2026 Big Ten football QB rankings: Where does Iowa duo fall?

With basketball season wrapped up in Iowa City, the attention will now turn to the football program. One of the biggest questions that Iowa will need to answer next season is at the quarterback position. Mark Gronowski had a great 2025 season, showing that it's possible for Hawkeye quarterbacks to play at a high level under Tim Lester.

Now the coaching staff will have to find his replacement. It looks like one of sophomore Jeremy Hecklinski, or junior Hank Brown, will be the starter in 2026. Both of them transferred to Iowa last season and had a year to learn from Gronowski and Lester.

Now they'll look to step into a much bigger role and help lead the Hawkeyes to a lot of success on the field. It'll be tough, as the Big Ten Conference is loaded with quality starting quarterbacks. Where does the duo of Hecklinski and Brown rank compared to their Big Ten peers?

Here's a Spring ranking of the 18 Big Ten starting quarterbacks in 2026. 18. Ryan Browne, Purdue 2025 stats : 2,153 passing yards, 9 TD, 10 INT, 58.