Jeremy Hecklinski didn’t just win Iowa’s scrimmage Saturday at Kinnick Stadium. He made the Hawkeyes’ quarterback battle look a whole lot less like a battle.
With the crowd watching and Iowa’s first- and second-team defenses in rotation, the third-year quarterback delivered the kind of passing day that can tilt a competition. Hecklinski finished 17 of 25 for 205 yards and five touchdowns, while co-No. 1 quarterback Hank Brown managed just 9 completions on 21 attempts for 42 yards.
It was the lone scrimmage in front of fans and media during fall camp, and the separation was hard to miss. Still, Kirk Ferentz wasn’t interested in calling it over after one practice.
“I won’t overplay it,” Ferentz said. “It’s like anything; what are the guys around them doing, too?
It might have made a guy look better or worse, that type of deal. So, we’ll take a look at the film.”
Fair enough. But on a day when Iowa practices are usually won by the defense, Hecklinski was the one making the big throws and the sharp decisions. He hit different receivers on different routes for each of his touchdowns, and six of his completions went for explosive plays of 15 yards or more - exactly the kind of production offensive coordinator Tim Lester wants to see.
Hecklinski found tight end D.J. Vonnahme twice for scores.
One came on a wheel route, with Hecklinski leading him perfectly for a 23-yard touchdown. A couple throws later, he dropped a 37-yard strike to Vonnahme on a seam route just past linebacker Cam Buffington.
He also got Iowa moving quickly on his first drive, putting a 4-yard out to transfer wide receiver Evan James right on target for a touchdown. Later, he hit Reece Vander Zee over the middle, and Vander Zee turned it into a 19-yard score. Then, in the final series, Hecklinski went 5 for 6 in a two-minute drill for 66 yards, capped by another touchdown to James from 23 yards out.
For Ferentz, the cleanest part of Hecklinski’s day was the one that doesn’t always show up in the flashy stuff: the lack of mistakes. That matters, especially after the spring when Hecklinski threw eight interceptions to Brown’s four.
Saturday, he didn’t give the defense anything. His only incompletion in the two-minute drill was a throw into the turf with nobody open.
“That is going to be a factor in the decision, crowd or no crowd,” Ferentz said, who was the only person to speak afterward. “I think he is improving there, and that’s part of the job description.
You’ve got to be smart, and there are times when you take chances, but you need to know when those times are. And, as a rule, you don’t want to be taking risks that you don’t need to take, at least unless it’s the end of the half.
But he’s doing good. He’s improving.”
The quarterbacks are trying to replace Mark Gronowski, and the competition has been open ever since Lester decided not to dip into the transfer portal this winter. Brown, a fourth-year player, started two games as a redshirt freshman at Auburn in 2024 before arriving at Iowa in winter 2025.
Hecklinski spent a year at Wake Forest before transferring to Iowa in June 2025. Brown opened the 2025 season as Gronowski’s backup, but Hecklinski moved ahead of him during the season.
Lester wanted to see how both would handle the real thing against Iowa’s first-team defense, in front of a crowd, and he said the key may come down to more than just throws.
“I honestly think the major difference between who should be the starter and who should be the backup is probably going to be who can handle 70,000 people in Kinnick,” Lester told The Athletic, “and who can take a hit and get back up and keep playing without getting rattled.”
Brown didn’t have the kind of day that helps in that kind of race. He missed receivers at every level, his longest completion went for just 10 yards, and four of his throws were knocked down. The performance echoed what happened against Indiana last season when he filled in for an injured Gronowski; in that game, Brown, who is 6 feet 4 inches, completed 5 of 13 passes for 48 yards with an interception.
Hecklinski’s 5-10 frame is still considered a drawback, but he showed Saturday that he can work around it, adjusting arm angles when needed.
“I don’t think I’ve grown since my junior year of high school,” Hecklinski said Friday. “I’ve played a lot of games at this height, and you just have to figure it out.”
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