Kirk Ferentz offers initial glimpse into Iowa football QB depth chart
Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz previewed the 2025 season and shared preseason insights on the 27th Hawkeye football team that he will direct.
Senior Mark Gronowski transferred in from South Dakota State and the two-time FCS national champion is set to take over as the starting quarterback for the Hawkeyes. But, what will it look like after Gronowski?
Iowa brings back walk-on junior quarterback Jackson Stratton, who played in three games and started a pair for the Hawkeyes last season. The Hawkeyes signed Jimmy Sullivan in its 2025 class and added Auburn transfer Hank Brown and Wake Forest transfer Jeremy Hecklinski.
Ryan Fitzgerald, a preferred walk-on in the 2025 class, is also in Iowa's quarterbacks room.
Ferentz reflected on the quarterback play in recent seasons and commented on the picture after Gronowski on Thursday afternoon from Las Vegas.
"We've had a lot of injuries. Things happen that nobody could count on or anticipate coming.
"I can't say enough about the way the guys have stepped in and done a great job. Last year we played with three quarterbacks. Found a way to win eight games and probably left some stuff out there. Two years ago, won ten games, and that was not a strength, probably playing some guys that probably weren't ready to play at this level yet. It was a credit to those guys that went in there and allowed us to still have success and handling a tough circumstance," Ferentz said.
Ferentz feels Iowa is in a much better situation with its signal-callers entering 2025.
"I think we have an opportunity hopefully this year to put a guy out there maybe that's a little bit better equipped for it, has the experience and help him meet the challenge.
"The bigger picture, I think the whole room right now is really an upgrade from what we've had the last two years. Time will tell. We'll figure out how we go along how that's going to work, but every position is up for grabs right now. We would anticipate Mark being our starter. If one of the other guys can beat him out, great," Ferentz said.
Realistically, it's Gronowski's job to lose and the rest of Iowa's quarterbacks are jockeying for the backup role and maybe a leg up in the 2026 competition.
"In a perfect world, if we're lucky, kind of like the Jay Higgins thing, hopefully somebody on our roster right now will be able to take it if Mark is our starter, which I would anticipate, they'll be able to take the reins from him or we'll have a two-man, healthy two-man competition a year from now.
"In a perfect world our guys are coming up from within, but that's a perfect world, and certainly the world is not perfect. That's our plan. That's our hope," Ferentz said.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Josh on X: @JoshOnREF
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