By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Hank Brown is listed as Iowa’s starting quarterback on this week’s depth chart.

He was also among eight Iowa players that were made available to the media on Tuesday, and that would usually suggest that he is on course to start the next game, which is Friday at Washington.

But after hearing updates on Tuesday from both Brown and from Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz, it’s looking and sounding more and more like backup quarterback Jeremy Hecklinski will make his first career start on Friday in Seattle.

Brown has started all five games this season, but he left last Saturday’s 31-14 loss to Ohio State late in the third quarter after injuring his right shoulder, which is also his throwing arm.

“I’d say there’s definitely still a little bit of question for sure,” Brown said of his status for Friday’s game. “But I’m just trying to focus on taking it day by day and be able to just do everything I can on my part to be able to be prepared and spend as much time as I can in the training room to be able to be out there.”

With Iowa playing on Friday instead of Saturday, Brown will have had one fewer day to recover physically and to prepare mentally.

“The good news for Hank is he’s gotten a lot of reps over the last x-amount of weeks so that’s good news,” Kirk Ferentz said. “But he’s really limited on what he can do right now.

“So we’ll see. But we can’t count on him, that’s for sure. I think that would really be short-sighted on our part.

“But the other good news is that Jeremy has done a great job, he really has. I complimented him at our team meeting yesterday; he went in and played really well (against Ohio State) and I think that’s a real tribute to the way he’s practiced.”

Hecklinski replaced Brown in the fourth quarter of the Ohio State game and then completed all five of his passes for 67 yards.

He also threw a two-point conversion pass to receiver Reece Vander Zee.

For Brown meanwhile, just being able to throw again without feeling pain is the next step in his recovery.

“I think there’s still a process with it,” Brown said. “I wouldn’t say we’re fully back to normal by any means. But we’re making progress, a ton, like Sunday morning waking up, it definitely felt sore and we’ve made a ton of progress since then, being able to lift my arm above my shoulder and being able to throw it a little bit. So definitely making progress.”

And while that might qualify as progress, being able to lift your arm above your shoulder and being able to throw a little bit is along way from being able to play in a college football game in just three days.

It just doesn’t seem realistic that Brown could recover fast enough to get the necessary reps in practice to be ready for Friday’s game.

That’s why it seems as if Hecklinski is on the verge of making his first start.

Hecklinski and Brown were in a hotly contested battle for the starting position in preseason practice, and the competition was apparently so close that both were listed as co-starters for the season opener against Northern Illinois.

Brown started the season opener, but he and Hecklinski both played in the first half, which ended with Iowa leading, 33-0.

With the score so lopsided, Brown didn’t play in the second half, while Hecklinski played through the third quarter of the 40-0 victory.

Hecklinski also replaced Brown in the 55-0 victory over Northern Iowa in week three, passing for 65 yards.

However, against Iowa State and Michigan, Hecklinski didn’t see any action as Brown went the distance in both victories by scores of 16-13 and 20-19, respectively.

Brown threw a game-winning touchdown pass to Vander Zee as time expired to beat Michigan

Against Ohio State, though, Brown struggled, completing just 12-of-27 passes for 132 yards and one interception. The Auburn transfer also lost a fumble on Iowa’s opening series of the game that resulted in a Ohio State touchdown just two plays later.

The narrative heading into the season was that Iowa had two quarterbacks that could play winning football.

Brown and Hecklinski also shared reps in the spring and throughout preseason practice as the coaches waited for one to create some separation.

Having the two quarterback share reps could now prove beneficial if Hecklinski were to start on Friday.

Hecklinski took three snaps as a true freshman at Wake Forest in 2024 and then he appeared briefly in two games for Iowa last season in mop-up duty.

So if he were to start on Friday, the 5-foot-11, 201-pound Hecklinski would be taking a significant step in his career.

“I don’t think there’s any doubts about having two good players,” Kirk Ferentz said. “We feel good about Hank. Right now, it’s just a matter can he go physically.

“So based on what I know thus far, and you’ve still got three days here, so anything can happen. But based on what I know thus far, it’d be foolish for us to say he’s going to be starting. If he does, great. But if he doesn’t, we got Jeremy and that’s what we’re ready to do.

“I guess the good news is the good thing about it being so close has so far proven to be accurate. Who’s ever in there is the guy we’ll go with and not worry about it.”

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Defensive back losses: Ferentz said Tuesday that safeties Tyler Brown and Ty Hudkins will both miss the Washington game due to injuries.

Brown, who transferred from James Madison, has started two games at strong safety this season, but has also missed three games due to a soft-tissue injury.

Hudkins, who transferred from Purdue, replaced Zach Lutmer at free safety in the second half of the Ohio State game due to Lutmer suffering from camps.

Ferentz said Tuesday that Lutmer is expected to play against Washington on Friday, while Villanova transfer Anthony Hawkins is listed as the starter at strong safety.

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No. 20/18 Iowa (4-1, 1-1) vs. Washington (3-2, 0-2)

When: Friday, 8:05 p.m.

Where: Seattle, Washington, Husky Stadium (70,138)

TV: Fox or FS1

Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network

Series history:  Friday’s game will be the eighth meeting in the all-time series between Iowa and Washington. It is the
Hawkeyes’ first trip to Seattle since 1963 — a 17-7 Iowa victory.

Iowa leads the series, 4-3, with the Hawkeyes bringing a two-game winning streak into Husky Stadium. Iowa is 1-1 all-time in Seattle.

The Hawkeyes won the first meeting between the two schools as Big Ten foes, downing Washington, 40-16, in 2024 in Kinnick Stadium.

Iowa has met Washington three times in bowl games, falling twice in the Rose Bowl in 1981 and 1990 before winning the 1995 Sun Bowl, 38-18.

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SERIES RESULTS

9/25/1937 L 0-14 (A)

10/5/1963 W 17-7 (A)

10/3/1964 W 28-18 (#10) (H)

1/1/1981 L 0-28 (#16) (Pasadena, Calif.)

1/1/1990 L 34-46 (Pasadena, Calif.)

12/29/1995 W 38-18 (#20) (El Paso, Texas)

10/12/2024 W 40-16 (H)