By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Hawkeye fans learned from what happened to Cade McNamara that it’s probably better to wait before anointing somebody as the savior of the Iowa offense.

The media learned that same lesson as well because we were also on the McNamara bandwagon, convinced that he would help to jumpstart what at the time was an abysmal offense under Brian Ferentz.

But now two years later, Cade McNamara has since transferred to East Tennessee State where he is preparing for his seventh season as a college quarterback.

The same guy who led Michigan to the 2021 Big Ten championship, and to the college playoff that same season, is now playing for an FCS program and in relative obscurity compared to what he had been used to at Michigan and Iowa.

The fact that McNamara transferred from Iowa to East Tennessee State says all you need to know about his two seasons as a Hawkeye.

To say that he struggled in 13 starts over those two seasons would be and understatement.

Injuries were certainly a factor, but so was poor play.

McNamara’s time as a Hawkeye quarterback just didn’t work out the way so many had envisioned.

And that should serve as a cautionary tale as the spotlight now shifts to the new quarterback on center stage – South Dakota State transfer Mark Gronowski.

He met with the Iowa media for the first time on Thursday and stood not far from where McNamara stood when he met with the Iowa media for the first time in 2023.

Both quarterbacks talked about how excited they were to have this opportunity, and about the privilege of playing for legendary head coach Kirk Ferentz.

It felt sort of like deja vu listening to Gronowski talk about the same opportunity that McNamara had addressed two years earlier.

But there are also some distinct differences between the two situations that could be cause for optimism.

For one thing, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound Gronowski is taller than McNamara, at least by two or three inches, and that’s significant.

Tim Lester also has replaced Brian Ferentz as the Iowa offensive coordinator.

And Gronowski says he’s ahead of schedule and feeling great in his recovery from shoulder surgery, while McNamara came to Iowa shortly after having had knee surgery.

McNamara would go on to injure his quad in the 2023 preseason before suffering a season-ending knee injury in the fifth game of the 2023 season.

He was healthy for the start of the 2024 season, but he clearly lacked mobility and became an easy target in the pocket.

McNamara’s lack of mobility, coupled with his lack of size, made it difficult for him to be productive.

Gronowski, on the other hand, rushed for over, 1,700 yards in four seasons as a starter for South Dakota State, and he also passed and rushed for touchdowns in the same game 26 times in 55 career starts.

Gronowski suffered a torn ACL in 2021, but that seems like ancient history given how well he ran for the Jackrabbits.

“I feel like my play style is very versatile,” Gronowski said Thursday. “I can stay in the pocket and I can run the ball when I need to. When it’s third down and you need to get a first down, I’ll put my shoulder down wen I have to, but slide just to protect the body when I need to as well.

“I know the coaches really like that. But it’s whatever the coaches need at that time and in the moments that we need, I’ll be there for that.”

One of the biggest challenges for Gronowski will be adjusting to a new level of competition.

During his four seasons at South Dakota State, which included winning two FCS national titles, Gronowski’s teams often had the edge from a talent standpoint.

But that won’t always be the case at Iowa.

The spotlight will also shine much brighter at Iowa compared to South Dakota State.

Gronowski, who is from Naperville, Illinois, was reminded of that when he showed up to be interview on Thursday and there were over a dozen media members waiting to ask questions.

“There’s a lot more people here,” Gronowski said.

As for dealing with the spotlight, Gronowski seems ready and willing to carry that burden and responsibility.

“Just playing the quarterback position you’re always going to have a little bit of spotlight on you,” Gronowski said. “You’re always going to get the praise when you do good and the fault when you do bad. But that’s just kind of the job that comes with being a quarterback. And I embrace that and love it every day.”

South Dakota State lost to bitter rival North Dakota State in the FCS semifinals this past season. North Dakota State would go on to win the FCS national title with Solon native Cam Miller playing quarterback.

That game was brought up to Gronowski on Thursday as he was asked if his shoulder injury prevented him from playing at full strength.

It was the perfect chance for Gronowski to make excuses, and yet, he didn’t.

“I don’t think it really prevented me all that much,” he said. “I was able to play through it if i wanted to and I did end up playing through it those last couple games and I felt great. I left it all out there on the field with those guys and I don’t think it prevented me from doing anything on the field.”

Gronowski said his goal is to be fully cleared for practice by June 1. He also just recently started doing some light throwing in spring practice.

“It’s going great,” Gronowski said of his recovery. “It feels great. Just continue to progress on that side of things. And then once it comes June, I’ll be 100 percent and good to go.”

Before committing to Iowa, Gronowski tested the NFL draft process to see where he stood.

“That whole process, the transfer portal itself is a crazy deal,” Gronowski said. “I definitely talked to a lot of different scouts about my opportunities in the NFL and we kind of decided, me and my parents, my agent, that it’s going to be best to come back for another year.

“And after talking with Iowa, and just the culture here and the coaches, having a Hall of Fame coach like coach Ferentz, and also being very similar to what I had at South Dakota State team side. They’ve got a winning culture and that’s why I ended up choosing Iowa.”

Senior Brendan Sullivan is listed as Iowa’s No. 1 quarterback on the spring depth chart.

Sullivan, who transferred from Northwestern prior to the 2024 season, started two games last season and played in 10 games overall.

However, it is widely assumed that Gronowski will be Iowa’s starting quarterback assuming he is healthy.

“Right now, I’m just trying to build relationships with all the guys on the team, build that trust, build that credibility with them,” Gronowski said. “And then also spend a lot of time with coach Lester, just learning the offensive scheme and getting better that way.”

Gronowski is eager to play in Tim Lester’s offense, which from a schematic standpoint is similar to the offense ran by the Green Bay Packers.

Lester was an offensive analyst for the Packers in 2023 before coming to Iowa.

He was also the head coach for Western Michigan from 2017 to 2022.

And though Lester didn’t offer Gronowski a scholarship coming out of high school, they became acquainted during the recruiting process and that has helped Gronowski make the transition.

Gronowski was also impressed with how much the Iowa offense, especially the running game, improved in Lester’s first season as offensive coordinator. Iowa also has  group of young receivers that have stood out to Gronowski.

“In the receiver room right now, we have a lot of guys that were young last year and are going to continue to grow and continue to get better,” Gronowski said. “There’s a lot of good competition in that room right now.”

“But talking with Lester and kind of seeing the progression of the offense from the year prior to this last year was really cool to see and he wants to continue to grow that side of the offense as well.

“So, it just added a lot of promise to me and just made me happy about what’s going to be going on and the growth that we’re going to have this offseason.”

As far as first impressions go, Mark Gronowski certainly met the challenge on Thursday.

He was polite, humble and fun to interview.

He is obviously very bright considering he already has graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering and is on course to have his masters by this summer.

But Gronowski also has never taken a single snap as the Iowa quarterback and is very limited in what he can do in practice this spring.

There is certainly cause for optimism, given Gronowski’s track record and potential as there was when Cade McNamara transferred to Iowa.

But if one thing was learned from McNamara’s time as a Hawkeye, it’s to never assume anything, good or bad.

No one player, not even a quarterback, can provide a miracle cure.

It takes hard work, good coaching, some luck and a group effort.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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