Iowa Football: The Case For and Against Jeremy Hecklinski as Starting Quarterback

Jeremy Hecklinski starred against Washington. Does Iowa give him a chance to retain the job out of the bye week? The reasons why and why not.

Sep 5, 2026; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Jeremy Hecklinski (10) looks to make a pass against the Northern Illinois Huskies during the third quarter at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

If the quarterback controversy for the Iowa Hawkeyes was supposed to end when Hank Brown took all of the snaps against Iowa State and Michigan, Jeremy Hecklinski must not have gotten that memo in the mail.

Hecklinski stepped into Iowa's offense on the road against Washington and did nothing but perform at a very high level, leading Iowa's offense up and down the field at will on the way to 41 points against the Huskies.

His play has put Iowa back in the thick of a quarterback controversy, even though it's a bye week. Has Jeremy Hecklinski earned the starting job against Minnesota?

The case for Jeremy Hecklinski starting for Iowa

Going 14-for-19 for 202 yards and three touchdowns on a short week against a Big Ten team on the road is a pretty strong case in itself for Jeremy Hecklinski. He stepped into Iowa's offense and looked like he had been running it for years because, well, he kind of has.

Hecklinski showed a willingness to push the ball down the field at times against Washington, forcing the Huskies to respect the downfield passing game, which I believe directly correlated to Iowa's run game exploding.

And last, but not least, is the simple matter of trusting the hot hand. Jeremy Hecklinski is scorching hot right now and feeling it. Add in the time he saw against Ohio State, and he is 19-for-24 for 269 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. I'm not sure you sit a guy that hot until he cools off.

The case against Jeremy Hecklinski starting for Iowa

There is the aspect of what message it sends. Can you really lose your job to an injury? If so, do you toe a dangerous line in the locker room? For a team like Iowa, which is mentally tougher than most, I don't think this is an issue, but it can't be totally ignored.

Another question comes to mind: the other side of the coin of Jeremy Hecklinski's downfield throwing. Yes, he's willing to push the ball downfield, but that has side effects too.

It exposes Iowa to turnovers, which it isn't built to come back from, and it puts Iowa behind the sticks on misses. Bad recipe.

Knowing how Iowa plays, which is a conservative, defense-first, wait-for-your-opponent-to-blink style of game, self-inflicted mistakes are a big no-no for Kirk Ferentz. We are about to see how much weight is truly put on that aspect of Iowa's game plan.