By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – After watching what happened to Cade McNamara as an Iowa quarterback, Chuck Long is taking a wait-and-see approach to Iowa’s latest big catch from the transfer portal.

Long spoke highly of South Dakota State transfer Mark Gronowski during a recent telephone interview, saying that Gronowski has all the basics that you need to be a good starting quarterback for Iowa.

“The kid’s a winner,” Long said.

But as Iowa fans saw with McNamara, the performance on the field doesn’t always match the hype and expectations.

McNamara dealt with injuries during both of his seasons as a Hawkeye in 2023 and 2024, but he also struggled on the field while starting 13 games over two seasons.

It was hardly the kind of performance that Iowa fans were expecting when McNamara transferred from Michigan in 2023.

McNamara had led Michigan to the Big Ten title in 2021 and to college playoff that season. So he had a proven track record when he came to Iowa, as does Gronowski, but under different circumstances.

Gronowski passed for over 10,000 yards as a four-year starter for South Dakota State and he led the Jackrabbits to two FCS national titles.

But now he’s taking a big step up in competition from FCS to the Big Ten.

“I’m old school. You wait and see,” Long said. “You’ve got to prove it. You’ve got to do it. He’s on a different level now. But I like his pedigree. I like his experience and what he’s done. The kid’s a winner. Those are all really good intangibles. And he’s got arm strength and accuracy, and he just knows how to play the game.

“So, everything I’ve seen of him, he has all the basics you need to be a good starting quarterback at Iowa. But getting back to the Cade McNamara situation, it’s more like you’ve got to wait and see.”

Long knows a thing or two about quarterbacks as someone who played the position at a very high level as a four-year starter for Iowa, and as the runner-up for the 1985 Heisman Trophy. He also has coached quarterbacks at the major college level.

It was revealed shortly after Gronowski had signed with Iowa that he would need surgery to reportedly repair a torn labrum in his right throwing shoulder.

He is expected to be out until at least June, meaning he will miss spring practice.

“That’s not good.” Long said.

McNamara had knee surgery prior to becoming a Hawkeye to repair an injury that he suffered while playing for Michigan in 2022.

He then suffered another season-ending knee injury in his fifth game at Iowa in 2023.

So, Hawkeye fans have a reason to be paranoid, or at least concerned, about Gronowski’s situation, even though his injury is different than McNamara’s injury.

But assuming Gronowski makes a full recovery, Long likes his potential as a Hawkeye, and thinks he could benefit from having Tim Lester as his offensive coordinator.

“He still has to do it, but there’s a lot to like about him,” Long said of the 6-foot-3, 230-pound Gronowski. “It’ll just come down to proving it on the field on a consistent basis.”

Gronowski already has played once at Kinnick Stadium, but it didn’t go well for him, or his team, as Iowa defeated South Dakota State 7-3 in the 2022 season opener.

Gronowski only completed 10-of-26 passes for 87 yards in the loss.

As an FCS national power, South Dakota State almost always has better talent than its opposition, with the loss to Iowa in 2022 a rare exception.

But that won’t necessarily be the case for Gronowski as a Hawkeye.

“It’s a different, different animal in the Big Ten for sure,” Long said. “So, can he make that jump? Can he make that adjustment? Is this a wait and see?