On Jan. 7, 2025, former South Dakota State quarterback Mark Gronowski announced his intention to transfer to Iowa for his final season of eligibility. The announcement sent Hawkeye fans into pure euphoria, knowing they finally landed a competent quarterback. Gronowski turned down an opportunity to enter the NFL Draft after his senior season at South Dakota State, taking the chance to become the leader of a surging Iowa offense. The Naperville, Illinois native accumulated over 12, 000 total yards and 130 total touchdowns in his four seasons with the Jackrabbits. Gronowski’s 3, 058 passing yards and 33 total touchdowns in 2023 earned him the Walter Payton Award, the Football Championship Subdivision FCS version of the Heisman Trophy. The fifth-year quarterback missed most of Iowa’s spring practices, rehabbing from a shoulder injury he suffered in 2024. Gronowski coming off an injury created some worry for Hawkeye fans, but the excitement was still through the roof. Nearly 7. 5 months later, Gronowski made his Iowa debut in Kinnick Stadium. The Hawkeyes defeated the Great Danes with ease, 34-7, but as the crowd flowed out of Kinnick, murmurs of Gronowski’s struggling passing ability grew louder. Gronowski finished the game 8-of-15 with just 44 passing yards and a touchdown, including a severely underthrown ball to a wide-open Sam Phillips in the endzone on the opening drive. Gronowski didn’t throw for over 100 yards until Week 3 against UMass, where he threw for 179 yards and two touchdowns. Since then, he has thrown for over 100 yards in all but one game, where he threw for 68 yards but rushed for 130 against Penn State. Gronowski only has one season with the Hawkeyes, as he will have used up his five years of eligibility at the end of this year. The graduate student has cherished his time at Iowa and the relationships he’s built with his teammates and coaches. “It’s always difficult being a transfer,” Gronowski said. “Trying to become friends with people, and getting out of your comfort zone a little bit. Hayden Large was one of the first people who really reached out to me. I started hanging out with him, and it branched out from there.” Gronowski also said his experience with the Iowa City community and Hawkeye fans has been fun, even in his short time on campus. “It’s been a lot of fun to meet so many different people,” Gronowski said. “Even the people Coach Ferentz has brought in to talk with the team, I always try to go up and talk to them a little bit and build a network of people I’ve met here, and that’s been really special.” While the passing statistics have seemed underwhelming for the expectation that was put on Gronowski, his ability to win or put the team in a position to win has kept the Hawkeyes in every game this season. Against Penn State on Oct. 18, Iowa trailed by as much as 11 points in the third quarter. Gronowski struggled through the air, but led the Hawkeyes to a comeback victory with 130 rushing yards and a game-sealing run with under one minute on the clock. Gronowski said that the win over the Nittany Lions was his favorite memory of this season because of the team’s ability to come back from down two scores, considering the historical failures of Iowa attempting to do so. “To have the excitement at the end of that game to score with a couple of minutes left, to be in a sold-out crowd in Kinnick, and to do it with the guys that are around me just made it a lot more fun,” Gronowski said. This Saturday, Gronowski will run out of the tunnel as part of the Swarm for one final time at Kinnick Stadium. “It’s been a lot of fun,” Gronowski said. “I’m excited for Saturday, it’s going to be a cool moment for all the seniors, all the guys that have put in so much work. Overall, my experience, I wouldn’t change it.”.
https://dailyiowan.com/2025/11/20/iowa-quarterback-mark-gronowski-reflects-on-lone-season-with-the-hawkeyes/
Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski reflects on lone season with the Hawkeyes
