for everyone in Maverick Stadium and they’re going to be excited to not only see his arm strength but to see how tough he is and how unbelievable he is.”



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