Saying that the Iowa quarterback room was a disaster during the 2024-2025 season is an understatement. Starter Cade McNamara was coming off an injury and was extremely ineffective as the Iowa starting QB.
Northwestern transfer Brendan Sullivan performed admirably in his stead and showed the ability to be a dual-threat quarterback in spurts. He was a much better runner than passer, which also led to him getting injured for multiple games.
Third-string quarterback Marco Lainez was also hurt for most of the year, and fourth-string quarterback James Resar never saw the field.
For a two-game stretch, the Hawkeyes had fifth-string quarterback Jackson Stratton as the starting quarterback. Stratton played well enough to secure two wins for Iowa before Sullivan returned for the Bowl game.
The 2025-2026 quarterback room looks completely different, headlined by South Dakota State transfer Mark Gronowski. The group returns Stratton and 2025 early enrollee Jimmy Sullivan and transfers Hank Brown (Auburn) and Jeremy Hecklinski (Wake Forest).
One of these Iowa quarterbacks received high praise ahead of the 2025-2026 season.
Highest Graded Returning Big Ten Quarterbacks🎯 pic.twitter.com/6HFqWiLPUT
— PFF College (@PFF_College) June 4, 2025
PFF College ranked Gronowski as the highest-graded returning quarterback in the Big Ten. Gronowski was ranked ahead of dynamic Penn State quarterback Drew Allar and UCLA transfer quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
Gronowski has not taken a snap at Iowa, but has already been ranked as the No. 10 quarterback transfer, has slim Heisman odds, and is ranked as the best returning quarterback in the Big Ten.
The hype surrounding Gronowski's first season in the Big Ten is backed up by his numbers and accolades at South Dakota State. During his four seasons with the Jackrabbits, Gronowski tallied 10,330 passing yards and 93 touchdowns, completing 63 percent of his passes on 756 attempts.
He also rushed for 1,767 yards and 37 touchdowns on 385 attempts.
Gronowski was named the FCS Heisman winner in 2023 and was the runner-up in 2024.
Iowa Football fans nationwide are ready for football season to start and are excited to see if Gronowski can live up to the hype.