By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The ongoing drama surrounding the Iowa quarterback situation has reached the point where neither Hank Brown nor Jeremy Hecklinski were made available to the media at the weekly player interviews on Tuesday.

It marks the first time this season, and one of very few times in recent memory, that at least one Iowa quarterback wasn’t made available to the media.

But that’s where the drama ends, because for the second straight week, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz announced at his weekly press conference on Tuesday who will stat at quarterback; this time it’s Hank Brown getting the call over Jeremy Hecklinski for Saturday’s game against Wisconsin at Kinnick Stadium, while a week ago Ferentz announced that Hecklinski would start against Minnesota, which Hecklinski did before being benched in the second quarter of the 13-10 loss in Minneapolis.

While there is reason from a coverage standpoint to be frustrated with no quarterbacks being made available at the weekly press conference; Kirk Ferentz also has the right and the power to make that decision.

It’s not ideal from a public relations standpoint because it looks as if you’re trying to control the message or shield your quarterbacks.

But again, it’s Ferentz’s prerogative.

The media was told on Tuesday prior to Ferentz saying that Brown would start that whichever quarterback plays against Wisconsin would be made available for interviews after the game.

The post-game could get interesting if Brown and Hecklinski both played against Wisconsin on Saturday, but that also seems unlikely.

The fact that Hecklinski was benched slightly beyond the midway point of the second quarter against Minnesota sent a powerful message to Hecklinski, and in some ways, to Brown.

Because it seems pretty clear now that Kirk Ferentz is more comfortable with Hank Brown as his quarterback, or Ferentz wouldn’t have started Brown in the first five games over Hecklinski, nor would Ferentz have benched Hecklinski so quickly against Minnesota.

Ferentz didn’t throw either quarterback under the bus as he met with the media on Tuesday because that just isn’t his style.

When asked to evaluate the performance of his two quarterbacks against Minnestoa, Ferentz described it as a team loss with the coaches and players all sharing the blame.

“Not good enough,” Ferentz said.” Fair to say about our whole team and the coaching staff. We just didn’t do enough to get the job done.

“I’ve been saying it consistently. We believe in both players. I think both Hank and Jeremy are good young people, and they’re good young quarterbacks. Neither one of them are really experienced right now.

“There are some things we could have done better, but that’s true in every facet. A lot of things we could have done better.”

That might seem a little harsh for an Iowa defense that held Minnesota to just 209 yards, but it was clear what Ferentz was trying to say in that you win as a team and lose as a team.

Nobody on offense played very well as evidenced by the three turnovers and 288 yards.

Iowa also had a blocked punt and committed six penalties, so there was plenty of blame to go around.

Both quarterbacks had major struggles against Minnesota, but Hecklinski made two throws with one resulting in an interception at the Minnesota two-yard line and the other a near interception also near the Gopher end zone.

Both throws were risky and ill-advised.

Hecklinski also zeroed in on his receiver on both throws instead of trying to look-off the safety.

In other words, he tipped his throws, according to former Iowa offensive coordinator Don Patterson, who made that observation on Monday’s Hawk Fanatic radio show and podcast.

Patterson supported Ferentz’s decision to switch quarterbacks in the second quarter, and wasn’t surprised that Ferentz pulled the plug before halftime.

Ferentz seemed a little feisty, at least by his standards, while addressing the quarterback situation during his press conference on Tuesday.

He knows there’s a lot of second-guessing going on about who should start at quarterback. But the point Ferentz tried to emphasize on Tuesday is that personnel decisions are made based on a number of factors and details, including daily evaluations, and of course, in-game performances.

“We’re not just pulling numbers out of the air or pulling rabbits out of our hat,” Ferentz said. “We’re trying to be as critical as we can and as fair as you can, too.”

Ferentz also acknowledged that switching quarterbacks can come down to just a gut feeling.

“There’s no right answer on that,” Ferentz said. “You have to do it by feel. What I’m trying to say is typically if we do something, we usually have a reason for it, and it’s hopefully well thought out and grounded in substance. Not to appease the fans or the media, but really so when you are with that player the next day, you can say, okay, here are a couple of things that we need to get cleaned up, and this is why this isn’t good enough and this is what we need to be doing instead.

“So it’s an ongoing process, but we’re not throwing darts or any of that kind of stuff.

“Sometimes you do go by feel, and that’s as unscientific as it gets, but gut feelings sometimes play in too, you know? No different than baseball, right? We have baseball going on right now, and do you keep a pitcher in? Do you yank them? Pinch hitter, all that stuff. That’s the human aspect of sport.”

Hecklinski helped his cause by throwing three touchdown passes in the 41-24 win at Washington on Oct. 9, which was his first career start.

The Georgia native had momentum heading into the bye week, and he also had the backing of his head coach to start the next game against Minnesota.

But it just didn’t work out for Hecklinski against the Gophers.

He was reckless with the football, and that’s maybe the worst thing a quarterback can be under Kirk Ferentz.

Hank Brown also had some low points against the Gophers as he thew two interceptions.

However, one of his interceptions came when his pass deflected off the hands of Iowa wide receiver Reece Vander Zee into the hands of  Gopher defender. Vander Zee would be the first to say that he should’ve made the catch.

Brown’s other interception came when a Gopher defender, who initially was trying to deflect the pass near the line of scrimmage, somehow managed to wrap his arms around the football and make an improbable interception.

Brown did misfire on several throws against the Gophers and has struggled with accuracy at times this season.

He was terrific in the fourth quarter against Michigan, throwing two touchdown passes, the second as time expired, in Iowa’s 20-19 win at the Big House. Brown also threw for 142 yards in the fourth quarter alone against Michigan.

Hecklinski had a strong performance against Washington on the road, but he also benefitted from a rushing attack that produced 263 yards and from a Washington defense that was repeatedly out of position on pass plays.

Brown had neither of those advantages against Michigan.

This week’s depth chart still has the word or between Brown’s name and Hecklinski’s name, which usually indicates that both could start the next game.

But right now, Hank Brown is back where he started the season as Iowa’s No. 1 quarterback.

As far as how long of a leash Brown will have against Wisconsin, that remains to be seen since it’ll probably come down to a gut feeling, though Brown’s leash will probably be longer than Hecklinski’s leash was for the Minnesota game.