Iowa’s quarterback room has one headline battle at the top, but the more intriguing long-term story may be the arrival of freshman Tradon Bessinger.
The Kaysville, Utah, product is now officially in the program, and he comes in with real pedigree. Bessinger was the highest-ranked recruit in Iowa’s 2026 high school class, according to the 247Sports Composite, and the 11th-ranked quarterback nationally. For a Hawkeye passing game still searching for consistent footing, that kind of addition stands out.
At 6-foot-5 and 213 pounds, Bessinger already has the kind of frame coaches like to dream on. The challenge now is everything that comes after the signing day buzz. He’s stepping into an offense that asks a lot of a quarterback, and by all accounts the learning curve has been steep early.
“Good arm, big kid,” Hecklinski said of Bessinger, who is listed at 6-foot-5 and 213 pounds. “He’s just so young, and this is such a hard offense to step into and pick it up immediately.
As a quarterback room, we’re doing a lot to help him on and off the field, watching film with him and stuff like that. It’s kind of just baby steps with him at this point.
Just trying to get down the plays and footwork and stuff like that because high school football is high school football - you can kind of get away with doing some of the sloppy footwork and stuff like that. But he’s doing a lot better than I think most kids would in his position.”
Bessinger arrives with a big high school résumé, too. He threw for nearly 11,000 yards before making the jump to college, and his path to Iowa took a turn from his original Boise State commitment.
Brown, who is also in the mix at quarterback, said Bessinger has already made a good impression around the room.
“He’s an awesome kid,” Brown said of Bessinger. “I’ve loved being able to hang out with him and work with him a little bit.
He’s humble. He’s been doing good so far.
Just continue to encourage him. I know, obviously, what it felt like.
I was in his shoes when I first got to college and you’re kind of just getting a lot of things thrown at you. So just trying to show him where I was and what it takes to grow and just encourage him through what he’s doing and what he’s going through.”
The competition at the top of the depth chart between Jeremy Hecklinski and Hank Brown remains the main event, but there’s another layer behind them. The “QB3” spot is open as well, with Jimmy Sullivan and Ryan Fitzgerald both entering their second season in Iowa City and Bessinger now part of that group of younger quarterbacks.
Tim Lester said Sullivan had separated himself as the third-string quarterback by the end of spring practice, though that doesn’t lock anything in for the fall. And after the 2024 season showed how quickly depth can matter, that role carries more weight than it might first appear.
“Tradon’s way behind, but super talented,” Lester said. “He’s got a great release.
He’s got a strong arm. He’s just getting to know (Director of Strength and Conditioning Raimond Braithwaite) and the weight room.
I can’t wait to see him fill out like the rest.”
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