Jeremy Hecklinski's mindset before his first start aligns with his gunslinger mentality

No one has ever accused Jeremy Hecklinski of lacking confidence, and he showed that, and more, in Iowa's week six win.

Hecklinski earned his first career start after starter Hank Brown sprained his AC joint against Ohio State, and he guided the Hawkeyes to victory. He could have easily let the starting quarterback decision affect him, but he prepares every week like he's the starter, and it paid off. Hecklinski is a pure gunslinger who isn't afraid to put the ball in the air, and his mindset heading into his first career start makes too much sense.

Hecklinski planned on shooting his shot every time he could in his first college start

Starting your first career game on the road in a hostile environment isn't easy, and after a slow start, Hecklinski settled in. Kirk Ferentz expressed confidence in him during the week leading up to the game, and Hecklinski rewarded his faith with a solid performance. After starting 2/7, Hecklinski completed his final 12 passes and finished with 202 passing yards and three touchdown passes. Iowa hasn't had a quarterback throw three touchdown passes in a game in a long time, especially in a player's debut. Hecklinski became the first Hawkeye since Nate Stanley in 2017 to throw three touchdowns in a debut, and he looked poised doing it.

We all know that Hecklinski is a gunslinger at heart, and he proved it by revealing his mindset heading into Iowa's crucial week six road game in Seattle.

Hecklinski said that OC Tim Lester always says that shooters shoot, and he wanted to do the same. He wanted to go out there, shoot his shot every time he could, and act like he had nothing to lose. That is not the normal mentality we hear from an Iowa quarterback, and it's refreshing. Hecklinski's confidence and swagger are not something we have seen from the quarterback recently, and even though it was only one game, he brought some excitement. He forced his way back into the starting quarterback discussion and gave Ferentz and the coaching staff some things to think about heading into the bye week

Ferentz traditionally doesn't switch quarterbacks after declaring a starter, unless an injury forces him to, and he also doesn't like to take away players' starting roles if they are injured. It will be interesting to see if Ferentz and the coaching staff make a move after the offense finally showed signs of life, but that seems unlikely right now. Brown isn't a bad quarterback, but the offense has been stagnant over the previous three weeks, excluding the game-winning drive against Michigan in week four.

Brown is a traditional pocket passer who excels when he has time to throw and on play-action passes. With the run game failing to produce, Brown couldn't rely on play-action, which hampered the offense's production. Hecklinski's ability to make throws outside the pocket and on the run was a major factor in the win and opened up the playbook. Each quarterback has strengths, but Hecklinski seems to be better suited to run the offense until the offensive line figures it out and the running game improves.

No matter who is under center, Ferentz and the coaching staff can rest easy knowing that they have two quarterbacks who can run the offense, but they have a decision to make. Hecklinski brought excitement and a better look at what the offense can be when everything works, and he forced his way back into the conversation ahead of a crucial week eight rivalry game against Minnesota. No one is saying Brown is a bad quarterback, but Hecklinski has run the offense near-perfectly in his limited time under center, reigniting a starting quarterback battle.

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