Issuu

The Daily Iowan

PREGAME

FAITH AND FOOTBALL

Hank Brown has faced adversity throughout his career. His faith and mental toughness keeps him poised and ready for whatever is thrown his way.

The Daily Iowan

5 things to watch

Quarterback Hank Brown was under lots of pressure against Ohio State last week, and the Hawkeyes struggled to run the ball. The Iowa oﬀensive line struggles have been head-scratching so far, considering the talent they returned from last year in Trevor Lauck and Kade Pieper. Right tackle Jack Dotzler struggled against the Buckeyes last week, as most of the pressure on Brown came from his side, and his false start penalty on the ﬁrst drive set the Hawkeyes back after a positive gain on first down. Washington presents a solid defense, but like Ohio State, its run defense sits in the 40s nationally. The Hawkeyes will need to get the run game going against the Huskies, and it all starts up front.

Tight end DJ Vonnahme ﬁnally got a large share of targets last week, catching six passes on seven targets for 64 yards to lead the team. Vonnahme’s longest reception went for 18 yards, and he picked up 54 yards after the catch. The Iowa oﬀense needs production from Vonnahme to move the ball, as all the attention of most defenses will be on Tony Diaz and Reece Vander Zee. Vonnahme was one of the most hyped tight ends entering the 2026 season, and the Hawkeyes will need to start using him as a top target.

Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. is exactly what has plagued Iowa’s defense in the past: a mobile quarterback. The Hawkeyes struggled to stop Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood while on the run, and Williams is faster than Underwood.

Williams has thrown for 1,327 yards, eight touchdowns, and three interceptions this season, while rushing for 191 yards and two touchdowns. Williams has shown some turnover issues this season, especially in crucial situations. Last week against USC, Williams fumbled late in the third quarter while leading 21-16, and the Trojans recovered and scored to take the lead. The Hawkeyes will look for Williams to make a mistake and try to capitalize on it, especially in key situations.

Iowa’s defense was shredded by Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith last week, as he went for over 200 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes’ 31-14 win. Not only were the defensive backs giving up big plays, but two key secondary players went down with apparent injuries during the Ohio State loss. Safety Zach Lutmer and cornerback Deshaun Lee both left the game with what head coach Kirk Ferentz believed to be cramping issues, one of which required them to use an IV to rehydrate. Lee left for a couple of plays and tried to return, but ultimately left the game for good. If neither is at 100% for Iowa’s game at Washington, the depth in the secondary will be tested in a tough road environment.

The biggest key to keeping Julian Sayin oﬀ his game last week was applying pressure. The Hawkeyes did so when sending blitzes, but the front four defensive linemen struggled to get hits on him otherwise. Now facing a scrambling quarterback who can keep plays alive, the Iowa defensive line will need to contain Williams in the pocket and deliver hits on him. The secondary has struggled to stay on receivers in coverage when a quarterback scrambles, so getting pressure with four will be key. Williams has been prone to turnovers this season and in his career, so Iowa’s defense can force him to make mistakes with the football. The Hawkeye defensive line has an opportunity to grab a strip-sack, but they will need to make sure Williams can’t scramble.

IOWA CITY’S BIG 3 Now Leasing for 2027-28 &5 4 , s ,3 1, 2 room Bed

Telluride 278 E Court St

• First Floor Lounge Area • Fully Furnished • Internet Included

Whistler 416 E Iowa Avenue

oo edr

,3B

1, 2

• First Floor Lounge Area w/Full Wet Bar • Roof Top Deck with Grilling Area • Fully Furnished • Big Screen Smart TV Included • Internet Included s

om o r d

3B , 2 ,

Breckenridge 707 S Dubuque Street

• First Floor Lounge Area • Roof Top Deck with Grilling Area • Fully Furnished • Big Screen Smart TV Included • Internet Included

J Michael Real Estate 608.233.4440 | www.iowa-city.apartments

FAITH AND FOOTBALL Hank Brown has faced adversity throughout his career. His faith and mental toughness keeps him poised and ready for whatever is thrown his way.

Hank Brown’s composed demeanor gave no tell that he had just completed the drive of a lifetime. Facing the frantic post-game media scrum following Iowa’s last-second 20-19 victory over Michigan, Brown answered every question with a soft, humble smile. When asked what the win meant to him, he answered: “I just want to give all glory and praise to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Eric and Lesley Brown waited outside the away team locker room at Michigan Stadium watching as players filed out; every one of them beaming with joy, excitement, and a leftover dose of disbelief.

Finally, their son, Hank, walked through the door. The three didn’t share any words. Instead, just a long hug that left tear stains on each of their shoulders. Ninety minutes prior, Brown completed a feat that most Iowa fans would have deemed unfathomable. Trailing by five with 1:46 to go in the game, the Hawkeyes’ drive with one last chance to win the game began 91 yards from the endzone. Brown and the offense began to march down the field with efficiency; however, after an incompletion on secondand-long followed by a five-yard false start penalty, the Hawkeyes had their backs against the wall facing thirdand-12. Twenty-eight seconds left. Thirty-six yards down, 55 yards still to go. Brown dropped back to pass on third down, but couldn’t connect with Diaz along the sideline. It should have been fourth down. Iowa should have had one play left to gain 12 yards for a first down, or else the

game was over. Except it wasn’t. The Hawkeyes were given a lifeline. Michigan’s Zeke Berry shoved Tony Diaz after the play was over, and a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty was assessed. Automatic first down, and Iowa had it at the Wolverines’ 45-yard line. After back-to-back incompletions, the Hawkeyes found themselves in third and long once more. Brown took the snap with 11 seconds remaining, sat in the pocket to allow his receivers to get downfield, and as the pocket collapsed around him, he stepped toward the line of scrimmage and launched a prayer down the middle of the field toward tight end Addison Ostrenga. Michigan safety Rod Moore Jr. reached his hand between Ostrenga’s, popping the ball back up into the air. Ostrenga never lost focus on the ball, staying on his feet and corralling the ball in on a second effort before going to the ground with full possession. Two seconds remained. Iowa had the ball at the Michigan

yard line. The Hawkeyes had already defied all odds to get there. However, they needed one more miracle to find the endzone on the final play of the game. Wide receiver eece Vander Zee ran straight for the endzone along the left sideline. rown released the ball as the receiver crossed the eight yard line, anticipating his arrival just beyond the front pylon in the endzone. Smothered, Vander Zee turned his body to create separation from his defender. With both toes tapped in bounds, he made a back shoulder catch that would go down in Iowa history. rown, who was five when the Hawkeyes last won at the ig House, sprinted to celebrate with not only his receiver, but the entire team. Throughout the highs and lows of the game, rown s faith remained at the forefront of his mind. eing able to depend on him throughout the game, just praying and speaking to him like, Lord, just give me this drive. ive me the peace, joy, and confidence to go out there and execute, rown said after the game. rown s response wasn t just an excited reaction following a high point of his career. Whether he s coming off a strong performance or not, rown s identity through his faith remains constant.

rown s high school football coach, Trent Dilfer, put it simply when describing his former quarterback ou can t talk about Hank and his family without talking about his faith. The son of two hristian parents, rown was born into a faith focused household. We both came from families where faith was really important, ric said, explaining his and Lesley s upbringings. When we got married and had kids, we knew that was something we wanted to pass onto them. While the two of them could introduce it to their kids, they ultimately knew that faith was something that each of them would have to discover and own themselves. pivotal moment for rown and his faith journey came midway through his time in high school. rown grew up in Wheaton, Illinois, playing the ﬁrst two years of his high school football career at Wheaton Warrenville South High School. When his family moved two states away to Nashville, Tennessee, ahead of his junior year, rown turned to his faith to help him through the change of scenery that reshaped his life doing so with the help of his new head coach.

Dilfer, a Super owl winning quarterback with the altimore avens in 2000, became the head coach at Lipscomb cademy in 20 after serving as an SPN analyst following his time in the NFL. Dilfer was unbelievable about knowing the importance of faith through sports, ric said. He wanted Hank to be the best quarterback he could be, but he also wanted Hank to have a love for Jesus and to be a leader of men. That was a real launching pad for Hank s faith, ric added. hanging teams also meant giving up a starting spot at Wheaton Warrenville South and taking the backup spot at his new school, Lipscomb cademy. However, rown didn t complain. His agenda was simply to be a great teammate, get better and develop, and trust the process, Dilfer said. s a coach, that s what you re looking for your team to do, and when your quarterback does it, it sets it into motion. long with a strong religious foundation, rown s new head

coach was a man who had plenty of experience of his own as a quarterback. The former sixth overall draft pick spent seasons in the NFL, actively holding the league record for the longest passing completion yards in playoff history. When reflecting on his time coaching rown, Dilfer mentioned a few points of emphasis that made the young quarterback stand out from other quarterbacks he s worked and played with. The first trait Dilfer mentioned was his toughness. ou just can t break him physically, and you can t break him mentally, Dilfer said. He was going to play whether he felt good or not. Dilfer referred to a saying from Nick Saban you define toughness by whatever it takes to break you. Hank could be a Navy S L, Dilfer said. The head coach remembered games and practices when rown would take numerous crunching hits but would get back up and never complain no matter how much it hurt. Next, Dilfer praised his poise. He s just smooth in everything he does. He never gets too high or too low, Dilfer said. I was the opposite. I was always up and down. Dilfer had plenty of experience in the sport, yet he still learned something from rown. I was a headset breaker, yell and screamer, rip my call sheet in half er, emotional rollercoaster until I coached him, Dilfer said. I just wanted to be more like him I admired him. Dilfer recalled how rown s composure would never crack after making mistakes. Instead, he would recognize them as learning points and move on. Knowing that I have peace and confidence in Jesus hrist gives me the ability to keep my composure, rown said. Lastly, Dilfer addressed his trustworthiness. He s accountable for his actions all the time, Dilfer said. ou could trust him to babysit, you could trust him with the ball, you could trust him to get his homework done on time,

you could trust him to be a good teammate, you could trust him as a captain. The three attributes that Dilfer listed are the three that he looks for in every quarterback. I don t think I ve ever had it as complete as Hank, Dilfer said. I think he s not just going to be successful at Iowa I think he s going to play football for a long time. Dilfer reaches out to his former players with text messages all the time. Whether he s checking in or giving them advice, he always makes sure to let them know that he understands if they don t respond. He doesn t want to pester or feel like a distraction for the players, who he understands are busy. rown replies every time. However, the two never restrict their conversations to just football. We re intentional about both growing in our relationship with Jesus while football was happening in our lives, Dilfer said. Their talks and texts would revolve largely around faith, and still do to this day. The two share bible verses with each other when they come across one that feels relevant to either of their lives and current circumstances. He was at uburn, and I was at , and we were both going through storms, Dilfer said. Dilfer began his stint as head football coach at the niversity of labama irmingham at the same time that rown arrived at uburn. When success became hard to come by for both of them, they remained in close contact through their struggles. It was like, praise od. What a great opportunity that we were both going through some hard things, and we could encourage each other, Dilfer said. Dilfer was ﬁred from in ctober 202 with a 2 record across two and a half seasons. However, it allowed him to return as head coach at Lipscomb cademy, with the team currently ranked No. in Tennessee s Division II .

¡ ¡

¢ ¢

Like his coach, Brown had his own share of adversity. After starting two games in his time at Auburn, the quarterback felt it was time for a change following the 2024 season. Brown’s dad, Eric, recalled Brown’s agent calling him asking, “How comfortable is Hank playing in the cold?” It was his way of introducing to the Brown family that Iowa was a potential landing spot for Brown in the transfer portal. The decision to transfer didn’t come easily. Brown spent a great deal of time in contemplation and prayer to decide whether or not leaving Auburn was the right decision. He would be leaving his older brother, whom he lived with there, his girlfriend — now fiancée — Brooke and the church he’d grown to love. At the end of the day, Brown’s decision came down to football and becoming the best quarterback he could be; leading him to commit to Iowa in December 2024. “It was a full circle moment,” Eric said, having moved away from the midwest only three years prior. Throughout the decision-making process, Brown and his parents were impressed by Iowa’s consistent success, stability, and lack of turnover in the coaching staff. “The way this [Iowa] program is run starts from the top with leadership,” Brown said. “It’s been built for so many years, so the culture is just different, there’s no doubt about that.” “It was by far the best fit for him,” Eric said. Additionally, Eric and Lesley attended high school with Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester, although that had no impact on Brown’s decision.

The following week, Brown’s trust in the coaching staff that brought him to Iowa in the first place paid off. Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz pulled Brown into his office to check in on the quarterback, see how he was doing, and let him know that they haven’t stopped believing in him. Lesley referred to Ferentz as a gift to Brown. “I don’t think that is normal in a ‘What have you done for me lately’ college football world,” Lesley and Eric said.

Even after winning the starting job over fellow quarterback Jeremy Hecklinski, Brown’s mental toughness continues to be tested. Iowa’s most recent game against No. 5 Ohio State didn’t go as planned. Brown had two turnovers, including a fumble on the second play of the game, in the team’s 31-14 loss. The adversity is nothing the once-backup quarterback hasn’t faced before. As Dilfer said, his mentality is unbreakable. So is his faith.

The adversity Brown faced didn’t stop upon his arrival to Iowa City. Serving as the Hawkeyes’ backup in his first season with the team in 2025, Brown was thrust into the game against then-No. 11 Indiana. The third-year quarterback entered with the score tied at 13 in the fourth quarter after starter Mark Gronowski left with an injury. In his first drive, Brown threw an interception while in field goal range. On the next drive, he missed a screen pass to running back Kamari Moulton on thirdand-five, resulting in a missed field goal with 2:01 to go in the game. Brown received heavy criticism from the Iowa fanbase following the game, with the Hawkeye faithful pinning the loss primarily on him.

Power Rankings

Weekly Wager

On The Line

The Daily Iowan staff shares their thoughts on this week’s upcoming games.

¡ ¡ ¡ ¤¤ ¡ ¢ £

¤¤

One on One: Marcello Vitti The first-year discusses his hobbies, most prized possession, and choice superpower.

Strength and determination JJ Ward combats two conditions, displaying bravery as a Kid Captain.

JJ Ward was born with no complications, giving his parents no immediate red ags, as he was transferred to the NICU. Instead, the complications were gradual. In the NICU, JJ struggled to eat, while coughing up constant green and brown. t first glance, doctors assumed it was meconium, a newborn baby s first stool. fter performing X-rays on him, they found a large mass in his stomach, identified as meconium ileus, a severe bowel obstruction in newborn babies. After quickly transferring to the University of Iowa Stead Family hildren s Hospital, of JJ’s small intestine was removed. For the Ward family, it was a breath of relief to finish the process, as Tara, JJ’s mother, described how another issue was not at the forefront of her mind. However, by the next newborn screening, JJ had two more diagnoses to come that would consume Tara and the Ward family’s lives. “It was almost like he didn’t stand a chance in the beginning, Tara said, re ecting on the initial diagnoses. Shortly after the removal of his small intestine, JJ developed short gut syndrome, a malabsorption disorder that occurs when a large portion of the small intestine is missing or has been surgically removed. As a result, the small intestine cannot take in enough nutrients because it is a smaller size. At the same time, JJ was also diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that causes the body to produce thick and sticky mucus, damaging the lungs, pancreas, and other organs. For a newborn baby, the condition could be fatal. “I kind of melted down,” Tara said. “I come from a medical background, and so what I knew about cystic fibrosis, I had learned in nursing school before anything came out. It was the worst-

case scenario in my head. This cannot be real.” While battling the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis, JJ’s short gut syndrome remained strong, causing him to have severe weight changes, throwing up, and catching infections. “He spent a total of 54 days in the NICU total before they advanced him to a oor on Stead, Tara said. “We were in that tiny room for almost two months. I don’t even think I fully wrapped my head around it.” Six years later, JJ still battles the two conditions, but with bravery and perseverance, staying on top of his medication and check-in appointments. “We admire him for how strong he is in the situations that he’s put in,” Tara said. “He’s had bowel obstructions and admissions, and he doesn t let it really define what he can do. He just wants to participate like every other kid.” While JJ joins his peers in common everyday activities such as sports and school, he sits among another major milestone—being a Kid Captain. “We were ecstatic for him,” Tara said, smiling at the memory of JJ receiving the news from his older sister. “Ella didn’t even meet JJ until he was a couple of months old because she couldn’t come to the hospital due to COVID. He cannot leave her side. They each have a twin [bed] in each room; they will gravitate towards one another, especially him. Their bond is very strong.” Now, JJ enjoys wrestling, baseball, ag football, and collecting squishies. “He’s so brave,” Tara said. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to be four or five years old and doing these things. We just are so proud of him. He’s such an incredible kid.”

Game Guide

Previewing Washington

For the ﬁrst time since , Iowa football is traveling to Seattle to face the Washington Huskies. In that last trip, the Hawkeyes took down the Huskies, . The Hawkeyes have won three straight and of their last Friday games since 20 .

The Huskies have also found success in non Saturday games, going 0 in such contests since 20 0, including four wins over ranked opponents. Washington s only loss in that stretch came in the final game of the year against Washington State, with the Huskies under an interim head coach. Iowa has notoriously struggled on the West oast in recent years, notably losing to S in 202 and L in 202 . The Hawkeyes have also struggled against mobile quarterbacks, which the Huskies have in Demond Williams . Williams entered this season off a strong 202 campaign, throwing for ,0 yards, 2 touchdowns, and eight interceptions, while rushing for yards and six touchdowns. This past offseason, Williams attempted

to enter the transfer portal, but he was already contractually tied to Washington. The Huskies threatened to take legal action alongside the ig Ten, forcing him to return to Washington. Since his return, the Husky offense has struggled to begin the 202 season, averaging just 2 points per game. Washington narrowly escaped tah State at home in Week , winning , and rival Washington State hung around with the Huskies in Week , as Washington won 2 0. The Huskies are coming off a 2 2 loss at S , where Williams fumbled late in the third quarter to give up the lead on a scoop and score touchdown for the Trojans. While Williams and the Washington offense have struggled so far, the Iowa defense knows it has a tall task ahead of it in

trying to contain Williams in the pocket. We ve seen that he can run he can get out, defensive end Kahmari rown said. He s a fast dude, so just do our job know that we have to rely on each other to contain him and work together. ﬀensively for Iowa, the run game has struggled, as the Hawkeyes rushed for just yards on 2 attempts, good for only . yards per carry. unning back L.J. Phillips said the defenses the Hawkeyes have faced in their three Power Four contests have been extremely good. ur oﬀensive line is amazing, Phillips said. We ve played some really good defenses, and that s just life. We ve got to put our head down and keep going, keep trusting the process, and it s going to get going.