Iowa Offensive Coordinator Tim Lester Provides Hopeful Update On New QB

The Iowa Hawkeyes have their likely starting quarterback on the roster this spring in South Dakota State transfer Mark Gronowski. The only problem for the Hawks is that even though Gronowski has come to Iowa City after a highly successful career with the Jackrabbits, he's not yet ready to play for Iowa.

That's not to say he won't be ready this fall, because head coach Kirk Ferentz revealed in late March that Gronowski was well on his way toward starting to throw the football. He's currently recovering from a shoulder surgery he underwent earlier this offseason to take care of a lingering issue he suffered with at South Dakota State last season, though.

Gronowski isn't full-go just yet, and that's got to be tough for a new quarterback playing in a new scheme. He came to Iowa City to compete to be the starting quarterback but he's not even been able to take reps this spring with his teammates.

That's made the mental side of spring practice extremely important for Gronowski, because that's all he has. Those are reps the super senior is taking seriously and he's not lacking in confidence as a back-to-back FCS national championship quarterback.

Though they're reps on air and from watching behind the line of scrimmage, Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester told the media in a recent availability that those reps are paying off for the Naperville, Illinois product. Gronowski is taking it so serious that he's even pointing to exactly where he'd throw the football if he was the quarterback taking the live rep.

“He’s been taking more mental reps than anyone else,” Lester explained, according to Tyler Tachman of The Des Moines Register. “And we see it on the film. So I know exactly where he would’ve gone. So the receivers know it. They all watch what Mark would’ve done on that play because he’s pointing to where he would’ve gone. 90% of the time, it’s the same as the guy that’s holding the ball. Now back there, there’s no pass rush. So he’s really comfortable back there. Standing up, hopping up and down. But it’s been good for him just to get reps. Because there’s a muscle memory to everything you do, right? So he’s doing all the fake hand-offs to nobody. Him and his imaginary team back there. But he’s having a blast doing it."

Again, Gronowski is going to actually have to strap the pads on and get the job done in order to be the quarterback that Iowa envisioned when he transferred in, but it's mental reps like the ones he's taking right now that seem to make Lester hopeful.

There's going to be a learning curve no matter what, but with Gronowski going all in with what he can do right now, he's just making it easier for himself this fall when he tries to run the offense for real.

“When he actually gets out there and he has to bring all the motions and do all the movements, we’re just trying to shorten the curve really. So when he gets out there, we can start seeing a more comfortable version of a guy who’s played — I don’t even know how many games he’s played — a lot," Lester said.

With the recent addition of Wake Forest transfer quarterback Jeremy Hecklinski, Iowa has six quarterbacks on the projected 2025 roster. A healthy Gronowski is the headliner and likely starter, but Iowa also has Auburn transfer Hank Brown (sophomore), junior Jackson Stratton, freshman Jimmy Sullivan and incoming freshman Ryan Fitzgerald at its disposal for 2025.