Iowa football OC dissects future of Hawkeyes' 2026 QB room

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As its season finale in the ReliaQuest Bowl nears, No. 23 Iowa (8-4, 6-3 Big Ten) will soon have a quarterback battle on its hands after its date versus No. 14 Vanderbilt (10-2, 6-2 SEC) on New Year’s Eve.

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes have been clear that they aren’t planning on bringing in transfer portal quarterbacks. At least not as one of their top portal priorities.

That means that Iowa likes what it has in house and gives the indication that the Hawkeyes think their starting quarterback for 2026 is already on campus.

Graduate quarterback Mark Gronowski is readying for his final game with the Hawkeyes against Vanderbilt after transferring in from South Dakota State. Iowa is set to return quarterbacks Jeremy Hecklinski, Hank Brown, Jimmy Sullivan and Ryan Fitzgerald. The Hawkeyes also signed four-star Tradon Bessinger in their 2026 class.

But, the expectation is that it’s shaping up to be a two-man battle between Hecklinski and Brown for the Hawkeyes’ starting quarterback job in 2026.

On Friday, Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester was asked for his impressions of Iowa’s two younger quarterbacks.

“I have to tell you, Coach does an unbelievable job of doing DVO all yearlong, so we’ve been watching these two guys compete all season. Making plays and understanding the offense and being able to move us down the field. You’re going to have a first-year starter at some point unless you just continue to buy every year. And, man, thank God we have Mark, who did an unbelievable job. I don’t think it’s something you can live in, and when you have two guys that are showing promise, I’m excited about those two competing,” Lester said.

Iowa gave Gronowski a week off early in bowl prep and then made sure to continue doling out a healthy dosage of reps to its younger signal-callers. It’s given Lester a great opportunity to evaluate Hecklinski and Brown.

“They’ve been doing good. They’ve been getting reps at different looks that they haven’t always seen. None of them have played a lot of game reps, so give them a ton of reps. I kind of front-loaded each one of them different practices where I gave one a ton of reps one practice, just so they can get into a rhythm, because it does matter as a quarterback.

“And they both did a good job. They both had hot and cold days. It’s going to be exciting for me to have someone year two in the offense. It’s a big difference. And so, they showed some things, made some checks, did some things that we haven’t even done in Kinnick yet that they’re starting to see and starting to understand because the game slows down, the offense slows down. So, that month and getting those guys reps was a lot of fun,” Lester said.

Lester says it’s a close competition between the two, and that will continue into Iowa’s spring football work.

“Really close. Early on, obviously, Hank started being the backup at first. He was here longer, knew what he was doing. Hadn’t seen a lot of Heck. He’s really getting comfortable within the offense. And then, as the DVO happened, I thought Heck was making a couple more plays. It was close. The whole time it was close, and so I’m excited for really spring.

“There was a lot of competition this December, too, but spring will be a huge opportunity for both of them. I’ll give them both equal reps with each group and we’re going to see who can do the job better, but I think they’re both very capable,” Lester said.

Lester was asked to describe what type of quarterback Hecklinski is.

“He’s an interesting bird. He’s like a gunslinger. There’s not a window that he does not feel that he can’t put the ball through. He’s made some unbelievable throws throughout this season. He’s got a lot of pitches. I compare him to Greg Maddux. He has every pitch in the book. He can layer a ball, he’ll sidearm. Every slot. Maybe not the fastball like the rest of the pitchers on the Braves back then, but he does some really unique things.

“He has a great understanding of defenses and he can manipulate them with his eyes, so it’s been fun. He needs reps of being under center. I don’t know if he’s ever been under center until he came here taking a snap. I think that’s the thing he’s most nervous about. He’s calmed down, but, when he got here, it was really interesting to see him get underneath center and take a seven-step drop. So, we’re catching him up on some of those things… You get him in the gun and he’s a better athlete than you think. I’m excited about his growth,” Lester said.

Then, Lester was asked to describe Brown’s development since fans and media last saw him.

“I think the biggest thing I’ve been working with is just his knee bend. He’s tall. I tell him, ‘Play like you’re 5-11.’ I need to get him down lower. When he has a loaded base, he’s got a ton of arm whip. A couple guys that came to practice last week were just commenting on how strong his arm is. He does exactly what you tell him to do every single time. We’ve got to continue to work on when the picture changes and where he’s going to go with the ball. The longer you’re in the offense, you’ll know what to do there.

“But, he’s continued. I think he’s throwing the ball better now than he ever has just because he has enough mind space left to think about all the little things I’m telling him, like, ‘Hey, bend your knees.’ And he’ll do it. Before, he’s just thinking, what play is this and who am I checking, who’s my can? But, I think the biggest thing he’s improved on is the ball is coming out faster and where he wants it to go because of his knee bend. He’s playing a little bit lower,” Lester said.

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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa football OC dissects future of Hawkeyes’ 2026 QB room

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