IOWA CITY, Iowa — Iowa’s open quarterback competition might not be over, but there is a clear leader for the job.
In a scrimmage Saturday at Kinnick Stadium, Jeremy Hecklinski produced perhaps the most impressive Kids’ Day passing performance in Kirk Ferentz’s 28 seasons as head coach. The third-year quarterback completed 17 of 25 passes for 205 yards and five touchdowns while rotating against the Hawkeyes’ first- and second-team defenses. He easily outdueled co-No. 1 quarterback Hank Brown, who went 9-for-21 for 42 yards.
Ferentz downplayed the performances, noting that the scrimmage was just one of nine practices during fall camp, but the lone scrimmage in front of fans and media provided obvious separation.
“I won’t overplay it,” Ferentz said. “It’s like anything; what are the guys around them doing, too? It might have made a guy look better or worse, that type of deal. So, we’ll take a look at the film.”
Ferentz often chooses his words carefully when describing his quarterbacks, especially with his first training camp competition at the position since 2017. But in a practice usually dominated by Iowa’s defense, Hecklinski tilted the balance with his precision, accuracy and decision-making. Each of his touchdown passes came on a different route.
Six of his completions were considered explosive plays — 15 yards or more — which is a critical element for offensive coordinator Tim Lester.
Twice, Hecklinski connected with tight end D.J. Vonnahme for scores. One featured a wheel route in which Hecklinski perfectly led Vonnahme for a 23-yard touchdown. Two passes later, Hecklinski threw a 37-yard strike to Vonnahme on a seam route, just past linebacker Cam Buffington.
On his first drive, Hecklinski threw a perfectly placed 4-yard out pass to transfer wide receiver Evan James for a touchdown. On another drive, Hecklinski found Reece Vander Zee across the middle, and the receiver raced into the end zone for 19 yards. In his final series, Hecklinski completed 5 of 6 passes in a two-minute drill for 66 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown to James.
The best part of Hecklinski’s day, Ferentz said, was his decision-making. In the spring, the quarterback threw eight interceptions to Brown’s four. Saturday, Hecklinski never made a mistake. On his only incompletion during the two-minute drill, Hecklinski threw the ball into the turf when no one was open.
“That is going to be a factor in the decision, crowd or no crowd,” said Ferentz, who was the only person who spoke afterward. “I think he is improving there, and that’s part of the job description. You’ve got to be smart, and there are times when you take chances, but you need to know when those times are. And, as a rule, you don’t want to be taking risks that you don’t need to take, at least unless it’s the end of the half. But he’s doing good. He’s improving.”
“The goals have just been take care of the ball and play to your best ability and lead the team, and those goals will never change,” Hecklinski said at the Hawkeyes’ media day Friday. “Those are forever goals as a quarterback.”
Both quarterbacks are vying to replace Mark Gronowski as Iowa’s starter. Brown, a fourth-year player, started two games as a redshirt freshman at Auburn in 2024 before heading to Iowa in winter 2025. Hecklinski spent a year at Wake Forest before transferring to Iowa in June 2025. Brown began the 2025 season as Gronowski’s backup, but Hecklinski supplanted him midway through the season.
Lester avoided the transfer portal this winter and instead opted for an open competition between the two quarterbacks. The third-year offensive coordinator was excited to see how they competed against Iowa’s first-team defense in front of fans.
“I honestly think the major difference between who should be the starter and who should be the backup is probably going to be who can handle 70,000 people in Kinnick,” Lester told The Athletic, “and who can take a hit and get back up and keep playing without getting rattled.”
Whether it was nerves or simply a bad day, Brown struggled mightily. He missed receivers at every level. His longest completion went for 10 yards, and he had four passes knocked down. It was similar to how he performed against Indiana last season when he replaced an injured Gronowski. Brown, who stands 6 feet 4 inches, completed 5 of 13 passes for 48 yards with an interception against the Hoosiers.
Hecklinski’s height (5-10) is viewed as a detriment, but he altered arm angles when required.
“I don’t think I’ve grown since my junior year of high school,” Hecklinski said Friday. “I’ve played a lot of games at this height, and you just have to figure it out.”
Scottie Scheffler produced a clinical performance at TPC Southwind on his way to sealing an eight-shot victory at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Scheffler took a two-shot lead heading into Sunday’s final round, but as his challengers faltered in the boiling Memphis heat, the 30-year-old four-time major winner held his cool as he surgically dismantled the course to post a final-round score of 66 to finish on 17 under.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Scottie Scheffler did not account for a sprinkler getting in the way when making his bunker shot at the FedExCup Playoffs.
Scheffler is now the third-youngest player to reach 21 PGA Tour wins, behind Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, but the American could have reached that milestone much earlier, having placed as a runner-up on five occasions on the PGA Tour this season.
“It’s not easy to win out here,” Scheffler said. “I felt like the year that I’ve had kind of shows how difficult it is.
“We have a lot of talented guys, and I played some really solid golf over the course of this year, but I hadn’t played much great golf.
“I have had my close calls and lost a couple play-offs. It was nice coming into a day during which I had the lead and was able to hold that lead and really kind of build on it as the round went on.
“I felt like a week like this was coming. I felt like I was on repeat all year just being like: ‘Hey, I’m playing solid. I’m close’.
“It feels good to be answering some different questions at the end of this week.”
Scheffler’s only blemish during his final round came on the third hole, where the American chipped out of a bunker but struck a sprinkler head. Much to his dismay, his ball bounced on a sprinkler head, before ricocheting into a water hazard, with Scheffler going on to post a bogey.
Image: Scheffler took a two-shot lead heading into the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship
Unperturbed by the incident, he hit back two holes later, making birdies on holes five and six, before adding three more on his back nine to finish at four under for the day.
“Going into today I just wanted to do my best and try and execute,” Scheffler said. “Third hole I hit a good shot out of the bunker and it hit a sprinkler head and went into the water. I’m like: ‘When is this going to stop happening?’ But I did a good job of staying in it and bouncing back from that and I got to relax coming down the stretch.”
Si Woo Kim finished as the solo runner-up at nine under par, while a bogey on the 18th would see Burns drop back to tied-third with Alex Noren.
“I knew he was going to put a solid round together,” Burns said on Scheffler. “Honestly it was going to be really difficult, what did Scottie finish, at 17 under?
“I would have had to play pretty much a perfect round of golf to have a chance today, and I didn’t come close to that. He played exactly how I expected him to.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Tommy Fleetwood makes huge putt on the fourth at the FedExCup Playoffs
Defending FedExCup champion Tommy Fleetwood toiled, mixing two bogeys with two birdies to go level par through his front nine. The Englishman would ultimately fall back to six-under and tied for seventh on the leaderboard after making four bogeys on his back nine.
Rory McIlroy, meanwhile, endured a difficult return to PGA Tour action, with the Northern Irishman, who has been on holiday for the past four weeks, posting a final round score of 72 to end his week 66th on the leaderboard.
Justin Rose was the only player to shoot lower than Scheffler on Sunday, posting a final round score of 64, however, he would end his week at level par and tied-39th on the leaderboard, after shooting rounds of 73, 70, and 73 in his opening three days.
Big names set to miss out on BMW Championship
Image: Jordan Spieth was unable to qualify for the BMW Championship after he finished tied-19th
The FedExCup Playoffs continue next week at the BMW Championship, live on Sky Sports, but several big names will not be in attendance, including Jordan Spieth.
The top 50 players in the FedExCup standings will qualify for the second FedExCup Playoff next week, and Spieth had been hovering around that marker, even advancing to 45th in the standings after going two under through his front nine.
But the 2015 Masters champion faltered late on, slumping to tied-19th on the leaderboard, after wrapping up his final round at level par.
“It was a tall task coming in,” Spieth said. “I was going to need to finish essentially in the top 10 this week and fell just shy of it.
“It’s funny, I just feel like I’m kind of getting back to playing really good golf, like it’s close to kicking off, and I’m not going to play a tournament for a long time.
“In some ways I feel like I’m leaving some out there, and in some ways it’s a good thing because like I mentioned after the first round, this will be the last time I finish like this for a while.”
Harry Hall was another who was just on the edge of qualifying for the BMW Championship, but a three under par final score was not enough to propel him into the top 50, with the Englishman ranking No 56 in the FedExCup standings.
His compatriot Jordan Smith ended his season 66th in the FedExCup standings and was unable to move up the rankings after he finished with a final score of four over par.
Watch all four rounds of the BMW Championship live on Sky Sports. Early coverage of the first round commences at 5pm on Thursday, with full-round coverage of the event due to begin at 8pm live on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW
The worst-case scenario that the Minnesota Vikings feared Saturday is now a reality: Veteran safety Jamal Adams will miss the entire 2026 season with a knee injury, a team source told The Athletic on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.
Adams injured his knee during the second quarter of the Vikings’ preseason opener Saturday against the New York Giants in East Rutherford, N.J.
After the game, head coach Kevin O’Connell said the team’s initial examination didn’t look good, and that was confirmed Sunday.
“I told the team after the game, ‘This guy has come in and impacted our organization,’” O’Connell said Saturday. “He’s energy every day. Affecting people in a positive way. We’ve absolutely loved his play style, his competes. And he was genuinely carving out a significant role for himself by totally being all in on the process.”
Adams stumbled while defending receiver Calvin Austin III on the play that resulted in his injury. Adams had drifted backward from the line of scrimmage and into coverage. When Austin crossed from the right side of the field to the left, Adams slipped and stayed on the turf for an extensive period. Following a lengthy trip to the medical tent, he was transported off the field on a cart.
Vikings teammates and coaches consoled Adams on the sideline before he left the field. Safety Josh Metellus and cornerback Byron Murphy Jr., specifically, appeared distraught after the injury. Metellus said after Saturday’s game that Adams had spoken to the defense earlier this week about his journey: being drafted with the sixth pick in 2017, becoming an All-Pro, and missing major chunks of five separate seasons due to injury.
Metellus shared that Adams talked about everything — the mental toll, the gratitude, the current opportunity.
“This game takes a lot from you, and it doesn’t really give too much,” Metellus said. “He’s given constant, relentless effort to play the game he loves. To fall short year in and year out, I think it’s definitely been tough. His football journey hasn’t given him what he’s wanted. But that’s the name of the game.”
The 30-year-old former All-Pro signed a one-year contract for just north of $1.4 million with the Vikings before training camp began. He told reporters he chose the team because of his previous relationship with general manager Nolan Teasley and his respect for defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Quickly, he developed relationships with Metellus and Murphy. His versatility intrigued coaches.
Adams played 11 snaps before Saturday’s injury. He lined up near the line of scrimmage and in the slot, showcasing a potentially creative role. His injury history, which includes a torn quad in 2022, clouds his future. It also adds further urgency for Minnesota to find safety depth.
Adams, who was entering his 10th season in the NFL, is a three-time Pro Bowl selection. He was first-team All-Pro in 2019 when he had 75 tackles and 6.5 sacks for the New York Jets.
Holly Winterburn leads the Portland Fire (14-20) into a matchup with the Phoenix Mercury (13-22) after scoring 20 points in an 84-82 win over the Storm. The game is on Sunday, August 16, 2026, starting at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and Disney+.
How to watch Portland Fire vs. Phoenix Mercury
Portland vs. Phoenix odds
Spread: Phoenix -5.5 (-105), Portland +5.5 (-115)
Favorite Moneyline: Phoenix -208
Underdog Moneyline: Portland +170
Total: 178.5
Total Over Odds: -110
Total Under Odds: -110
Injury reports
Mercury
Kelsey Plum: Out (Calf)
Fire
Sania Feagin: Out For Season (Knee),
Sarah Ashlee Barker: Out For Season (Knee)
Stats to know
The 83.9 points per game the Mercury score are 7.4 fewer points than the Fire allow (91.3).
Portland’s 86.7 points per game are just 0.7 fewer points than the 87.4 Phoenix allows to opponents.
Alyssa Thomas puts up 14.8 points, 7.4 boards and 8.2 assists per contest, while shooting 51.4% from the floor (ninth in league).
Bridget Carleton posts 14.6 points, 2.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game.
This watch guide was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.
Betting/odds, ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
Photo: Julio Aguilar, Ethan Miller, Steph Chambers / Getty Images
