Let’s pour one out for the departed. Mark Gronowski was unlike anything else we’ve seen at the quarterback position in Iowa City. While he showed plenty of ability throwing the ball in his days at South Dakota State, the fifth year senior really shined for the Hawkeyes as a runner, adding a new dynamic to the Iowa offense that Kirk Ferentz has rarely embraced. It was fun while it lasted.
Now the Hawkeyes move into 2026 without the winningest quarterback in college football history. They’ll need to replace exactly 2,000 yards of total offense and 27 total touchdowns at the position.
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The good news? For the first time in the Tim Lester era, Iowa won’t be relying on a player in his first year in the program to run the show. Both of the Hawkeyes’ top options to start at QB are in year two in Iowa City. That’s a big deal with an actual offensive coordinator who is also an actual quarterback coach who has seemingly gained the trust of Kirk Ferentz to run the show the way he sees fit.
Who is QB1?
The big question exiting spring practice is who exactly sits atop the quarterback depth chart. Ferentz opted not to release an official depth chart so we’re all left guessing. Redshirt junior Hank Brown and redshirt sophomore Jeremy Hecklinski split time nearly evenly throughout the spring and seemingly did so during the open practice.
So who has the edge? Still undecided. Brown, a year older, has more experience. He completed nearly 63% of his passes while throwing 6 TDs to 3 INTs with 405 yards through the air in a pair of starts at Auburn before coming to Iowa City last offseason. In his one year for the Hawkeyes, Brown played in three games throwing for 107 yards with one TD and one INT while completing 52% of his passes.
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While he has that prototypical QB stature at 6’4” and 215 pounds, Brown’s biggest moment in the black and gold came in the fourth quarter against eventual national champion Indiana. He went 5 of 13 for 48 yards with an interception and a gut-wrenching incompletion on a screen pass that could have handed the Hoosiers their only loss of the season.
He brings a solid arm, a more traditional drop back style and in the mold of Ferentz’s long time preference, he’s relatively risk averse.
That comes in pretty stark contrast to his primary competition for the starting job. Redshirt sophomore Jeremy Hecklinski has the gunslinger label attached despite only seeing action in a pair of collegiate games to this point. The former Wake Forest QB saw only three snaps in his one season in Winston-Salem before transferring to Iowa.
At 5’11” and 188 pounds, it’s hard not to make the Drew Tate comparison for Hecklinski. While he has thrown only two passes for the Hawkeyes in game situations (going 2/2), he has mobility, escapability and according to the practice reports, an appetite for trying to hit the big play.
We’ve seen a similar movie over the years with a more traditional QB who is hesitant, gun-shy or simply more risk averse battling against a more mobile guy who is willing to push the envelope more, take chances and try to hit tight windows. Historically, Ferentz has preferred the guy who doesn’t put the ball in harm’s way. But historically, he didn’t like his QBs leading the team in rushing TDs either.
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Will this be the year that Tim Lester fully converts KF and we see the risk-taking signal caller driving the ball down field? We may not know until mid-September.
The Young Guns
Behind the two older guys battling for the starting job, Iowa has a trio of young guns developing in the wings. None should be expected to contribute unless things get really dire in 2026 (lest we forget just a few short years ago when the Hawkeyes were forced to start Deacon Hill most of the year, or two season ago when we saw Iowa go from Cade McNamara to Brendan Sullivan and ultimately to Jackson Stratton – things can happen at the position which force the staff’s hand) but all are worth watching to see who is positioned to presumable step into the backup role in 2027 and who could be headed for the portal.
The group of young guys consists of two scholarship players and a walk-on with two redshirt freshmen and one true freshman. Let’s start with the two elder statesmen of this bunch.
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Jimmy Sullivan was the first QB to (re)commit under new OC and QB coach Tim Lester. He had originally decided on Iowa under Brian Ferentz. The former 3-star prospect took a redshirt season a year ago, but his high school film showed some talent that is worth monitoring.
At 6’1” and 197 pounds, he doesn’t have a huge frame for the position. But he is a mobile guy. As a senior at Carroll HS in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, Sullivan ran for 718 yards (5.1 ypc and nearly 60 yards per game) with 10 rushing TDs while throwing for more than 2,000 yards with 24 TDs to just 5 INTs. If we’re comparing him to either of the two guys battling for the starting gig, Sullivan is more like Hecklinski, but certainly a different player in his own right.
In the same class, Iowa returns walk-on Ryan Fitzgerald – son of Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald. Perhaps the most notable thing here is that Ryan opted to stick around in Iowa City this offseason even after his father took the HC job in East Lansing and the Hawkeyes saw Special Teams Coordinator LeVar Woods make the move north.
Fitz Jr. also clocks in at 6’1” but is a bit thicker at 218 pounds according to the the official roster. Despite the thicker build, Fitzgerald is decidedly less of a threat to run. He finished his senior season at 354 rushing yards with just one TD on the ground while throwing for 1,779 yards with 25 TDs and just 3 INTs. Most notably, Fitzgerald is a winner. He led Loyola Academy to three straight state titles to close out his high school career.
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Lastly, Iowa brought in true freshman Tradon Bessinger in the recruiting class of 2026. A 4-star prospect, Bessinger was originally committed to Boise State before flipping to Tim Lester and the Hawkeyes. The Kaysville, Utah product lit up the stat sheet as a prep, throwing for 10,908 career passing yards and 127 touchdowns. Those were good for 8th and 4th all-time in the state of Utah for passing yards touchdown passes respectively.
At 6’4” and 200 pounds coming out of high school, Bessinger has more of your prototypical QB build. As a senior, he threw for 4,313 yards and 53 (!!!) TDs while completing 76% (!!!) of his passes en route to setting the Utah state record for most completions in a single season.
Bessinger is certainly not Mark Gronowski and I wouldn’t look for him to be much of a runner at this level, but he shows an ability to move around the pocket and escape when things break down. Most importantly, he always seems to have his eyes downfield. If Iowa can keep him engaged and buying into the process, he seems like the best bet to ultimately get starter minutes down the line.
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For now, the battle remains between Jeremy Hecklinski and Hank Brown and Iowa’s 2026 season will likely be driven in large part by how the winner of that battle performs under the bright lights of Kinnick. But the future of the QB position in Iowa City appears bright with OC Tim Lester now able to sell improvement in what had once been a complete laughingstock of an offense.
