Iowa Football: QB competition tale of the tape

The storylines of the summer and into fall camp for the Iowa Hawkeyes are headlined by one major component: who is going to be starting for Iowa at quarterback in Week 1 when they welcome the Northern Illinois Huskies to Kinnick Stadium?

Beyond that, does that individual necessarily have the starting job locked up, or could it continue into the regular season? The battle is between Jeremy Hecklisnki and Hank Brown after the departure of Mark Gronowski. The duo each spent last year in a backup role to Gronowski while learning the scheme of offensive coordinator Tim Lester.

The competition saw no clear leader through spring practice, with the two splitting reps with the first-string offense rather evenly as things carried on. With the summer months and training camp ahead of us to decide who is going to be QB1 for the Hawkeyes, get to know Jeremy Hecklinski and Hank Brown a bit more.

Vitals

Jeremy Hecklinski

Height: 5-foot-11

Weight: 188 pounds

Class: Sophomore

Hank Brown

Height: 6-foot-4

Weight: 215 pounds

Class: Junior

Background

Jeremy Hecklinski

High School: Walton High School

Hometown: Marietta, Georgia

Previous College: Wake Forest

Hank Brown

High School: Lipscomb Academy

Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee

Previous College: Auburn

Recruiting

Jeremy Hecklinski

Class: 2024

Stars:Three-star recruit

Rankings: No. 40 QB, No. 75 recruit from Georgia, No. 646 overall recruit

Hank Brown

Class: 2023

Stars:Three-star recruit

Rankings: No. 71 QB, No. 41 recruit from Tennessee, No. 1473 overall recruit

College Stats

Jeremy Hecklinski

Passing: 2-2 (100%), 8 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT

Rushing: 1 rush, 6 yards, 6.0 yards per carry, 1 rushing TD

Hank Brown

Passing: 45-73 (61.6%), 642 yards, 7 TD, 4 INT

Rushing: 6 rushes, 7 yards, 1.2 yards per carry, 1 rushing TD

Quarterback Archetype

Jeremy Hecklinski

Jeremy Hecklinski would be quite the fiery, gunslinging mentality manning the quarterback position for the Iowa Hawkeyes. At 5-foot-11, he has to use his mobility to find clear throwing lanes and extend some plays outside of the pocket.

This can come with a high-risk versus-reward battle for Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes. How much risk will they take on with Hecklinski's moxie, which could see some turnovers, to take off the training wheels and find out what his upside looks like, forcing the ball down the field?

Hank Brown

Hank Brown is your classic Iowa football quarterback. And when I say that, it is not at all meant in a derogatory way. Hank Brown is very smart and careful with the football. He knows the defense that Iowa has, and if he can manage the game, protect the ball, and make a few throws, the Hawkeyes are going to be in pretty good shape.

The question for Hank Brown comes in games where Iowa's defense gets tested, and the Hawkeyes are forced to open it up a bit more and let it rip. He has the size to stand in the pocket and let it rip, but it would be coming out of his shell to do this if needed.

Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Riley on X: @rileydonald7

This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire : Hecklinski vs. Brown: Iowa football QB competition tale of the tape