Hawkeye fans hope the riddle at quarterback has finally been solved with Mark Gronowski. After all, he’s a two-time FCS national champion with the size and makeup to operate a pro-style offense, and he was highly sought after in the Transfer Portal.

But why would such a quarterback want to come to Iowa? It’s cold, most online discussions about the offense have to be translated from memes, and the program hasn’t sent a capable quarterback to the NFL in quite some time.

Well, Gronowski answered that question on a podcast hosted by former Hawkeye defensive lineman Louie Stec. For the former Jackrabbit, it was about culture and scheme fit.

“I was kind of just more watching just to get a more flavor of Iowa football,” Gronowski said. And I know we played against him a couple of years ago… So, it was good to just get a flavor of like who’s on the team, the guys on the team, and how the offense really flowed and the plays that were called and during different situations. And it was interesting to see a lot of similar concepts that we were running at South Dakota State offensively. And after talking with [Tim] Lester and going on that actual official visit and learning about the offense, yeah, I really kind of fell in love with it.”

Gronowski also revealed that he only visited Iowa during his Transfer Portal recruitment. Other programs, notably Miami and Washington State, were interested but ultimately couldn’t draw his attention from Kirk Ferentz’s program in Iowa City.

“I was supposed to go on another visit to Miami, and I ended up just deciding, like I think Iowa was the best spot for me, just culturally wise,” Gronowski said. “The people that were there, the winning culture, the opportunity with Lester being a former NFL coach and assistant in the Packers offense, and bringing that NFL offense to get me to that next level is huge.

“After talking with everyone else, I just felt like Iowa was the best spot.”

No Money Talk—Just Football: Gronowski’s Approach to Recruitment

Even with the prevalence of NIL money, Gronowski didn’t want to be swayed by cash; instead, he chose the best fit for himself, personally and as a football player.

“Yeah, I mean I didn’t want to talk about money or anything like that when I was getting recruited throughout that entire process,” Gronowski said. “I want to talk football because, I mean, that’s what we’re playing at the end of the day. We’re out there to play football, to build that culture with the guys that are around you.”

While Iowa fans will have to wait a few months to see if he can turn the offense around, they can at least appreciate his mentality and approach in coming to Iowa. At the very least, Gronowski’s words position him to be a cultural cornerstone in the locker room, which, if coupled with solid play, could go a long way in reviving Iowa’s image in the college football landscape.

Saturday at the Iowa high school state track and field championships belonged to Quentin Nauman.

The Western Dubuque junior and future Oregon Duck made history, becoming the first high school in the country to run sub 1:50 in the 800 and sub 4:00 in the 1,600 in the same meet.

Nauman went 1:49.41 to secure gold in the 800 in Class 3A and posted a 3:59.60 in the 1,600 to also place first. He ran the anchor on the distance medley relay and also won the 3,200 earlier this week.

That was part of a final day that saw team champions crowned in all classes and more winners announced in Des Moines from Drake Stadium.

Scoring girls team gold were Council Bluffs St. Albert (1A), Pella Christian (2A), Adel ADM (3A) and Waukee Northwest (4A). Boys titles went to Lisbon (1A), Spirit Lake and Okoboji (2A), Newton (3A) and Ankeny (4A).

Noelle Steines of Tipton concluded her legendary career with two more titles, winning the 800 and 1,500 in 2A. Steines broke the state record in the 800. 

Kadence Huck of Nashua-Plainfield won her second title of the meet, recording the fastest 400 time by claiming the 1A 800 in 2:10.22. 

Rachel Kacmarynski from Pella Christian broke the state meet record in the 2A 100, as did Kelly Grobstich of Davenport Assumption in 3A. Grobstich doubled up, winning the 200 with a state meet record time.

Valley’s Emma Havighurst reset her own state mark from the prelims in the 100 hurdles, going 13.68 to capture first in 4A. Tay Seal of Clear Creek-Amana broke the state meet record in 3A for the 110 hurdles and set a new Iowa best at 13.58 while Quinton Alexander of Cedar Rapids Prairie broke the 4A mark.

Lili Denton of Council Bluffs St. Albert scored her third state title of the meet, winning the 1A 1,500 with a state meet record time of 4:30.63, which placed her first in Iowa this year. Until freshman Charlee Gall of Cedar Falls won in 4A in 4:29.87.

The shuttle hurdle relay saw records fall, as the Ankeny boys set a new all-time state meet mark at 56.06 in winning gold in 4A. The Treynor boys (2A) and Clear Creek-Amana boys (3A) also broke state records, as did the Stanton girls (1A) and Adel ADM girls (3A).

In the sprint medley relay, the Clear Lake girls ran the fastest time in Iowa in claiming gold in 3A. The Pella Christian girls broke the 4×100 record while Waukee Northwest set a new all-time Iowa best in the sprint relay at 47.37.

The Treynor boys broke the 2A 4×100 mark while Ankeny Centennial set a new Iowa best in the event. 

In the final girls race of the state meet, Waukee Northwest set a state and all-time Iowa record at 3:47.46 while the Iowa Valley boys (1A) and Center Point-Urbana boys (3A) broke state marks.

Wheelchair champions were Payton Maas of West Liberty, Ally Darter of Dubuque Hempstead and Titus Steng of Shenandoah while ambulatory champions were Hannah Longmire of Iowa City West and John Reynolds of Siouxland Christian.

A couple of years ago, former Iowa State Cyclones star Breece Hall appeared to be one of the top up and coming running backs in the NFL, and entering his third professional season with the New York Jets in 2024, many had him pegged as a potential breakout candidate.

However, Hall ended up having a very disappointing campaign, rushing for 876 yards and five touchdowns while averaging a pedestrian 4.2 yards per carry. Yes, he added 57 catches for 483 yards and three scores, but to put it plainly, more was expected from Hall last year.

Now, with the Jets having a new coaching staff in place, Hall is at the center of trade speculation, and Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine has listed him as one of New York’s top trade candidates with training camp approaching.

“The vaunted draft class of 2022 looms large moving forward, though. Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson, Jermaine Johnson II and Breece Hall will all be up for contract extensions soon and paying all of them could get pricey,” Ballentine wrote.

Let’s be honest: the Jets will certainly be extending Gardner and Wilson before Hall, and Johnson may even have the edge, too. New York has a couple of young halfbacks in Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis that will probably get more playing time in 2025, as well.

Hall spent three seasons at Iowa State, leading the Big 12 in rushing touchdowns back-to-back campaigns in 2020 and 2021. He also led the country with 1,572 yards on the ground in the former year.

Overall, the 23-year-old racked up 3,933 yards and 50 rushing scores during his time with the Cyclones while also catching 82 passes for 734 yards and six touchdowns. The Jets took him in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

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