Iowa finished 2024 with a solid 8–5 record and a respectable 6–3 mark in Big Ten play. But the reality is that the offense sputtered. Still, in the offseason chaos, the Hawkeyes might’ve just pulled off one of the sneakiest quarterback pickups in the country.

While folks were busy foaming at the mouth over John Mateer’s high-profile move to Oklahoma, Iowa quietly snatched up an 11,000-yard, title-winning gunslinger from the FCS. Just good ol’ stats and game film. But Joel Klatt saw it coming. The Fox Sports analyst jumped on a mic and said what few dared to: This quiet Hawkeye gamble might be one of the loudest moves of the offseason.

Enter Mark Gronowski.

With the 2024 season in the books and a Music City Bowl heartbreaker in the rearview, Iowa found itself down two quarterbacks. Cade McNamara bailed to East Tennessee State. Brenden Sullivan planned for Tulane. That left the door wide open—and Kirk Ferentz didn’t hesitate. On January 7, 2025, Iowa landed former South Dakota State star Mark Gronowski, one of the most decorated FCS QBs in recent memory. The man tossed for 10,330 yards, 93 touchdowns, and ran in 37 more scores across 5 seasons.

Gronowski’s resume reads like a cheat code.

Over 55 career games. He led SDSU to a 49–6 record, snatched two FCS national titles, and walked away with the Walter Payton Award. In 2024 alone, he threw 2,721 yards and 23 TDs while punching in 10 more with his legs.

But while the big networks weren’t hyping his move, Joel Klatt sure was. “I think this Gronowski kid from South Dakota State that’s transferring to Iowa is a huge deal no one talks about,” Klatt said on The Next Round podcast. “I think it’s equal to Mateer going to OU.” He wasn’t just handing out compliments—Klatt doubled down: “Gronowski has played 50-plus games, he’s been in national championship games at that level, and we’ve seen that that pays off. So I think Iowa is going to be right there.”

Mark Gronowski’s jump from FCS powerhouse South Dakota State to Iowa puts him on a rare path—but not an impossible one. Quarterbacks like Vernon Adams Jr. (Eastern Washington to Oregon), Bailey Zappe (Houston Baptist to Western Kentucky), and of course, Cam Ward, who made waves going from Incarnate Word (FCS) to Washington State, then transferring to the Miami Hurricanes, and ultimately becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

The timing couldn’t be better for Iowa, especially with Kaleb Johnson off to the NFL after breaking school rushing records (over 1,500 rushing yards and 21 TDs). Their offense desperately needed a spark through the air. In 2024, Iowa quarterbacks combined for just 1,711 yards and 10 touchdowns. By contrast, Gronowski alone nearly doubled that production with less help and more pressure. Iowa’s 328.8 yards per game ranked in the lower half nationally, even as they ran for a top-15 average of 197 yards.

With Johnson drafted to the Steelers, the pressure’s squarely on Gronowski to crank up the aerial assault. And based on history…he just might.

Now, the comparison to John Mateer isn’t just hot air. When Mateer transferred to Oklahoma after leading the nation in total TDs, he got all the flowers. Gronowski? Crickets. But Klatt made it crystal clear: The Iowa kid is just as legit as Mateer’s move to Norman.

FCS champion-turned-Hawkeye Mark Gronowski already on NFL scouts’ radar

Don’t let ‘FCS’ label fool you. FCS might stand for Football Championship Subdivision, but when it comes to Mark Gronowski, the only thing “sub” about him is the amount of national attention he gets. NFL scouts? Yeah, they’re watching. Closely.

ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid dropped Gronowski’s name in a recent quarterback roundup for the 2026 NFL Draft. And that’s no small feat in a class that could feature six potential first-rounders. Though Reid didn’t dig deep, the mere mention puts Gronowski on the national radar—exactly where he wants to be after choosing to skip the 2025 NFL Combine to heal up and take his shot at Big Ten ball.

“Yeah, I mean, just right off the bat is Josh Allen like I was mentioning earlier,” Gronowski said last month on Louie Stec’s podcast. “And him coming from, I’ll call it a smaller school, Group of Five, Wyoming… having seen him have that chip on his shoulder his entire career, and now he’s one of the highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL. I love his play style and I love his story.”

The comparison tracks. Like Allen, Gronowski didn’t have a silver spoon recruiting journey. He wasn’t a five-star darling. So, Iowa fans better hope that path continues—because Gronowski is working with a young, unproven receiving corps in 2025. He’ll need to elevate the guys around him fast if he wants to keep climbing the draft ladder.

That said, Iowa hasn’t produced a first-round QB since 1986, and recent draft picks haven’t exactly set the league on fire. Plus, Iowa’s offense hasn’t done a ton to inspire confidence in the past few years. But if Gronowski can bring even half the juice he had in Brookings, Iowa City might be in for its most exciting QB ride in decades.

The wild part? He’s only got one year to make it count. One season to prove to scouts, fans, and everyone else that the FCS numbers weren’t a fluke. That Joel Klatt was right. That Iowa didn’t just roll the dice—they played the winning hand.