The Iowa athletic department shared this afternoon that recently signed South Dakota State transfer quarterback Mark Gronowski "will have surgery in the coming weeks and will not begin on-field team workouts until June."
Gronowski is entering his final year of college eligibility.
“Mark played last season with a common football-related injury,” Kirk Ferentz said in a statement. “While he could have continued to play through the injury, Mark is choosing to have a procedure to address the issue, and we support him in his decision."
Gronowski, who signed with the Hawkeyes on Wednesday, is a highly-touted addition to the roster, following several successful years with the Jackrabbits. SDSU won two national titles with him under center, and the Naperville, Illinois native won the Walter Payton Award for the FCS National Player of the year honor in 2023.
Over four seasons under center for the Jackrabbits, Gronowski completed 755-of-1,188 passes for 10,309 yards and 93 touchdowns against only 20 interceptions. On the ground, he had 385 carries for 1,767 yards and 37 scores.
He led SDSU to an FCS national championship appearance in the 2021 FCS spring season -- his first year in Brookings -- but tore his ACL part way through the loss to Sam Houston State. Gronowski proceeded to miss the entirety of the 2021 fall season.
A sense of trepidation and nervousness in the fan base is warranted, as the news of Gronowski's surgery and the expectation that he will miss the spring is eerily similar to what transpired with former transfer quarterback Cade McNamara in the spring of 2023.
McNamara, who was coming off surgery, didn't join the team and participate fully until fall camp. He proceeded to strain his quad in fall camp and then tear an ACL against Michigan State later on in the season.
"Our sports medicine team thoroughly reviewed his records and has confidence he will be fully rehabbed in time to participate in our summer program," Ferentz added. "Mark will participate in all non-practice team activities while he recovers.”
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