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Iowa's Nic Shimonek is all set to transfer to Texas Tech and walk-on after signing with the Hawkeyes as part of the 2013 class and redshirted last year. Shimonek said that the pro-style offense wasn't suited to his strengths:
It's because of the offense,'' Shimonek said Monday afternoon. "When I was at Mildred we ran a spread offense and I played that for four years. It's what I'm used to playing.
"I don't back down from challenges,'' he said. "Logically, you have five years in college, and I didn't feel like spending three of those years learning a new system and getting my feet wet.''
Shimonek said when he accepted the scholarship to Iowa he felt he could learn the pro-style offense and be a successful quarterback for the Hawkeyes.
"I figured it wouldn't be too difficult of a transition,'' he said. "But you do something for years and you develop habits - your footwork, where your eyes look - and those habits are hard to break. I studied film all the time and worked hard to learn it. It's a very hard offense. My offensive coordinator told me it was one of the hardest offenses to learn. I am just a lot more comfortable in the spread.''
Shimonek was a 3-star quarterback from Mildred, right outside of Corsicana, that was originally offered by Iowa and Lamar. It is virtually guaranteed that Shimonek will immediately receive better coaching once setting foot in Lubbock due to the fact that Greg Davis is Iowa's offensive coordinator.
Our friends over at Black Heart Gold Pants opine that Shimonek's transfer is a result of more talented signal callers arriving in Iowa City.
As you can see from his film, he's the tallest player on his team and he has a decent arm, I wouldn't rate it as great. Shimonek is also plenty mobile, but he's not a guy that I think will unseat either Davis Webb or Patrick Mahomes (or eventually Jarrett Stidham). Still, it's nice to have that sort of depth. Because Shimonek is transferring from Iowa, he will need to sit out a year and won't be eligible in 2014.