The Iowa quarterback room is LOADED with talent next season.
Even without star quarterback Mark Gronowski, the Hawkeyes have five players vying for snaps next season.
Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski were the only Hawkeyes to take limited snaps last season, Brown when Gronowski went down against Indiana, and Hecklinski in mop-up duty after supplanting Brown as the No. 2 quarterback.
Iowa is also returning two quarterbacks who redshirted last season, Jimmy Sullivan and Ryan Fitzgerald, the son of new Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald.
Not only do the Hawkeyes have four quarterbacks returning, but they are also getting an extremely talented freshman who is turning heads before taking his first snap in Kinnick Stadium.
Tradon Bessigner was ranked as a top 10 QB prospect for the 2026 class
The Hawkeyes hit a massive home run on the recruiting trail when they pilfered talented 2026 prospect Tradon Bessinger away from Boise State.
Bessinger was initially verbally committed to the Broncos before visiting Iowa City during the battle for the Floyd of Rosedale.
Shortly after visiting, he reopened his recruitment and committed to the Iowa program.
After his senior season, he was named USA Today's Offensive Player of the Year, and now he is earning more recognition as one of the top QB prospects in the class.
Top 10 QBs in the final 2026 Rivals300 rankings🎯https://t.co/qLEKAJbhRf pic.twitter.com/CFuGlieSYB
— Rivals (@Rivals) January 27, 2026
Bessinger snuck into Rivals' final top 10 quarterback rankings for 2026, just behind fellow four-star prospect and Wake Forest commit, Grant Lawless.
Bessinger's signing with the Hawkeyes is a great sign of where the program is headed in the post-Mark Gronowski era, as the quarterback room now has five players next season.
The quarterback room will have depth next season, and Bessinger might not even factor in right away.
Iowa fans would love to see Bessinger sooner rather than later because he is oozing potential, but Kirk Ferentz does not often play true freshman players.
Bessinger threw for 10,908 total yards during his high school career with Davis High School in Kaysville, Utah, including 4,313 yards and 53 touchdown passes his senior year.
While he might not make an immediate impact, Iowa fans can't wait to see Bessinger in the black and gold.