Today was the first time the Iowa Hawkeyes were in action in front of fans as they opened the doors to Kinnick Stadium for their spring practice. The day saw the quarterback competition between Jeremy Hecklinski and Hank Brown, only furthering the conversation as the two split first-team reps.
In typical Iowa fashion, the Hawkeyes rotated a lot of guys, saw multiple players work in at the skill positions, and, as Kirk Ferentz has always done, refused to give away much on film. Still, the day provided a glimpse at what the 2026 season could look like in Iowa City, with some strong rumblings bubbling from Kinnick Stadium, with a few explosive plays from the offense gaining some traction.
Iowa's first action of the 2026 season comes on Saturday, September 5, when they welcome the Northern Illinois Huskies to Kinnick Stadium. As the Hawkeyes wrap up spring ball, head into summer, and get ready for that season-opening matchup, which will be here rapidly, check out the biggest news and some of the best highlight clips from the Iowa spring practice.
Head Hawk Kirk Ferentz has arrived! pic.twitter.com/zXLBr1i2HR
— Collin Carrithers (@c_carrithers33) April 25, 2026
Today's starting OL for Iowa in the spring scrimmage: Lauck, Jones, Winter, Pieper, Dotzler (Myslinski out).A ton of WRs out today (Buie, Diaz, James, Smith) and two DTs (Stevenson, Hawthorne).
Jeremy Hecklinski and Hank Brown are in the building pic.twitter.com/qLDePlB3Ga
Iowa freshman guard, Tate Sage is here at the Hawkeyes open spring football all practice. pic.twitter.com/IcGIk8SsEk
Jaylen Watson, Tony Diaz, Evan James, Bryce Hawthorne and Brice Stevenson among those not participating today.
Jeremy Hecklinski and Hank Brown completing some warmup throws. pic.twitter.com/jPQypxH5KY
Reece Vander Zee and DJ Vonnahme already making some plays in the pass game. Reece looks so much more confident this spring.
Touchdown pass from Hank Brown to DJ Vonnahme. Incredible effort by Iowa’s star TE with the toe tap for the score. pic.twitter.com/bueOUtNzRY
Hank Brown isn’t afraid to let it fly today and he has been giving his receivers a chance. Impressed with his placement early
Couple punts. First from freshman Aussie, Boston Everitt. Second from Simpson transfer, Tanner Philpott. pic.twitter.com/bky8pW4tIE
Another TD pass, this one from Jeremy Hecklinski to Dayton Howard. pic.twitter.com/4rAKAWyxYp
KJ Parker showing off the ball skill with this catch over the middle. Grabbed it with two DBs all over him. pic.twitter.com/y8ONsCTL5s
Another tough catch for KJ Parker. Hecklinski recognizes one-on-one coverage and finds him deep for a 20ish yard gain. https://t.co/mBB0PsfoQi pic.twitter.com/N99oT4tn1n
Joseph Anderson pick-six pic.twitter.com/WFi7iETxPS
Even at the spring practice we wave to the kids. pic.twitter.com/DnrtzT8XBh
— HawkeyeReport.com (@HawkeyeReport) April 25, 2026