Iowa football still undecided on starting QB entering Week 1

As its opening game week rolls along, the Hawkeyes are still undecided on who their starting quarterback will be versus Northern Illinois this Saturday in Week 1.

During his Tuesday press conference, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz addressed the Hawkeyes listing Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski as co-starters on their season-opening depth chart.

"As we tell the players, it’s really pretty much up in the air right now at a lot of spots, a lot of different positions. Quarterback’s a position that certainly draws the most attention, and, again, we weren’t trying to coy or cute on that. I think that’s really where it’s at right now. We haven’t decided on a starter yet.

"The bottom line is, we don’t know who will start the game. Somebody’s going to do that, but I think it’s safe to say that both guys will play during the course of the game and then we’ll just play it out from there," Ferentz said.

Ferentz was asked if the Hawkeyes have a plan for how they'll deploy their quarterbacks on Saturday. For instance, could one quarterback get a pair of series and then Iowa alternates and the other quarterback gets two offensive series?

"We’ve talked about it. We really haven’t put a pen to it yet, but it’s probably I think fair to say something like that. Pitch count if you will. So, if we’ve got a three-and-out, try to give the guy an opportunity to get his feet on the ground and play a little bit. Yeah, I can envision something like that where we script something out and keep everything flexible. But, just see how it all plays out as we go," Ferentz said.

Iowa and Northern Illinois will meet on Saturday, Sept. 5 from Kinnick Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:15 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa football still undecided on starting QB entering Week 1