Iowa Football's QB Injury Update Takes Center Stage Ahead of Washington

Iowa is getting a picture of the quarterback health heading into Washington, and it is looking as clear as mud.

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

What kind of Iowa Football season would it be if we didn't get multiple quarterbacks starting games? That's part of the fun for this program!

Spencer Petras and Alex Padilla. Cade McNamara with Deacon Hill, Brendan Sullivan, and Jackson Stratton. Last year, we saw Hank Brown in the mix with Mark Gronowski banged up. College football is supposed to be fun. Who's having fun?

The Hawkeyes' fun right now is based around the quarterback injury update from head coach Kirk Ferentz that has painted the picture as clear as mud. Truly a Kirk Ferentz special in saying a lot while also saying nothing at all.

Jeremy Hecklinski appears to be in line to start against Washington

Hank Brown suffered a sprained AC joint in Iowa's loss to Ohio State last week, which caused him to exit the game. It opened the door for Jeremy Hecklinski, the other half of Iowa's preseason quarterback competition, to get some valuable live reps.

It appears all signs are pointing to Hecklinski getting the nod against Washington, per the latest quote from Kirk Ferentz, where it sounds like even if Hank Brown is healthy, he will be the No. 3 quarterback on Friday night.

“Hank hasn’t done a lot. It’s questionable; I think that’s one of the categories that you can put players in.

"Bottom line is, Heck has practiced so far, so it’s a little bit of a tough thing. I think [Hank] will be cleared medically to play, but the issue is: is it a smart thing to do, and is it the best thing to do for him and for our team?

Iowa starting quarterback Hank Brown (shoulder) is expected to be a game-time decision Friday against Washington, sources tell me and @DavidEickholt.

Seems more likely than not that backup Jeremy Hecklinski ends up getting the start but a final call isn’t expected until Friday. pic.twitter.com/e9hLNOU0Zy

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) October 7, 2026

"We’re the adults in the room, so we have to be thinking about making sure that we’re not putting him at risk and what’s best for everybody. Right now, our mindset is that Heck’s got it, and Jimmy Sullivan is on deck. If Hank can get to that point by Friday night, then great, but we can’t count on that," Ferentz said of Iowa's quarterback situation.

This isn't a traditional backup quarterback situation

Often, this would cause alarms to go off and the red panic button to be pressed for many teams in college football. That just isn't the case for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Few teams handle quarterback changes better than Iowa.

Mitch Fick of Iowa News Now dug into the archives and shared that Iowa is 7-1 since 2006, with a backup quarterback making his first career start.

Iowa is 7-1 since 2006 in games where their backup QB makes a first career start.

Wins for Manson, Christensen (2006), Beathard (2014), Padilla (2021), Labas (2022), Hill (2023), and Stratton (2024). Loss for Vandenberg (2009) in the toughest of the eight games (at Ohio State). https://t.co/JvyWUvHE6s

— Mitch Fick (@MCFick) October 7, 2026

Jeremy Hecklinski has gotten more first-team reps than quite possibly any backup in the country during spring ball and fall camp, too. Iowa held a true quarterback competition, which, yet again, is showing that Kirk Ferentz's wise ways pay off.

What this does do, though, is force the Hawkeyes to establish much more of a ground game than they have in the last couple of weeks.

It also puts additional pressure on the Hawkeyes' defense to be stout, but that's been par for the course. This unit answers in moments like this. I'm not sure this is the time I would pick against Phil Parker.