Iowa starting quarterback decision remains unsurprinsingly unclear.
Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski have been battling it out for the starting quarterback role next season, and even though Hecklinski seemed to have the upper hand after Kids Day, both quarterbacks continue to struggle with inconsistency through fall camp. Hecklinski shredded the defense during an open practice on August 15, but Kirk Ferentz still stated the competition is too close to call. During their fall camp training tour stop in Iowa City, we got another glimpse into the views surrounding the two projected starters, and spoiler alert: it wasn't good.
It was a rough day for both projected starting quarterbacks
Big Ten Network analyst Dave Revsine traveled to Iowa City to view a fall camp practice as a part of the BTN fall training camp tour, and he was less than impressed with Brown and Hecklinski.
All of that to say – it was a rough day for Iowa QB’s – particularly Hecklinski, who struggled w/TO’s. But he played well in open scrimmage & coaches said it’s been essentially dead even in camp. In talking to coaches – sounds like there may not be a clear-cut starter for Week 1 pic.twitter.com/iyO6x1dmSg
— Dave Revsine (@BTNDaveRevsine) August 24, 2026
Revsine noted that it was a rough day for both players, especially Hecklinski, who struggled with turnovers. Revsine did mention that Hecklinski looked good in scrimmage, while not making any assertions about Brown. That is no knock on Brown, but Hecklinski stood out again during another scrimmage. Iowa's quarterback battle remains deadlocked, and probably will until very close to September 5. Even though both players performed poorly in Revsine's eyes, it doesn't matter that much.
Fall training camp is a chance for players and coaches to iron out some last-minute details before the start of the season, and there are going to be some bumps in the road. We all know how good a Phil Parker-coached defense can be, and just because Hecklinski struggled with turnovers doesn't mean Ferentz has removed him from the race or given Brown a boost. Hecklinski has proven he can be the guy with his stellar performances on Kids Day and now during a fall camp open scrimmage, and if that is any indication, he should be the front-runner for the job.
Brown has seemingly done enough to keep the race tight, but he's received far less positive press coverage, excluding what Ferentz has said. Ferentz hasn't tipped his hand one way or the other and has been consistently saying the decision will go until the first week. This isolated poor performance did not hurt either quarterback's status, and it did little to change Ferentz's mind. Ferentz is holding all the cards right now, and he won't show his hand until he has to. We can only go on video and reports right now until we are told otherwise.
Revsine's analysis gives everyone a small glimpse into how each quarterback performed, but regardless of how good or bad they did, it won't matter until a decision is revealed.
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