Iowa’s quarterback competition is still very much alive, and now there’s another voice in the room helping sort it out.
With third-year quarterbacks coach Tim Lester guiding the process and head coach Kirk Ferentz holding the final decision, new quarterbacks coach Billy VandeMerkt is stepping into the mix with NFL experience, a familiar offensive background, and a clear job description: help make the room better without pretending he’s the one calling the shot.
VandeMerkt arrived in Iowa City after three seasons with the New York Jets, where he worked as an offensive assistant under Robert Saleh. He said the jump from the NFL to college hasn’t been a major adjustment in terms of scheme.
"The Xs and Os are, at least for here at Iowa, they're very similar," VandeMerkt said of what it like between the NFL and college ball. "The big thing at that level is you've always got to have \ answers, and you've got to think of stuff that you haven't seen yet, and be prepared for it."
The move also brought him back together with Lester. The two had already worked side by side at Western Michigan from 2017-2019, when Lester was the head coach in Kalamazoo and VandeMerkt was first a special teams quality control coach and then a graduate assistant.
After his time with the Jets ended, VandeMerkt reached out to Lester hoping that old familiarity might open another door. It did.
"I got a call like two weeks later, and he's like, 'Hey, I got a spot for you,'" VandeMerkt said. "Coach Ferentz, his program's track record speaks for itself.
But also the big thing is taking an offense that I've been in as a player, and then the last four years as a coach with the Jets. They're running dang near the same thing here.
So it was an easy transition for myself, and also for Coach Lester and his team."
Before coaching, VandeMerkt built a résumé as a player at Saint Joseph's College. He was a four-year starting quarterback from 2010-13 and a three-year team captain.
His college career ended with 6,432 passing yards and 56 touchdown passes. He also earned Great Lakes Valley Conference Freshman of the Year honors in 2010 and second-team all-conference recognition as a senior.
That background matters now, because Iowa does not have an obvious QB1. Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski are still battling for the job, and VandeMerkt’s presence gives Lester another trusted set of eyes as the staff works through the competition.
"I'm another resource, and really for Tim, too. Tim's going to be the main honcho in the room, but I'm there to help those guys out," VandeMerkt said.
"Any extra tape that Tim might not be able to get to with them, that's where I'll be the facilitator from that standpoint. Early on, I had those young guys in, even Jeremy and Hank.
We were watching tape every day of the off-season. So there's some direct teaching, but there's also a lot of indirect teaching, too."
The biggest lesson he carried from Saleh and the Jets was simple: put players in the best position to make plays. For VandeMerkt, that means identifying what each quarterback does best and building around it.
"The biggest thing for Hank is he's super consistent," VandeMerkt said. "I'm really proud of where he's come from -- where he was last year, to where he is this year.
I think his resiliency is there too, and he's shown that in a big way. For Heck, he's got some moxie to him on the field.
I think that's his biggest fastball, and it's been on display this camp."
Even if VandeMerkt isn’t the one making the final call, he expects to be part of the conversation all the way through.
"I think it's a daily discussion, between myself and Tim and Coach Ferentz," VandeMerkt said of the process." Who's having a better day, or who's having a better week, or who's having a better month.
I'm sure we'll all have a discussion at some point. It's probably going be everyone in the room.
Who does everyone feel really good about? That's kind of how it is."
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