SEATTLE — Jeremy Hecklinski will make his first career start in Iowa's Friday night road matchup against Washington.
Iowa hosted Ohio State in an NCAA football game at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City on Saturday, Oct. 3. The Buckeyes beat the Hawkeyes 31-14.
According to a report from ESPN's Pete Thamel, the former Wake Forest transfer will take over under center with Hank Brown not expected to play. Brown may be available in an emergency role.
After Brown sustained an AC joint sprain in the third quarter against Ohio State, Hecklinski appeared for one drive against the Buckeyes. He completed all five of his pass attempts for 67 yards and connected with Reece Vander Zee on a two-point conversion following Iowa’s first touchdown of the game.
“It was good to get in there,” Hecklinski said postgame. “And it was good to get a touchdown on the board. … It was fun to be out there. I was just trying to score as fast as I could for the team, and so we could get back in the game.”
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On Tuesday, head coach Kirk Ferentz said he complimented Hecklinski for his performance in relief last week while also officially designating Brown as "questionable."
“He went and played really well,” Ferentz said. “I think that's a real tribute to the way he's practiced. … I know he's had to be disappointed the way things turned out, but it's a real credit to him and his character the way he's practiced. That's what he should do, but it's not always that easy to do what you're supposed to do.”
Brown said he also saw positives in Hecklinski’s performance on Saturday.
“He did a good job of getting the ball out fast and getting it into our playmakers’ hands just giving them a chance,” Brown said. “A lot of credit to him and how he was able to drive the ball down the field. We weren’t able to get the ball in the red zone much, and so being able to run some of those red zone plays that we had when we got down there was also effective as well. He did a good job for sure.”
Two weeks ago, when Brown officially beat out Hecklinski in the QB battle, Ferentz said he did not see any change in Hecklinski’s approach during practice.
Following Saturday, Hecklinski said he did not let losing the QB battle change his mentality.
“I haven’t wavered,” Hecklinski said. “I’ve just continued to practice like I’m going to be the starter and just keep my mind mentally in the game. … Obviously, it’s going to be a little bit hard, but I’m a team guy. I love this team. I just want us to win. When Hank threw that touchdown last week, I was the happiest guy ever. … I just want the Iowa Hawkeyes to win every week.”
Hecklinski appeared in two of the first three games, getting extended action against Northern Illinois and Northern Iowa. The Marietta, Georgia, native struggled in both outings, completing 13 of his 27 (48.1%) pass attempts for 141 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Ethan Petrik is a University of Iowa beat writer for the Lee Enterprises network. Follow him on X or send him an email at ethan.petrik@wcfcourier.com.
