By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The usually predictable Kirk Ferentz sort of ventured out of his coaching lane on Tuesday with what he said about Iowa’s quarterback situation.

The surprise wasn’t necessarily that Ferentz picked Jeremy Hecklinski to start over Hank Brown against Minnesota on Saturday, but that Ferentz would go as far as to confirm it at his weekly press conference on Tuesday.

It seemed more likely that Ferentz would let it ride for a few more days, partly to keep Minnesota guessing, but also to keep his two quarterbacks equally engaged.

After nearly 28 years of covering Kirk Ferentz, and with his previous handling of quarterbacks, I would’ve probably guessed prior to Tuesday’s press conference that Brown would start against the Gophers, but that an announcement would have come later in the week.

Ferentz said he made the decision to start Hecklinski this past weekend, presumably after consulting with offensive coordinator Tim Lester, who last week said Hecklinski and Brown both would take meaningful snaps in the second half of the regular season.

Ferentz apparently wasn’t aware heading into his press conference on Tuesday that the depth chart hadn’t been updated as it had Brown’s name listed first, followed by the word or and then Hecklinski’s name.

That would usually indicate that both quarterbacks were on equal standing, but Ferentz quickly put that to rest.

“We’ll just play it by situation, but our plan now is to start Jeremy and just see where things go,” Ferentz said. “It’s good to know we have two guys that have proven themselves when they’ve been out there.

“But neither of them have ten years, either. So there’s a lot out there to be had. So we’ll just play it by ear. Again, we just feel real good about both, and obviously, you can only start one.”

My main reason for thinking that Brown would start against Minnesota is because he started the first five games, leading Iowa to a 4-1 record, highlighted by the 20-19 win at Michigan in which Brown threw two touchdowns passes in the fourth quarter, including the game winner as time expired.

I mistakenly assumed that Brown’s body of work, along with Brown being the original starter, would ultimately give him the edge over Hecklinski.

It now appears that Hecklinski’s rise to No. 1 might have started when he completed all five of his passes in the fourth quarter against Ohio State for 67 yards after replacing Brown, who had injured his shoulder.

Hecklinski then helped his cause by passing for 202 yards and three touchdowns in the 41-24 win at Washington on Oct. 9 in Seattle. It was his first career start.

Brown was available for the Washington game in an emergency, but there was no emergency as Iowa dominated the line of scrimmage on both offense and defense.

On all three of Hecklinski’s touchdown passes the wide receiver was wide open.

Iowa also rushed for 263 yards against Washington, making things even easier for the 5-foot-11, 202-pound Hecklinski, who transferred to Iowa from Wake Forest after the 2024 season.

Ferentz emphasized on Tuesday that the competition between Hecklinski and Brown still is real close, and that both quarterbacks have the trust and confidence of their teammates and coaches.

But Ferentz also made it clear that the starting job is now Hecklinski’s to lose.

Hecklinski had met with the media about two hours before Ferentz’s press conference on Tuesday, but Hecklinski gave no indication that he would be the starter when asked what the game plan would be for Minnesota.

Hecklinski apparently didn’t want to say anything before his head coach had a chance to address the media on Tuesday, and fair enough.

You now wonder if Hecklinski was also surprised that Ferentz announced at his press conference that Hecklinski would start against the Gophers.

Or maybe Hecklinski knew the announcement was coming.

Whatever the case, the Marietta, Georgia native now sits atop the depth chart, much to the delight of Hawkeye fans who have been clamoring for Hecklinski to get more playing time.

Kirk Ferentz has a long history of being extremely loyal to his starting quarterback, and some fans would say too loyal.

But not in this case.

Ferentz made a similar decision in 2008 when he finally picked Ricky Stanzi to start at quarterback over Jake Christensen, who had started every game in 2007. Ferentz made the decision after Stanzi and Christensen both had started two games in 2008.

Stanzi would go on to post a 26-9 record as the starter over three seasons, proving that Ferentz made the right choice.

Hecklinski now has a chance to prove again that Ferentz has made the right choice.

But if Hecklinski were to struggle, Ferentz might have another difficult decision to make with Brown now healthy, and with five starts under his belt, including a rare win over Michigan at the Big House.