Inside The Hawkeyes

Two Notable Iowa Players Not Invited to NFL Combine

For whatever reason, these two Iowa Hawkeyes weren't invited to the NFL Combine.
Jordon Lawrenz|
Nov 28, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Mark Gronowski (11) warms up before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
Nov 28, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Mark Gronowski (11) warms up before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

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Iowa Hawkeyes

While it's great seeing nine Iowa Hawkeyes players invited to the NFL Combine, one can only imagine what's going through the head of quarterback Mark Gronowski or defensive tackle Aaron Graves.

For whatever reason, neither of those were were among the first players invited to the NFL Combine. There's still a chance they're invited late, but this isn't a great sign for either.

Gronowski is fresh off an MVP performance at a Senior Bowl game while Graves was yet another key piece to the Hawkeyes defense.

Now, both are stuck waiting their turn and hoping they get a chance to prove themselves at the next level. Things aren't looking good for now, but that doesn't mean either are about to give up on their dream.

QB Mark Gronowski

When it came to notable NFL Combine snubs, Gronowski appeared in nearly every list. It's not like Iowa's starting quarterback for the 2025 season has the best arm in the world, but he's the all-time winningest QB in college football history for a reason.

Gronowski bet on himself after winning his second National Championship and decided Iowa was the place to go for his final year. The 2023 Walter Payton Award winner somehow hurt his draft stock in the process even though he was one of the most efficient dual-threat QBs in the entire country.

This is considered a strong QB class, but it's hard to point out many players that are on Gronowski's level. He proved that in the Shrine Bowl, but for whatever reason that wasn't enough to get him an invite to the combine.

DT Aaron Graves

With 120 tackles in his collegiate career, Graves would've loved to join his fellow defensive stars at the combine. In a world where Max Llewellyn, Karson Sharar, Xavier Nwankpa, and T.J. Hall were all invited, Graves was not.

The Iowa native stands 6'5'' 295-pounds and recorded 15.5 sacks in his four-year journey with Iowa. The Hawkeyes got arguably more out of him this year than they had any others as he set a career high 37 total tackles and recorded his first career interception.

None of Graves stats may jump off the page, but it's hard to do that when he's being double teamed every play. Graves finished with one sack fewer than he had last season, and he didn't have a forced fumble unlike last year where he tallied three of them. Either way, Graves not being invited to the combine is a bit mind-boggling and will take a lot of time for him to process.

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Jordon Lawrenz
JORDON LAWRENZ

Jordon Lawrenz serves as the Eastern United States College Recruiting beat writer On SI. Jordon is an accomplished writer covering the NFL, MLB, and college football/basketball. He has contributed to PFSN’s and Heavy’s NFL coverage. Having graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay with a Sports Communication and Journalism degree, Jordon fully embraced the sports writing lifestyle upon his relocation to Florida.

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