The Hawkeyes released their Week 1 depth chart on Monday afternoon, and there wasn't much clarification on the ongoing quarterback race between Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski.
Iowa's first depth chart of the 2026 season is here, and though it's only been a few minutes, the overreactions from fans have already poured in on social media.
Most of the discussion was centered on the ongoing quarterback battle, but there were other positions that needed clarification, too.
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Depth Chart
The Rundown
The natural instinct when this depth chart was released is to glance down at the quarterback spot. We've heard how close this race has been throughout the offseason, but Kirk Ferentz hinted during our brief discussion with him last week that he would prefer to have a starting quarterback named before his team ran out of the tunnel against Northern Illinois.
We'll get more clarification during his weekly press conference Tuesday afternoon, but for now, there's not a lot to break down here. Seeing a giant OR between Jeremy Hecklinski and Hank Brown's names shouldn't surprise anyone one bit, but there is something to note here: though Brown's is listed above Hecklinski, Iowa made sure to clarify that all positions with an OR included have the names ordered numerically.
Most of you will probably stop reading here because you're frustrated with the quarterback decision (or lack thereof), but there's plenty of other intriguing takeaways from this chart. The other main thing to look at is the defensive line. There's a ton of moving pieces on this unit this year, and I was interested to see how the Hawkeyes would line things up.
Iose Epenesa, Bryce Hawthorne, and Kenny Merrieweather were the expected names up front, but the starting left tackle may surprise some folks. The name listed here is Will Hubert, a walk-on fifth-year from Omaha. That's quite the story to follow, as is fellow walk-on Cael Winter officially locking up the starting center job.
Another note on the defensive line: while Hubert is listed as a starter, Iowa also added that its starting defensive lineup will vary based on formations and packages, so that's something to keep in mind as well.
Finally, we turn to the special teams. We know Zach Lutmer is going to be returning punts this year, but the biggest question was who would win the starting placekicker and punter positions. Unlike the quarterback position, those answers were revealed.
Austrialia native Boston Everitt beat out Simpson College transfer Tanner Philpott for the punting position. The move isn't surprising due to Iowa's recent success with Aussie punters (Rhys Dakin, Tory Taylor), but it's still a bold move because Everitt has yet to play a down of American football in his career.
As for kicker, that competition was won by redshirt freshman Caden Buhr, who beat out North Dakota State transfer Eli Ozick for the job. Buhr outplayed Ozick at Kids' Day a few weeks ago, so you wonder how much weight that had on this decision. Either way, it's a big win for the Bettendorf native, who becomes the fourth walk-on (long snapper Ike Speltz is the other one) to crack the opening depth chart.
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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]
