Iowa football undecided on starting QB, readying for camp battle
· Yahoo Sports
As Iowa took center stage at 2026 Big Ten media days, head football coach Kirk Ferentz said the Hawkeyes are still undecided on their starting quarterback.
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It's a competition between Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski that will roll into Iowa's fall camp and perhaps into the season.
"Personnel-wise, teamwork-wise, first question obviously is going to be the quarterback position. Bottom line is this: right now we don't know the answer. I can only tell you we'll know the answer when we know it. Hopefully sometime in August that will become apparent. It may be in-season. Can't rule out any possibilities.
"The bottom line is we don't really know who our starter is at this point, but are really pleased with the guys that are competing and the growth they've shown in the program now a year-plus. That part's good," Ferentz said of Iowa's quarterback competition.
As On3's Wilson Alexander noted, Iowa joins Alabama as the only power conference teams with a quarterback battle between two returning quarterbacks.
"We wanted to get two guys in the program to play behind Mark and let them grow. And so I’m not sure who’s going to win this whole thing, but the good news is now that they’ve been here more than just X amount of months. They’ve been here for a year-plus. Hopefully whoever wins it will be able to take it on and move it forward," Ferentz said.
Both Brown and Hecklinski joined the Hawkeyes prior to last season via the transfer portal. Brown, a fourth-year, 6-foot-4, 218-pound quarterback, transferred into Iowa from Auburn. Hecklinski, a 5-foot-11, 201-pound quarterback, transferred to Iowa from Wake Forest.
“The reality is nobody knows,” Ferentz said of when Iowa will know who its starting quarterback is. “In an ideal world, we’d like to have known in the spring, but it’s not there yet. It’ll play itself out.”
Brown was listed as Iowa's primary backup through the Hawkeyes' first five contests in 2025. Then, Brown and Hecklinski were listed with an or as the backup quarterback throughout the remainder of the 2025 season.
Brown played in three games for Iowa in 2025, completing 11 of 21 passes for 107 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Hecklinski completed each of his two passes for eight yards in two games played last season.
Brown played in five games at Auburn across the 2023 and 2024 seasons, starting twice in 2024. In his college career, Brown has completed 45 of 73 passes for 642 yards and seven touchdowns against four interceptions.
Hecklinski played in one game while at Wake Forest, seeing three snaps against North Carolina in the 2024 season.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa football undecided on starting QB, readying for camp battle