Iowa football still letting QB competition 'play out'

As Iowa navigates fall camp, the Hawkeyes are creeping closer to their season opener against Northern Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 5.

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz met with the media on Friday afternoon ahead of this Saturday's annual Kids Day at Kinnick, which is a free, open practice to the public.

Of course, the Hawkeyes' biggest question is who will be their starting quarterback? Iowa's leading contenders are fourth-year quarterback Hank Brown and third-year signal-caller Jeremy Hecklinski.

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz updated Iowa's quarterback competition on Friday.

"Starting out offense, obviously, the biggest question is at quarterback I'm sure. Basically, as I said back in Chicago, we're going to let this thing play out. All the guys are competing well right now. The three oldest guys obviously have the biggest edge. Pretty much we've been splitting the reps pretty evenly between the two top guys and then (Jimmy) Sullivan's getting some work as well.

"Just trying to give everybody equal exposure, give them a chance to get some quality work and we're just going to keep watching, see how the guys do, how they react to different situations as they come up in camp. We've got time on our side, so that's really our plan is to let it play out. If something becomes really apparent at some point, we'll make a decision, but otherwise we're just going to let it play out and let the guys compete. And it really mirrors a lot of positions on our team right now. The interest level's always a little bit higher at the quarterback position," Ferentz said.

As Ferentz noted, it's in line with what he said at Big Ten media days in Chicago at the end of July, indicating the Hawkeyes were still undecided on their starting quarterback.

"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 at Big Ten media days.

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.

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 still letting QB competition 'play out'