By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Conducting business in the transfer portal is all about taking chances.

The Iowa football team took a chance on graduate quarterback Mark Gronowski, and he took a chance on the Iowa offense.

Who has benefitted the most from this business arrangement is hard to say at this point.

Iowa has provided a huge stage and paid a significant amount of NIL money for Gronowski to perform, but with only a 6-4 record, and with Gronowski averaging just 121.6 passing yards per game, the results have certainly left something to be desired.

Iowa will face a struggling Michigan State squad in the home finale on Saturday with the Spartans winless in conference play at 0-7 and 3-7 overall.

But even with all of its problems, Michigan State still averages 79 more passing yards per game than Iowa does.

The Spartans are averaging 212.5 passing yards per game, while Iowa is averaging just 133.6 passing yards per game.

Gronowski has 13 rushing touchdowns this season, but he only has six passing touchdowns and five interceptions, and has yet to throw for at least 200 yards in a game for Iowa.

In last Saturday’s 26-21 loss to USC, Gronowski only threw for 25 yards in second half as Iowa blew an 11-point halftime lead on a rain-soaked field in Los Angeles.

This from a guy who threw for nearly 11,000 yards during his four seasons as a starter for FCS power South Dakota State from 2021 to 2024.

Gronowki didn’t make any excuses or point fingers as the media asked him on Tuesday about Iowa’s passing woes.

One member of the media even suggested to Gronowski that maybe he hasn’t had enough time to get comfortable running the Iowa offense since he’s been in the program for less than one year.

Gronowski also didn’t participate at full speed during spring practice because he was recovering from shoulder surgery.

Combine those factors with Tim Lester being in just his second season as the Iowa offensive coordinator, and perhaps the passing offense was doomed from the beginning.

“I think that could be a little bit part of it,” Gronowski said. “But we did put a lot of time in the summer and we did put a lot of time in during fall camp, a lot of time after practice.

“But it just hasn’t fully clicked yet. There’s been, I guess, just a little bit something missing.”

Iowa is currently ranked 131st out of 134 FBS teams in per-game passing yards.

But this isn’t anything new as Iowa’s passing offense has struggled to produce in recent seasons, and for much of Kirk Ferentz’s 27-year reign as head coach.

The situation became so bad that Brian Ferentz was fired as the Iowa offensive coordinator with four games left in the 2023 season despite being Kirk Ferentz’s son.

So to suggest that Gronowski is the biggest reason why the passing game has struggled this season would be unfair and misguided, given Iowa’s prolonged passing deficiencies. He has certainly been part of the problem, but it goes far deeper than just him.

The knee sprain that Gronowski suffered in the fourth quarter against Indiana also has caused some problems. But it hasn’t stopped the 6-foot-2, 235-pound Gronowski from becoming one of the greatest running quarterbacks in program history, in just 10 games.

Gronowski also has excelled as a leader, and as a teammate.

It isn’t easy being a one-year addition, but Gronowski has made it work because of his team-first mentality and his friendly demeanor. You can tell that his teammates respect and admire him as a person.

So that is part of the investment, an important part.

Iowa had recruited former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara from the transfer portal in 2023, but his two seasons on the roster were marred by injuries and by his poor play.

The hope was that Gronowski would finally be the answer for Iowa at quarterback, but the results have been mixed.

His running ability has certainly provided a rare dimension, and a spark to the offense, but his inaccuracy as a passer has at times been a problem.

Gronowski has had a tendency to throw low to his receivers and he was asked about that on Tuesday.

“My biggest thing is I always try and give the guys an opportunity to make a play,” Gronowski said. “I try not to overthrow guys as much as possible. If I under throw it more than over throw it, the under throwing is going to give the guy an opportunity.”

Gronowski had several passes in the loss to USC that were clearly thrown too low to his receiver, including one to speedy receiver Kaden Wetjen who was open on a high crossing pattern.

“Obviously, there was one to (Wetjen) coming on the high cross I just kind of pulled down on the arm,” Gronowski said. “I’ve got to continue to focus on just throwing the ball high and spinning it so it can get there and the guy can end up making a reaction to wherever the ball is going.

“It’s just kind of me trying to give him an opportunity and then obviously, sometimes I’ve just been pulling down with some bad mechanics and stuff.”

Kirk Ferentz held his weekly press conference on Tuesday and the first question asked was if he could pinpoint why Iowa’s passing statistics haven’t improved from last season.

“I think we’re a little different team, just the way we’re made up and the way we do things right now,” Kirk Ferentz said. “And obviously a lot of that is contingent on the quarterback and what he does best. And the way things have panned out, we’re running Mark probably a little bit more than maybe we would have anticipated going into this whole thing. But that’s kind of how things have developed. And certainly not perfect.

“We’ve missed some throws along the way, had some protection breakdowns at times, but I think overall the guys have done a good job. I think each season unfolds in a certain way, and you learn about your players and try to do what they do best, and that’s just kind of how it’s materialized.”

Iowa has chosen to use Gronowski more as a runner probably because the coaches don’t have as much faith and confidence in the passing game, and understandably so.

The most yards Gronowski has thrown for in a game this season is 186 against Rutgers.

Iowa could finish with a record anywhere from 6-7 to 9-4 depending on what happens in the last two games against Michigan State and Nebraska, and in a bowl game.

Iowa’s record would go a long way in determining whether Gronowski was a good investment or a bad investment.

The Hawkeyes are no longer in the playoff hunt, so some might say the season is already a disappointment, thus making Gronowski a bad investment, though that seems a little harsh given Iowa’s status as a developmental program.

The Cade McNamara experience obviously didn’t pay dividends, so he was clearly a bad investment.

But that’s the risk of adding a veteran quarterback for just one or two seasons because what might look promising on paper doesn’t always carry to the field.