Green grass kept Gronowski loyal to South Dakota State
In college football, version 2024, transfer quarterbacks seem to be everywhere. They are leading five of the top eight teams in the current FBS Top 25.
Neuqua Valley graduate Mark Gronowski won the past two FCS championships with South Dakota State. So naturally, when portal season rolled around last spring, the 6-foot-3 QB heard from larger schools, but he decided to stick it out in beautiful Brookings, S.D., and aim for a three-peat.
“There were a lot of offers, whether that was Northwestern, where my offensive coordinator (Zach Lujan) went last year, or some other Big Ten or Big 12 offers, even some ACC,” Gronowski said in a phone interview. “All of them were really enticing, especially going back home to Northwestern, being a Chicago kid, it would have been a really cool opportunity.”
Had this been high school recruiting, Gronowski admitted he probably would have chosen a bigger school in a Power 4 conference. But South Dakota State has been really good to him, so why leave?
“Throughout the process, my dad kind of mentioned the grass isn't always greener on the other side,” Gronowski said. “It's pretty ... green over here.”
Gronowski has had incredible success with the Jackrabbits. Starting as a true freshman during the spring season of 2021, he led SDSU to the FCS title game, then suffered a knee injury in the first quarter of a loss to Sam Houston State.
Knee surgery forced him to miss the fall season in '21, but he came back to lead South Dakota State to back-to-back national titles in '22 and '23.
“Mark doesn't carry himself around like he's this stud quarterback. He's a normal, approachable guy,” SDSU tight end Kevin Brenner told Sioux Falls Live. “I think the whole team was confident he was going to stay, and having him back gives energy to the entire team.”
South Dakota State just completed the most treacherous two weeks in college football. On Oct. 19, the No. 1-ranked Jackrabbits played at No. 2 North Dakota State. NDSU scored in the final two minutes to pull off a 13-9 victory. One other local tie worth mentioning, Bison linebacker Luke Weerts (Batavia) tied for the team lead in tackles that day.
With the loss the Jackrabbits dropped to No. 3 in the polls, then hosted their in-state rivalry last Saturday against No. 4 South Dakota. SDSU won that game 20-17 in overtime.
It's easy to spot the trend in FCS. The Dakota and Montana schools have been dominating. Those states have no FBS teams, so all the resources and attention are focused on the local football teams. Meanwhile, former FCS champs like James Madison, Appalachian State and Sam Houston State have moved to FBS.
The teams from South and North Dakota, Montana and Idaho could make a competitive conference but probably don't have a big enough population to attract a lucrative TV deal.
“Kind of being the professional team of South Dakota is really cool, and having a full stadium every single game,” Gronowski said. “One of the biggest reasons I came to SDSU is they have some of the top facilities in the country.”
Between the knee injury and COVID, Gronowski has another year of college eligibility but might opt not to use it.
“Right now the plan is to finish out this year and start training for the NFL draft,” he said. “That's currently my plan right now.”