Kirk Ferentz defines success for Mark Gronowski in Iowa debut

Iowa struck big this offseason when it hauled in veteran quarterback Mark Gronowski (South Dakota State) from the Transfer Portal. Gronowski is a two-time FCS National Champion (with two FCS National Championship Game MVP Awards) and was awarded the Walter Payton Award in 2023.

In four seasons at South Dakota State, Gronowski completed 63.5% of his passes for 10,330 yards, 93 touchdowns and just 20 interceptions. It’s safe to say that he is one of the most hyped Hawkeye quarterbacks in recent history, joining the ranks of Nate Stanley and C.J. Beathard.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentzdiscussed what success would look like for Gronowski in Saturday’s season opener against Albany on Tuesday. The Hawkeyes have enjoyed success in season openers in the Ferentz era, as they are 22-4 in such games.

“It’s kinda like our whole football team, just hopefully you don’t wanna do anything negative,” Ferentz said. “You don’t really wanna do things that are costly. But a big part of winning in any sport (but certainly football) is not losing so you know it’s taking care of your job basically. The difference is your quarterback has his hands on the ball every play so it is a little bit different than other spots. It’s a really critical position.”

“He makes a lot of big decisions and critical decisions over the course of the game, but as probably as much as anything (from my vantage point) would be not doing too much. I think during the course of this camp we’ve seen him get more and more comfortable. We went through a period there where maybe he was trying to do a bit too much and force some things and we hasn’t played in a while. He’ll be excited like a lot of other guys that haven’t played in Kinnick (Stadium).”

“He’s played in Kinnick but not on our side, so just try and relax and play your best football the way you’ve been coached. I look forward to seeing him play.”

Tim Lester believes Iowa will prepare Gronowski for NFL

Offensive coordinator Tim Lesterpreviously told On3 that he believes that Gronowski can make a serious jump this season at Iowa. The offensive coordinator is most comfortable running the Shanahan offense and thinks it will ease Gronowski’s transition to the NFL.

“You don’t necessarily get to pick the exact guy you want in the transfer portal,” Lester told On3 this summer. “You take the guys who are on there. When you’re recruiting the country, there are 10,000 to choose from. In the portal, there are like seven guys who have experience and play at this level. We got one of the seven.”

Iowa also added Auburn transfer Hank Brown and Wake Forest transfer Jeremy Hecklinski to the quarterback room this offseason. But Mark Gronowski’s game experience and ability to run Lester’s offense have flashed in training camp. 

After opening its season against Albany, the Hawkeyes visit Iowa State on Sept. 6. Iowa has won seven of its last nine meetings against the Cyclones.

On3’s Pete Nakos contributed to this article.