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Hank Brown is about to start his third straight game as Iowa quarterback but coach Kirk Ferentz still won’t say he has won the job.
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Brown gets another chance to assert he’s the main guy when the No. 18 Hawkeyes (2-0) take on visiting Northern Iowa (1-1) on Saturday at Iowa City.
Brown competed with Jeremy Hecklinski throughout fall camp and he opened at quarterback in the season-opening 40-0 rout of Northern Illinois. Hecklinski also saw action in that contest.
But in last Saturday’s 16-13 victory over visiting Iowa State in the pressure-packed Cy-Hawk rivalry game, Brown went the distance under center.
While the appearance is that Brown is the clear-cut starter, Ferentz declined to make a definitive comment on Tuesday.
“He started last week, and as I stand here right now, he’ll probably start this week,” Ferentz said. “Like a lot of guys, yeah.”
Brown has completed 66% of his passes for 320 yards and one touchdown in the two games. He also rushed for Iowa’s lone touchdown against Iowa State.
Hecklinski was 7-for-16 passing for 76 yards, one touchdown and one interception in relief against Northern Illinois.
Ferentz sees the situation as a process still to be fully played out.
“First of all, I’m never going to pretend to be a quarterback expert or a kicking expert or a lot of things, quite frankly,” said Ferentz, now in his 28th season as Iowa’s head coach. “But my experience is it’s just a matter of time typically. Sometimes that time doesn’t come. But to me, the more guys play, the more they’re in game situations, and practice really is important. It’s a great starting point for everything.
“But ultimately it’s how you perform in a game. Some guys do it better than others. It’s just something that either comes along or it doesn’t.”
The Iowa offense will likely be missing tight end DJ Vonnahme, who has six receptions for 67 yards this season, against the Panthers. He was injured against the Cyclones.
Running back Kamari Moulton (240 rushing yards, two touchdowns) was termed day-to-day by Ferentz after being sore from contact in the Iowa State game. The status of backup L.J. Phillips Jr. (ankle) will be determined later in the week. He was hurt against Northern Illinois.
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One player the Hawkeyes can count on is linebacker Cam Buffington, who had a career-best 15 tackles against the Cyclones.
Northern Iowa is coming off a 56-14 whipping of Drake that included an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown by safety Calvin Jaworski, two other interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
“When you force five turnovers, you end up pretty well,” Panthers coach Todd Stepsis said.
Stepsis is concerned about the Hawkeyes. He said he watched the Iowa-Iowa State game on television and he always felt like the Hawkeyes would pull it out, and they did with Caden Buhr’s winning 42-yard field goal with 15 seconds left.
The following day, Stepsis broke down the Hawkeyes and was overly impressed.
“They’re probably the best team I’ve ever watched on tape, from a team (standpoint),” he said. “I’m not talking about talent, though they have a lot of talent. I’m not talking about size and strength, they’ve got a lot of that. I’m talking about team.”
Stepsis was talking about things like offensive flow, defensive alignments, special teams’ prowess, fundamentals, game instinct and overall teamwork.
“A tremendous challenge obviously for our team,” Stepsis said. “But at the same time, it’s a challenge we’re looking forward to.”
Panthers quarterback Jaxon Dailey has passed for 529 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
All three of Dailey’s TD throws came against Drake and tight end Brady McCullough was the recipient of all three (14, 17 and 13 yards).
Iowa has won the last 17 meetings with the Panthers. Northern Iowa won the first meeting in 1898 and hasn’t won since.
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–Field Level Media
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This story was originally published September 16, 2026 at 8:10 AM.