By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa –  Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz obviously loves a challenge and he certainly faces one this offseason in having to replace significant parts of his offense, defense and special teams.

He has to replace his starting quarterback, starting kicker, starting punter, three starters on the offensive line, all three of whom made first-team All-Big Ten, and eight starters on defense.

The transfer portal is there to help and it already has paid dividends with Iowa gaining commitments from three players just in the last 24 hours: former North Dakota State kicker Eli Ozick, former Villanova defensive back Anthony Hawkins and former Holy Cross defensive lineman Brice Stevenson.

All three players fill specific needs and they should have a chance to contribute immediately in all three cases, especially Ozick, who has made 19-of-23 field-goal attempts with a long of 54 yards.

Kirk Ferentz doesn’t rely heavily on the transfer portal to fill roster spots, but he will use it to fill glaring holes, or to upgrade a position, namely quarterback.

Mark Gronowski was brought in to play quarterback this season and he would go on to lead Iowa to a 9-4 record while setting single-season program records for a quarterback with 545 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns.

Gronowski struggled to throw down field, but he showed progress in the latter stages of the season, including throwing for 212 yards in the 34-27 victory over Vanderbilt in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

That was the only time in 13 games as a Hawkeye that Gronowski threw for at least 200 yards in a game.

Gronowski was most effective as a runner, sometimes as a power runner as he would use his 6-foot-2, 235-pound frame to gain the tough yards, often on third down.

While a lot of teams would throw on third down, Iowa often relied on Gronowski to get a key first down by running, usually between the tackles.

Assuming Iowa doesn’t add a quarterback from the transfer portal before the start of next season; the competition to replace Gronowski will likely be between sophomore Jeremy Hecklinski and junior Hank Brown.

They were both listed as the co-backups throughout the 2025 season, but Hecklinski’s name started being listed in front of Brown’s name on the depth chart about midway through the season.

That would suggest that Hecklinski has moved ahead of Brown, but not far enough to make Hecklinski the clear-cut No. 1 quarterback heading into spring practice.

Hecklinski, a transfer from Wake Forest, appeared in two games this season, completing both of his pass attempts for eight yards.

Brown, who transferred from Auburn, appeared in three games this season, including for most of the fourth quarter in the 20-15 loss to Indiana after Gronowski left the game with a knee sprain.

Brown struggled against Indiana’s rock-solid defense, completing just 5-of-13 passes for 48 yards and one interception.

In fairness, though, he was put in a tough situation and just didn’t handle it very well.

It happens to a lot of quarterbacks.

There is a growing belief that Iowa is satisfied with its returning depth at quarterback, and as a result, offensive coordinator Tim Lester won’t be actively pursuing a quarterback in the transfer portal.

But you never say never in this age of NIL and the transfer portal.

If a better option were to emerge at quarterback, Lester would almost certainly pursue it.

If the starting job does ultimately come down to Hecklinski versus Brown, the concern would be that neither appears to be nearly as effective as a runner as Gronowski was in college.

That’s a concern because the Iowa offense relied so heavily on Gronowski to gain yards as as runner.

So he took a beating, partly because of his physical running style.

Gronowski could make defenders miss, but he still runs more like a fullback between the tackles, and the offense became so accustomed to him gaining critical yards in tight spaces.

Iowa probably won’t have that dimension with its quarterback next season with Hecklinski listed at 5-11 and 188 pounds and with Brown listed at 6-4 and 215 pounds. Neither would be considered a true dual-threat quarterback.

That would make Iowa more predictable and would put more pressure on the running backs to get the tough yards next season, and more pressure on the passing game to convert critical third-down plays, which has been a problem for Iowa in recent seasons.

Iowa recruited former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara from the transfer portal in 2023 and he would go on to start 13 games over two injury-filled seasons.

But even when healthy, McNamara posed little threat as a runner and that made Iowa easier to defend.

Brandon Sullivan transferred to Iowa from Northwestern in 2024 and he would go on to start two games in the 2024, but he also battled with injuries.

Sullivan was a threat as a runner, but his passing skills left something to be desired.

He also took a pounding in the brief time that he played for Iowa due to his playing style.

The fact that Gronowski made it through the 2025 season with just the knee sprain is a testimony to his durability and toughness because he absorbed more hits than a typical Iowa quarterback.

In just one season, he became arguably the greatest running quarterback in program history.

But in doing so, he also helped to cover up the shortcomings with the passing game?

Iowa is always looking to upgrade the receiver positions, and rightfully so, because there has been a lack of playmakers at those spots.

Gronowski ran as much as he did probably because the passing game wasn’t good enough to keep him from running.