When it comes to Iowa football, everyone knows that for the Hawkeyes to win. They have to win in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Iowa comes into Week One being ranked the 22nd-best team in the nation. The Hawkeyes has high expectations with a reasonable schedule. Last year, Iowa found some answers yet still had a lot of inconsistency at QB. Mark Gronowski propelled them to a very solid 9-4 record come the end of the year. This year, Iowa brings the same defensive intensity and great offensive line. But the biggest question going into Week One is: will redshirt junior Hank Brown or redshirt sophomore Jeremy Hecklinski start?
Photo Cred: 24/7 Sports
The QB Battle
Throughout Iowa’s training camp, head coach Kirk Ferentz has described the QB battle as neck and neck. Along with the idea that they may use both quarterbacks in this first game against Northern Illinois. In minimal opportunities last year, Jeremy Hecklinski looked more poised in the chances he got than Hank Brown. Brown had a huge opportunity against the eventually national champions, Indiana Hoosiers. He showed his inexperience and made costly mistakes that ended in a tough loss.
Hank Brown is the much more experienced choice. He has appeared in many more games as both a backup and a starter at the University of Auburn. Throughout his career, he has 642 passing yards, 7 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions in the 7 games. Looking at Hecklinski and his numbers, you will only find 2 passing attempts and a rushing attempt that ended in a touchdown last season. Fans have speculated that Brown may have reached his ceiling and is just going to be another mediocre option at QB. Hecklinski’s dual-threat option gives the Hawkeyes more to work with when it comes to having an explosive offense.
Photo Credit: USA Today
Consistency
This past decade of Iowa football can be explained as consistently good but never great. The big question mark on Iowa going into the season is how much offense they can produce. We all know how great the defense and special teams can be. Iowa has had a top-ten defense 4 different times in 6 years. The amount of potential that recent Iowa teams have had has come down to average QB play. This again triggers the importance of which QB will perform between Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski. Iowa will play Northern Illinois this Saturday as fans await the choice Kirk Ferentz will make as the Hawkeyes have hopes for a first-time CFP appearance.
