Mark Gronowski (born October 5, 2001) is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits and Iowa Hawkeyes.

Early life Gronowski grew up in Naperville, Illinois and attended Neuqua Valley High School. As a senior, he completed 132 of 194 pass attempts for 1,663 yards with 15 touchdowns and one interception while also rushing for 846 yards and 12 touchdowns. Gronowski committed to play college football at South Dakota State, which was his only Division I scholarship offer, over offers from Butler and Valparaiso, which play in the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League, and from Division II Quincy and Bemidji State. He also had offers to walk-on at Iowa, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Stanford.

College career South Dakota State Gronowski's freshman season at South Dakota State (SDSU) was postponed from the fall to the spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was named the Jackrabbits starting quarterback going into his freshman season. Gronowski passed for 1,584 yards and 15 touchdowns and also rushed for 577 yards and seven touchdowns. He was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) Offensive Player of the Year, as well as the conference Freshman and Newcomer of the Year, at the end of the season. South Dakota State advanced to the 2021 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game, but Gronowski suffered a serious knee injury on the first offensive drive of the game and the team lost 23–21 to Sam Houston State. He used a medical redshirt for the 2021 fall season to recover from his injury.

Gronowski returned as SDSU's starting quarterback at the beginning of the 2022 season. He was named second-team All-MVFC as the Jackrabbits returned to the FCS National Championship Game. Gronowski was named the games Most Valuable Player after dominating the Bison, completing 14 of 21 pass attempts for 223 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 57 yards and one touchdown in a 45-21 victory over North Dakota State. He finished the season with 2,967 passing yards and 26 touchdowns with five interceptions and also rushed for 408 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Gronowski won the Walter Payton Award as a junior. South Dakota State repeated as FCS national champions and he repeated as the Most Valuable Player of the FCS Championship Game after completing 13-of-21 passes for 175 yards and one touchdown with an interception and rushing eight times for 62 yard and one touchdown in a 23-3 win against Montana. Gronowski finished the season with 3,058 passing yard and 29 touchdown passes while also rushing for 402 yards and eight touchdowns. On December 29, 2024, Gronowski entered the transfer portal.

Iowa On January 7, 2025, Gronowski announced that he would transfer to Iowa. He was named the Hawkeyes' starting quarterback entering the 2025 season.

Gronowski was selected to play in the 2026 East–West Shrine Bowl, and was selected as that year's offensive MVP.

Statistics Legend FCS/NCAA record Led the FCS Bold Career high

Season Team Games Passing Rushing 2020 South Dakota State 10 10 8–2 108 188 57.7 1,565 8.3 15 3 151.1 83 577 7.0 7 2021 South Dakota State 0 0 — (Injury-ACL) 2022 South Dakota State 15 15 14–1 232 356 65.2 2,967 8.3 26 5 156.5 111 408 3.7 12 2023 South Dakota State 15 15 15–0 209 307 68.8 3,058 9.9 29 5 179.7 93 402 4.3 8 2024 South Dakota State 15 15 12–3 206 338 60.9 2,721 8.1 23 7 146.9 98 380 3.9 10 2025 Iowa 13 13 9–4 166 262 63.4 1,741 6.6 10 7 126.4 130 545 4.2 16 FCS career 55 55 49−6 755 1,188 63.6 10,308 8.7 93 20 158.9 385 1,767 4.6 37 FBS career 13 13 9−4 166 262 63.4 1,741 6.6 10 7 126.4 130 545 4.2 16 Career 68 68 58−10 922 1,450 63.6 12,049 8.3 103 27 152.8 515 2,312 4.5 53

Professional career

Miami Dolphins Gronowski signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent on May 8, 2026. He was waived by the Dolphins on August 7. Gronowski subsequently re–signed with Miami on August 16. On August 30, Gronowski was waived as part of final roster cuts and re-signed to the practice squad. On September 1, he was released.

Houston Texans On September 8, 2026, Gronowski was signed to the Houston Texans practice squad. On September 17, he was released.

Personal life Gronowski's father, Ray Gronowski, played quarterback at Drake University. His older sister Sarah played softball at Butler.

References

External links South Dakota State Jackrabbits bio Iowa Hawkeyes bio