Washington Football Could Face Iowa Backup QB on Friday Night

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The Washington Huskies could face Iowa backup quarterback Jeremy Hecklinski on Friday night if starter Hank Brown isn't cleared from a sprained AC joint he suffered against Ohio State last weekend.

Hecklinski, a 5-foot-11, 201-pound former Wake Forest transfer, completed all five passes against the Buckeyes when he came in to relieve Brown in the fourth quarter of the Hawkeyes' 31-14 loss this past Saturday.

"He's really limited with what he can do right now," head coach Kirk Ferentz said of Brown's availability. "We'll see. We can't count on him, that's for sure. I think that'd be really short-sighted on our part. But the other good news is that Jeremy has done a great job; he really has. He went and played really well, and I think that's a real tribute to how he's practiced."

UW's preparation for two quarterbacks against Iowa and what second-year defensive coordinator Ryan Walters had to do in the lead-up to the Huskies' second non-conference game against Utah State share similarities and differences.

Unlike the Aggies, who used backup Grady Brosterhous as a dual-threat running option in the season opener against Idaho State behind starter McCae Hillstead before he suffered an injury, the Hawkeyes have let Brown be the starter, with Hecklinski being a serviceable option off the bench.

Both Brown and Hecklinski pushed for the starting job throughout fall camp, leading Ferentz to believe that whichever is on the field, the offense remains the same caliber. That said, it's a different-styled offense than what the team featured when Walters was at Illinois in 2021-22 and Purdue in 2023.

"When both of those guys have played, the scheme hasn't really changed," Walters said on Tuesday. "So, you don't necessarily game plan for one particular player when the offense doesn't change based on who's in there. The scheme is the scheme, and we have our hands full with what they're doing offensively and how they want to play the game."

Walters held the Hawkeyes to two touchdowns and 291 yards of offense, along with Iowa converting just 3-of-13 third-down attempts, as the Boilermakers head coach at Kinnick Stadium in 2024, a 20-14 victory for Ferentz and Co.

As the Illini's defensive play-caller in 2022, Iowa's offense was held scoreless and mustered just 221 yards of offense in a 9-6 defeat in Champaign for the Hawkeyes. Both low-scoring games could set the table for the two Big Ten teams on Friday night, with significant implications on the line for each program.

This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington Football Could Face Iowa Backup QB on Friday Night

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