Iowa Insider Exposes Key Difference Between New QB, Cade McNamara

The Iowa Hawkeyes have a new quarterback, as they landed former South Dakota State star Mark Gronowski via the transfer portal.

While there is some excitement surrounding Gronowski, fans are also a bit tentative thanks to the failed Cade McNamara experiment.

However, Scott Dochterman of The Athletic has revealed why the Iowa faithful should simply relax and embrace its new signal-caller.

"Gronowski is a good one," Dochterman wrote. "Yes, McNamara was supposed to be a good one, too. But if you watch the two quarterbacks’ film, you’ll notice a stark difference. McNamara was surrounded by NFL talent at Michigan and was part of the Wolverines’ success in 2021. Gronowski played with high-level Football Championship Subdivision talent at South Dakota State, but he was the major reason why the Jackrabbits won national titles in 2022 and ‘23. He was 49-6 as South Dakota State’s starting quarterback and is two wins shy of setting a Division I record for quarterback victories."

So, in other words, McNamara—who didn't even play particularly well at Michigan—was uplifted during his brief time with the Wolverines. Gronowski did not have the same supporting talent at South Dakota State and managed to win the 2023 Walter Payton Award for the best player in the FCS in spite of that fact.

Gronowski will be out until June as a result of shoulder surgery, another red flag for Hawkeyes fans, as they see parallels to McNamara's knee issues when he arrived at Iowa City.

But Dochterman does not foresee any issues.

"Gronowski’s repair work will help him complete passes this fall, and he’s better than whatever Iowa has now," Dochterman wrote. "He’s also the best fit the Hawkeyes could have gotten in the portal this offseason, no matter the cost."

Gronowski threw for 2,721 yards, 23 touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 60.9 percent of his passes last season while playing through a slight tear in his shoulder.

In 2023, he totaled 3,058 yards, 29 touchdowns and five picks, making good on 68.1 percent of his throws.