Quarterback questions abound this week for Iowa AND Wisconsin

CEDAR RAPIDS - This is a football game in which the starting quarterback theoretically could be one of three guys.

That’s for each team.

All you Hawk-A-Holics out there already know about Iowa’s QB situation going into Saturday night’s Big Ten Conference and rivalry game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison (6:05 opening kickoff on FS1).

Mark Gronowski injured his knee late in Iowa’s Sept. 27 game against Indiana and was replaced by Hank Brown. Gronowski is trending to start against Wisconsin, though Brown (an Auburn transfer) and Jeremy Hecklinski (a Wake Forest transfer) have been listed as “or” when it comes to this week’s depth chart for the Hawkeyes.

Then there is the other side.

Maryland grad transfer Billy Edwards Jr. was the unquestioned starter going into the season, but he hurt a knee in Wisconsin’s opener against Miami (Ohio) in late August and was replaced by sophomore Danny O’Neil, a San Diego State transfer. Edwards tried to return for Wisconsin’s game two weeks ago against Maryland but was pulled early.

He wasn’t available last week at Michigan, with redshirt senior Hunter Simmons starting. The Southern Illlinois transfer got all of the run in the game with the exception of three plays.

Wisconsin Coach Luke Fickell intimated at his Monday press conference that unless Edwards Jr. is cleared to play, it’ll be a similar thing Saturday night. He gave no injury updates.

Which means it’d be likely Simmons playing, with O’Neil also being prepped for snaps.

“That’s what I would say,” Fickell said. “Again, there will be a plan both ways. I think Danny had only three snaps in the game, but Hunter has done a good job. He will continue to get some more opportunities. Danny will have some opportunities as well, and we’ll have to see how that goes.

“But even after watching it, I thought what we asked Hunter to do, he played with poise. He did the things we asked him to do. He took care of the football for the most part, and so I think we can definitely build on that and build with him in different ways.”

Edwards Jr. was second in the Big Ten in average passing yards per game last season, so his absence has been significant for Wisconsin. It’s part of why the Badgers rank 18th and last in the conference in points per game (18.6) and yards per game (309.2).

Injuries and the subsequent upheaval on the offensive line also has been a factor.

“Looks to me like, again, just TV scouting and watching from afar, looked like Saturday (against Michigan) they kind of settled in and found a little bit of a home base there. It looked typical Wisconsin,” said Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz. “Ran the ball really well. Big, strong guys up front. They've had some injuries on the line, have some road guys rotating. Looked like they settled in pretty well there. Did a nice job. The quarterback did a good job.”

The scouting report on Simmons is he’s more of a passing threat than O’Neil, who is more of a runner. Simmons completed 18 of 29 passes in the 24-10 loss to Michigan for 177 yards and an interception.

He was asked Monday by Wisconsin media how unique it is that he is one of three transfer QBs for this season and is now “the guy.”

“You know, you just come in and compete,” he said. “It’s one of those things in football, you never know what’s going to happen. It’s always going to be the next man up. I just came in and competed, and here I am now.”

”I think the nature of what Hunter does bring is he does have a quick release,” Fickell said. “He does have a bit of a stronger arm. I think he’s got a good arm, and so I think there’s some things that suit well to him and his style a little bit better. And I think those are some of the things he saw us try to do.

“Now, we just got to be able to build off of that. But he is a well-rounded guy. I mean, it’s not that he doesn’t have some athleticism. It’s not that he doesn’t have the ability to run the football. As you get into some of these things, obviously, it’s a little bit tougher.”

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