Jeremy Hecklinski and Hank Brown will battle for the starting job throughout the spring and summer, but don't expect Kirk Ferentz and Co. to make a decision quickly.
Iowa football will have a new starting quarterback for the third consecutive season.
Cade McNamara earned the nod in 2024, while South Dakota State transfer Mark Gronowksi started every single game during the 2025 campaign.
While the 2026 Hawkeyes will have a new signal-caller, Iowa has elected to go a different route and use one of its in-house options instead of grabbing one from the transfer portal.
The vast difference between Gronowski and McNamara's careers is probably why Kirk head coach Ferentz and offensive coordinator Tim Lester want to go with a quarterback on their roster. Gronowski's lone season was ultimately marked as a success, but McNamara, who led Michigan to the College Football Playoff in 2021, was benched midway through the '24 season and never played again.
Who will battle for the elusive starting quarterback job in 2026? Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski. The pair will battle for the position throughout the spring and summer, but don't expect Ferentz to make a decision quickly.
"You never really know. You never know when the picture is going to unfold or if it will unfold," Ferentz told The Daily Iowan during his spring practice press conference on March 31. "Right now it's about doing the work in the out of season that comes with preseason work or spring ball work, learning the offense, going through film. Just sitting and watching with a coach that type of thing and learn as much as you can."
You might have heard of each player, but to help you really get to know each of them before Iowa's open practice at Kinnick Stadium on April 25, here's a brief breakdown of each quarterback:
Jeremy Hecklinski
Ferentz likely won't name his 2026 starter until mid-August, but if there's a favorite in this race, it's probably Jeremy Hecklinski. Though he saw action in just two games last year, the Wake Forest transfer was Iowa's backup quarterback for the second half the season, where he recorded his first college touchdown in a 41-3 rout over Minnesota on Oct. 25.
Hecklinski's relatively short stature for the quarterback position - 5-foot-11 inches tall, 188 pounds - could cause some Hawkeye fans to raise some eyebrows, but they'll like the comparisons Ferentz made during his spring practice press conference on March 31.
Ferentz compared Hecklinski's gunslinger mentality to legendary Iowa quarterbacks C.J. Beathard and Drew Tate - the latter led the Hawkeyes to their most recent Big Ten championship.
"I'm always reluctant or hesitant sometimes to throw out the terms of comparing a guy to a former player," Ferentz said. "But there are some parallels [to Tate] personality-wise there, and just the way he plays the game."
While Hecklinski embodies Tate's confident personality, Ferentz says Hecklinski mimics Beathard's ability to adjust to the flow of the game.
"He's [Hecklinski] not afraid to throw it and throw it in there. And part of that, though, is knowing when and how. And as things change, game circumstances, all that kind of stuff, transition to another guy."
Hank Brown
Though Brown ended the 2025 season No. 3 on the depth chart, he has the upper hand over Hecklinski in both age and starting experience. Brown started two games for Auburn in 2024, completing 24-of-38 passing attempts for four touchdowns and three interceptions. He also earned high-leverage action for the Hawkeyes last year - replacing the injured Gronowski against eventual national champion Indiana in September.
Iowa was tied with the Hoosiers late, but Brown's failed screen pass to Kamari Moulton resulted in a missed field goal, and Indiana won the game on its ensuing possession. The unfortunate turn of events left Hawkeye fans frustrated, but Brown's development since then has been a positive for the coaching staff.
"It's really early in the game, because you've got a lot of variables, a lot of things going on -- who is playing receiver, what the protection is, the quality of the protection," Ferentz said. "There's a million things going on. But both guys are certainly more comfortable than a year ago. That's the good news."
Hecklinski and Brown will continue to split first-team starting reps in practice until Ferentz makes his decision.
"I really foresee these guys competing for quite a while," Ferentz said. "The whole idea is not to make a decision fast, but to make the right decision. That's what we're going to try to do."
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