As Nebraska waits for its trip to Iowa at the end of the year, the bigger question in Iowa City right now is simple: who’s taking the snaps for the Hawkeyes?
Right now, even Kirk Ferentz doesn’t seem ready to say for sure. Less than a week before Iowa opens the season against Northern Illinois, the quarterback battle between Jeremy Hecklinski and Hank Brown is still unresolved, and it may not be settled by kickoff.
Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports first reported that the competition would carry into the regular season, writing on Twitter that “The starting QB competition at Iowa between Jeremy Hecklinski and Hank Brown remains unsettled and is currently expected to continue through the team’s season opener vs. Northern Illinois this week,” and he added that it’s not even clear who will take the first snap against the Huskies.
That’s a notable turn, especially since this is no longer early August uncertainty. Ferentz was still without a starter during Big Ten Media Days, but now the Hawkeyes are deep into camp and the answer remains murky. The coach has made it clear the staff will have to sort through the game-week reps and decide who gets the bulk of the first-team work.
What makes the delay stand out is that Hecklinski did flash in a big way at Iowa’s Kids Day practice on Aug. 15.
In roughly 45 minutes, he threw four touchdown passes and looked better than Brown in that setting. But Ferentz has pushed back on reading too much into one public practice, saying the staff has to judge the full camp, not just one session in front of fans and media.
Tim Lester, Iowa’s offensive coordinator entering his third season with the program, has also said the battle could stretch into the season. Ferentz has even suggested the final call may come down to his own judgment. That leaves open the possibility that neither quarterback separates cleanly based on performance alone.
The lack of certainty is especially interesting because neither candidate brings Big Ten starting experience to the matchup Nebraska will eventually see. Brown is the only quarterback on the roster with previous college starts, and those came at Auburn in 2024. He also appeared in three games for Iowa last season, finishing 5 of 13 for 48 yards with one interception after replacing the quarterback late against eventual national champion Indiana in a 20-15 loss.
Hecklinski’s résumé is even thinner. He played in two games for Iowa last season and had taken three snaps for Wake Forest as a true freshman before that.
For now, the only quarterback who appears to be out of the mix is Jimmy Sullivan, who has seen limited work during camp.
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