No one can talk about Iowa football without mentioning the quarterback position. 

Ever since the Hawkeyes ended the 2025 season with a resounding triumph over No. 14 Vanderbilt in the ReliaQuest Bowl on New Year's Eve, the conversation has shifted from the beloved transfer Mark Gronowski to who will fill his starting role in 2026. 

Though Iowa opted to take a starting quarterback out of the transfer portal in the 2023 (Cade McNamara) and 2025 (Gronowski) offseasons, the general consensus in January was that the Hawkeyes' next starting quarterback would be an in-house selection. 

As the ensuing months wore on, the frontrunners for the job soon emerged. 2025 backups Jeremy Hecklinski and Hank Brown would battle for the highly-coveted job. Though some college programs choose to name their starting quarterback before spring practice begins, it became clear early on that Iowa would take its time to make this monumental decision. 

Hawkeye fans hoped they would hear more clarity on the intense race during Iowa media day and the Kids' Day open practice this weekend, but head coach Kirk Ferentz and Co. remain far from a decision and are keeping all of their options open at this point and time.

"I think they've done some good things, and some things have got to get better like every position," Ferentz said after Kids' Day practice on Aug. 15. 

There's no telling when Ferentz will announce his decision. He could break the news when he released his Week 1 depth chart the Monday before Iowa's season opener against Northern Illinois on Sept. 5., but he could also wait until the very last second and share the decision hours before his team does its traditional "Swarm" entrance out of the tunnel. 

Only Ferentz has a true idea of when he'll announce his next starting quarterback, but the one thing everyone (fans and media) know in mid-August is that one quarterback will narrowly cross the finish line and win the job, and one will agonizingly fall short. 

The loser of this intense competition will most certainly have a difficult pill to swallow, and though they will likely show brief animosity towards the victor, the friendship that Brown and Hecklinski have developed over the course of the battle will likely trump any hard feelings that could come from it. 

The two talked at length about their relationship during the spring. 

"I've competed my whole life, and you learn quickly that there is no reason for there to be animosity between the two of you," Brown told 247Sports at a spring media availability.  "It's not going to change who plays. Whoever wins the job, that's part of it. That's part of football, that's part of quarterbacking." 

Friendship is one thing, but leadership is another. 

The winner of this quarterback race will undoubtedly be the leader of the 2026 Hawkeyes, but what kind of a role could the runner-up play? 

Hecklinski plays with the "gunslinger" mentality of the two, which means he's not afraid to let the football fly in any given scenario.

The nickname is often reserved for a quarterback's play style, but for Hecklinski, it's an off the field mantra, too. He's always willing to do whatever it takes to help Iowa win football games, and that's not changing if he doesn't win the job. 

"At the end of the day, I just want the team to win," Hecklinski said. "Whatever is best for the team is what I want to happen." 

Brown offered a similar sentiment, but added a story about a recent team visit from a Navy SEAL. Anyone that is familiar with a Navy SEAL knows that it is one of the most physically and mentally demanding positions in the U.S. military, and the SEAL told the Hawkeyes this quote: 

"10 percent of life is what happens to you, and 90 percent is how you respond," the SEAL said. 

If he doesn't win the position, Brown's goal is to follow exactly that. 

"I'm gonna support whoever gets that job and do the best I can to help the team, whatever way that would look like," Brown said. "Obviously, I'm competing for that job every day. But if that's not the case, I'm gonna be resilient." 

HawkeyeRoundtable is giving away TWO tickets to Iowa's season opener against Northern Illinois on Sept. 5! 

This is easily the biggest giveaway we've ever done on this site, and it's a great opportunity for two lucky fans to experience the joy of attending a Hawkeye football game at Kinnick Stadium. 

Click here to automatically become a member to enter the contest! Additional contest details can be found in our community section, too! 

HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at [email protected]