Iowa lands in ESPN’s preseason college football power rankings as quarterback battle takes center stage

Iowa is included in ESPN’s preseason college football power rankings for the 2026 season, and the program’s situation under center is framed as a central storyline heading into fall practice. ESPN’s preview puts the Hawkeyes “inside” the rankings discussion, emphasizing that Iowa is working through a quarterback battle, rather than pointing to a settled starter entering the year.

The competition, as described in the report, features Jeremy Hecklinski and Hank Brown. For a program that often centers its identity around control, execution, and minimizing mistakes, the details of who wins that job can shape how Iowa plays from week to week. Even in a preseason ranking format, the starting quarterback becomes the anchor for what fans and analysts expect on offense.

Power rankings are inherently speculative this early in the season. They are built from an offseason mix of returning production, coaching and scheme continuity, player development, and perceived matchup ability, with the usual caveat that roles can change quickly once a team settles into a game-week rhythm. In that context, ESPN’s inclusion of Iowa and its emphasis on a quarterback race indicates that the Hawkeyes’ near-term ceiling is tied to how quickly the offense finds clarity.

A quarterback battle also affects practice planning and personnel packages. Teams often discover that the quarterback who is best in timing drills and third-down scenarios is not always the same player who generates the most explosive plays, especially early in camp when defenses are still learning what each starter and backup can do well. With Hecklinski and Brown competing for the lead, Iowa’s offensive staff will likely be pushed to balance evaluation with reliability, particularly in situations where the offense needs consistency against live looks.

For Iowa, the stakes of that decision are not limited to one position. The quarterback choice can influence the entire offensive tempo, the protection calls, and how confidently the team can leverage its play-action passing game or run-pass options. It can also change how opponents game plan during the first stretch of the schedule, because a clear starter typically brings a more stable cadence, deeper familiarity with the protections, and a more defined target distribution in the passing game.

Looking at the bigger picture, being discussed in ESPN’s preseason power rankings suggests Iowa remains within the national conversation, even if the path to a higher placement depends on early-season performance. The quarterback battle provides a built-in reason why the Hawkeyes could either move upward once roles are settled or fall short of preseason expectations if the development curve takes longer than anticipated.