By Hawk Fanatic

IOWA CITY, Iowa – If you were hoping that the much-anticipated release of the Iowa football team’s depth chart would finally reveal who will start at quarterback against Northern Illinois in the season opener on Saturday, sorry to disappoint you.

Iowa released its updated depth chart on Monday, but it didn’t say who will start at quarterback between Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski as they both were listed as co-starters with their names separated by the word, or; though Brown’s name is listed first because positions are ordered numerically.

Brown and Hecklinski have been battling for the starting quarterback position since spring practice.

And while Hecklinski clearly outperformed Brown in the Kids Day practice on Aug. 15, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said to the media afterwards not to overreact since it was just one practice.

Ferentz also indicated last Wednesday that Brown had the advantage in the practices leading up to the Kids Day practice and that the competition had been mostly even since then.

Iowa has to replace Mark Grownowki, who started all 13 games at quarterback last season.

Brown, a fourth-year transfer from Auburn, appeared in three games for Iowa last season, while Hecklinski, a third-year transfer from Wake Forest, played briefly in two games last season.

Brown played almost the entire fourth quarter against eventual national champion Indiana last season after Gronowski was injured.

However, Brown struggled against the Hoosiers, completing just 5-of-13 passe for 48 yards and one interception in a 20-15 loss at Kinnick Stadium.

Hecklinski then moved ahead of Brown on the depth about midway through last season and shortly after the loss to Indiana.

The updated depth chart has former walk-on Caden Buhr listed as the starting place-kicker, ahead of North Dakota State transfer Eli Ozick, while true freshman Boston Everitt is listed as the starting punter, ahead of Simpson transfer Tanner Philpott.

Third-year player  Reece Vander Zee is listed as one of the starting wide receivers, along with transfer portal additions Tony Diaz and Evan James, while DJ Vonnahme and Addison Ostrenga are listed as co-starters at tight end.

Ostrenga suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in the second game against Iowa State last season.

The five starters on the offensive line are Trevor Lauck at left tackle, Leighton Jones at left guard, Cael Winter at center, Kade Pieper at right guard and Jack Dotzler at right tackle. Lauck and Pieper both made third-team All-Big Ten last season and are now widely regarded as two of the top offensive linemen in the country.

The top two running backs on the depth chart are returning starter Kamari Moulton and transfer portal addition LJ Phillips, who rushed for 1,921 yards while playing for South Dakota last season. That was the most rushing yards in FCS last season.

Switching to defense, the four starters on the defensive line are Kenny Merrieweather and Iose Epenesa at the defensive end positions, and Will Hubert and Bryce Hawthorne at defensive tackle.

Iowa has to replace all four starters on the defensive line from last season.

Cam Buffington and Jayden Montgomery are listed as the starters at middle linebacker and will linebacker, respectively, while Landyn Van Kekerix is listed as the starter at the Leo linebacker position.

Deshaun Lee and Jaylen Watson are listed as the starting cornerbacks, while Zach Lutmer and Villanova transfer Anthony Hawkins are listed as the starters at free safety and strong safety, respectively.

Lutmer, who was named second-team All-Big Ten last season by the coaches, and third-team by the media, will also be the new punt returner.

Lutmer started all 13 games at the CASH position last season, recording 71 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, one sack, three interceptions, one touchdown, and seven pass breakups.

The game against Northern Illinois will start at 3:16 p.m. on Saturday and will be televised by the Big Ten Network.

Kirk Ferentz is entering his 28th season as the Iowa head coach and he has a 24-3 record in season openers as the head Hawk. Ferentz is also the longest-tenured head coach in the nation; while Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker is the longest-tenured defensive coordinator in college football.

Since Phil Parker took over as Iowa’s defensive coordinator in 2012, Iowa is 75-5 (.938) when winning the turnover battle.

Saturday’s season opener is a “Gold Out” inside Kinnick Stadium with fans encouraged to wear gold clothing.

The Hawkeyes are ranked 22nd in both the preseason coaches and AP polls. Iowa returns eight starters (five on offense and three on defense) for the 2026 season.