IOWA CITY — Iowa football head coach Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes will head up to Minnesota on Saturday to take on the Golden Gophers in a trophy game.
Ferentz spoke at his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Oct. 20, about who will start at quarterback on Saturday and previewed what he is seeing from Minnesota on film.
Jeremy Hecklinski will get the start against Minnesota
Ferentz confirmed that Hecklinski will get the start Saturday against the Golden Gophers.
"Our plan right now is to start Jeremy and just see where things go," Ferentz said. "It's a good feeling to know we have two guys that have proven themselves when they've been out there."
Ferentz said that backup quarterback Hank Brown is healthy, and that it is "awfully close" between him and Hecklinski for the starting job. He said Hecklinski played really well in the win over Washington, but didn't want to discount Brown due to his performance in the fourth quarter against Michigan on the road.
"We've seen our team have success with both guys," Ferentz said. "At this given point, we just feel like it's the best thing to do going forward."
Previewing Minnesota
Ferentz said that the Golden Gophers have a veteran team. They are big, physical and they play hard.
"We have our work cut out there defensively," Ferentz said.
He mentioned that Minnesota's safeties are very active in their defensive scheme. They've got big linebackers who do a good job of stopping the run game, and they have a good pass rush.
"They are very well coached, active, play hard," Ferentz said. "It's going to be a tough, tough, tough game for us up there."
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Kirk Ferentz reveals Iowa football’s starting quarterback vs Minnesota