Mark Gronowski
 Gronowski at a post-game presser in 2023 | |
| South Dakota State Jackrabbits – No. 11 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Class | Junior |
| Major | Mechanical Engineering |
| Personal information | |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
|
| Bowl games | |
| High school | Neuqua Valley (Naperville, Illinois) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| |
Mark Gronowski is an American football quarterback for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.
Early life and high school
Gronowski grew up in Naperville, Illinois and attended Neuqua Valley High School.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3][4]
College career
Gronowski's freshman season at South Dakota State (SDSU) was postponed from the fall to the spring of 2021 due to COVID-19.[5] He was named the Jackrabbits starting quarterback going into his freshman season.[6] Gronowski passed for 1,584 yards and 15 touchdowns and also rushed for 577 yards and seven touchdowns.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9][10] He used a medical redshirt for the 2021 fall season to recover from his injury.[11]
Gronowski returned as SDSU's starting quarterback at the beginning of the 2022 season.[12][13] He was named second-team All-MVFC as the Jackrabbits returned to the FCS National Championship Game.[14][15][16] Gronowski was named the games Most Valuable Player after 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.[17] He finished the season with 2,967 passing yards and 26 touchdowns with five interceptions and also rushed for 408 yards and 12 touchdowns.[18]
Statistics
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Record | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | Avg | TD | Int | Rate | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | ||
| South Dakota State Jackrabbits | |||||||||||||||
| 2020 | 6 | 8–1 | 109 | 189 | 57.7 | 1,584 | 8.4 | 15 | 3 | 151.1 | 83 | 577 | 7.0 | 7 | |
| 2021 | DNP | ||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 14 | 14–1 | 232 | 356 | 65.2 | 2,967 | 8.3 | 26 | 5 | 156.5 | 111 | 408 | 3.7 | 12 | |
| Career | 20 | 22−2 | 341 | 545 | 62.6 | 4,551 | 8.4 | 41 | 8 | 154.2 | 194 | 985 | 5.1 | 19 | |
References
- ^ "Neuqua Valley's Patrick Hoffmann reunites with Mark Gronowski". Naperville Sun. August 11, 2022. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
- ^ "He's like duct tape': Neuqua Valley's Mark Gronowski is the 2019 Naperville Sun Football Player of the Year". Naperville Sun. December 1, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
- ^ Borg, Zach (May 18, 2021). "Inspiration & Motivation Always Present For Mark Gronowski". DakotaNewsNow.com. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
- ^ OHalloran, Tim (June 26, 2019). "Gronowski adds a SDSU offer". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
- ^ "Freshman Mark Gronowski named starting quarterback for South Dakota State football". Argus Leader. February 19, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- ^ "South Dakota State football: Mark Gronowski healthy, Chase Mason out". Argus Leader. April 4, 2022. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
- ^ "Gronowski named MVFC Offensive Player of Year". Rapid City Journal. May 28, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- ^ "Jackrabbits QB Gronowski ready for different Fargodome feel in 2nd Dakota Marker start". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. October 14, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
- ^ "Freshman QB Mark Gronowski powers South Dakota State to cusp of national title game". Mitchell Daily Republic. May 7, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- ^ "FCS championship: South Dakota State quarterback Mark Gronowski suffers 'serious' injury". Argus Leader. May 16, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
- ^ "Gronowski set to return after serious knee injury". The Brookings Register. August 11, 2022. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
- ^ "Mark Gronowski ready to reclaim star status as South Dakota State quarterback; backups battle for role". Argus Leader. August 9, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- ^ "South Dakota State quarterback Mark Gronowski returns from injury". Watertown Public Opinion. August 29, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
- ^ "Missouri Valley Football Conference awards: South Dakota State's John Stiegelmeier named coach of the year". Mitchell Daily Republic. November 28, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
- ^ "Gronowski looking like himself heading into Montana State rematch". The Brookings Register. December 16, 2022. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
- ^ "Grownowski leads South Dakota St past Montana St in FCS semi". Associated Press. December 18, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
- ^ "Different Dakota: SD State wins 1st FCS title over ND State". CBS Sports. Associated Press. January 8, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
- ^ Le Cren, Matt (January 16, 2023). "Former Neuqua Valley star Mark Gronowski's first college season had a nightmarish end. His second? The stuff of dreams". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 31, 2023.