I was looking up some Iowa football history and while it was a little before I was old enough to be paying attention, I was surprised I'd never known Dan McGwire was a Hawk. For those that remember back then, what were the circumstances like when he transferred? Was he just unwilling to sit behind Hartlieb for another year? Were there segments of the fanbase that wanted McGwire to play over Hartlieb? It looks like he was a big time recruit and obviously an eventual first round nfl talent as well.
Dan McGwire
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BirdistheWord
HB Legend
I was actually at Iowa when he was there, and he was a monster (6'8" ??) with an unbelievable arm.....but IIRC accuracy and decision making were just better for Hartlieb (cannot recall if he was behind anyone else). Probably not too dissimilar to CJ situation previously, very good player but just stuck in the second spot. He was a little bit more legend and hype (due to his brother also) at least at that particular time.
Somewhere, I have a photo I took as he released his first pass in Kinnick. I guess I was a victim of the legend and hype, too, wanting to immortalize that moment; and I remember being a little sad and disappointed when it never happened - both for us and for him. Wonder if I could ever find that shot...maybe among my effects when the great grandkids go through them a few years hence...
Interesting. I was also wondering if he had some connection to Iowa that brought him here or if the Iowa program was just that big at the time that they could pull blue chip quarterbacks out of California.
He was highly recruited and picked Iowa. He played some but was eventually beat out by Hartlieb who was clearly better. I regretted it when he transferred to San Diego State because he had a bright future at Iowa had he stuck around.
McGwire came to Iowa to replace Chuck Long. Hayden had good year recruiting that spring
As I recall, it was Hartlieb, Poholsky and McGwire considered equal at beginning of 1987. Hayden ended up choosing Hartlieb and McGwire transferred
I remeber a game (not sure which one now), the first time he got under center it was almost comical as low as he had to squat to get his hands under center.
Yeah, that class had 4 consensus top 100 players:McGwire,Tony Stewart,Brad Quast, and Melvin Foster.
I remember his spring game when he launched a 75 yard perfect strike
I remember his first spring game when he launched a 75 yard strike that was dropped. Fans were in awe.
I remember him throwing a couple long td's during a blowout of UTEP..Was it Harberts that caught them? I think that was the game an Iowa rb blew his leg out on a long run down the sideline..David Hudson, maybe?
I believe he started in the 1987 game against Michigan State in Kinnick. We lost 19-14 and he was ineffective. A few games earlier in the kick off classic Hartleib optioned to a Tennesee defender right as we were about to score. Resulted in a UT touchdown and changed the game. QB situation was a mess.
Mr hawk predicted at the time that Danny Mac would b the greatest qb in Hawkeye history. That never happened but Danny Mac went on to become the greatest coach in ISU cyclone fball history
He was tall and had an arm. He also had his feet stuck in 5 gallon pails of concrete. Just a statue out there.
I was attending Iowa State University when Dan McGuire was at Iowa. I had a class that was taught by coach Jim Walden one day. The class was amusing because it basically was 1 hour Walden ripping apart Iowa. Reason this Jarred my memory is because Walden said that McGuire wasn't good enough to be an equipment manager for Iowa State. After the career McGuire had at San Diego State I am sure Jim Walden would have had to eat his words. Course that was my only year at ISU and coach Walden's fate is history.
I remember the decision to go with Hartlieb was based on the opinion of the coaches, that McGwires' foot speed was the issue. There was no questioning his arm strength, I remember that 75 yd. throw, but his ability to move around in the pocket if the play broke down, was what they were concerned about.
Yup, David Hudson, who was a beast. FB size with breakaway speed until that injury. Was never the same after.
UTEP was trying to zone us and McGwire kept throwing rockets to the holes in the zone. Awesome.
That was on the tail of Chuck Long's success as Iowa QB. I believe the 1987 season started with at three-headed monster at QB (I think they all played in the Tennessee kick off game). McGwire had the monster arm but Hartlieb put it all together. In the end McGwire might have had one year to be a starter after Hartlieb and chose to transfer to SDSU, where he did well enough to get drafted I think, but didn't do anything in the pros.
I don't remember that reason and I was right in the middle of that decision. Dan had accuracy problems and problems with the mental part. The thing about Dan is he is a confidence guy when his confidence was high he was terrific like at SDSU which was a good fit for him. When he looses that confidence he's really bad. Coach Snyder had a way of getting into your head and he sure got into Dan's for the worse hence the transfer. Chuck Hartlieb didn't throw a pretty ball but it was accurate and Chuck was strong as nails mentally. If Snyder ever yelled at Hartlieb he wouldn't even acknowledge it and go about his business. Snyder loved that in his guys. I've seen Snyder lay into guys like Chuck Long, Helverson, Moritz, Hartlieb and they would turn around blow him off and Snyder would be grinning from ear to ear.
The 86 game at MSU Hartlieb was hurt and couldn't play. All pregame Musberger was raving about the tall Freshman who was going to play. Then Poholsky trots out to the huddle and leads the Hawks to a huge road win. Great game!
During McGwire's recruitment he would only consider schools who would also offer a scholarship to his high school teammate, wide receiver Travis Watkins. Hayden complied. After McGwire bolted for San Diego State, Watkins chose to remain a Hawkeye and forged a nice career. He finished with 108 receptions for 1,765 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Travis Watkins? I guess dementia is starting to set in because I don't remember him at all.
Dan McGuire transferred in a pout because he got beat out by the 1st team All Big Ten QB who left the campus second leading passer in only two seasons and, 28 seasons later, remains #4. Danny McG was really one of the dumbest kids to ever play QB at Iowa. Not Scott Mullen dumb but nonetheless total lack of football smarts.
Found an interesting article about Poholsky, he was recommended to Hayden Fry by Stan Musial.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/..._1_michigan-state-iowa-starter-iowa-sophomore
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/..._1_michigan-state-iowa-starter-iowa-sophomore
