Hank Brown shows fans why he’s worthy of leading Iowa’s offense

IOWA CITY, Iowa — After splitting time behind center with Jeremy Hecklinski during Iowa’s first game, the veteran quarterback didn’t have no problem taking all of the snaps against Iowa State.

Hank Brown made good decisions, didn’t take risks, or turn the ball over and led the Hawkeyes to a 16-13 win over the Cyclones. His performance pretty much ended all of the quarterback controversy for the No. 21 Hawkeyes, and Brown appears ready to lead the team to the promised land.

Brown showed poise, a strong arm, and never panicked when Iowa started slow out of the gates, and fell behind 10-0 in the first half. Instead he remained calm through the early adversity, stuck to the game plan, and focused on his execution. It didn’t help that his two weapons DJ Vonnahme, and Kamari Moulton couldn’t contribute much because of injuries, but Brown put his trust in the supporting cast, and they didn’t disappoint.

“I got 10 guys around me that are studs that I know are going to fight for all 60 minutes, and they’re not going to give up until there are zeros on the clock,” Brown said. “Ultimately, I learned about myself, and I know that we can do it, we just did it, so it’s a testament to the 10 guys around me, and I’m super proud of the way they didn’t stop fighting.”

Iowa (2-0) made the necessary adjustments, and rallied all the way back to tie the game at 10 at halftime. Brown was an integral part of both drives that dug his team out of the hole, and even scored their only touchdown of the game. Once the Hawkeyes started to play complimentary football on defense, Brown put the team on his back, and carried them to the finish line.

The Tennessee native led the offense on two scoring drives in the second half that put Iowa in great field position. Caden Buhr took care of the rest with his two clutch field goals, which included a 42-yarder in the final 15 seconds that gave the Hawkeyes their first lead of the night, and eventually the victory.

Once the dust settled, Brown completed 21 of his 30 passes for 191 yards, and no interceptions. Not to mention four different Hawkeyes caught at least two passes, and wideout Tony Diaz hauled in eight. Brown’s 56-yard completion to Diaz in the third quarter was the longest play from scrimmage on the evening, and the game’s biggest highlight.

On top of that, the Hawkeyes led the Cyclones in total offense, passing yards, plays, first downs, and scored on both of their trips to the red zone. Which is why Brown thought it was a great day at the office for the unit.

“We always find a way to win, we’re resilient, and obviously we showed that tonight,” he said. “We don’t want to put ourselves in those types of positions all the time, we want to get up early so we don’t have to be as resilient, but football is a game of situations, and we’re going to have to fight back through adversity.”

Brown believes the physical battle with the Cyclones is going to benefit the Hawkeyes down the road once they start navigating through the Big Ten meat grinder. Now Brown wants to build on his solid outing with a tune-up game at home against Northern Iowa on Saturday, before Iowa’s trip to the Big House in week four.

Most importantly, Brown is glad that his teammates have put their trust in him, and now he has a voice in the locker room. The gunslinger understands that there’s still plenty of room for improvement. At the end of the day, great quarterbacks make others around them better, and Brown intends on amplifying everyone’s play on the field, which is something Coach Kirk Ferentz values out of his leader.

“I thought he (Brown) had good composure out there, kept everybody in good shape, made some good plays in the running game, showed real toughness, and I’m happy for him.”