Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester is optimistic about Hawkeyes’ depth in new-look quarterback room

IOWA CITY — Mark Gronowski has impressed his new offensive coordinator, even as he is “throwing a Nerf ball right now” amid his recovery from shoulder surgery.

“Just talking football with him, you can tell he’s played a lot of football, and he’s seen a lot of coverages,” Iowa’s Tim Lester said. “He’s seen a lot of blitzes, and he knows how to react well. So that will be fun to see it come to light when he’s able to get out there.”

As excitement swirls around Iowa’s highest-profile transfer portal addition of the season — and the strongest candidate for Iowa’s starting quarterback job in the fall — Lester also has expressed optimism about the rest of the Hawkeyes’ quarterbacks this spring.

That includes Auburn transfer Hank Brown, walk-on (and former Colorado State transfer) Jackson Stratton and early enrollee Jimmy Sullivan. Incoming freshman Ryan Fitzgerald, the son of ex-Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald, will join the room as well in the summer.

“I do like our depth,” Lester told reporters on Wednesday. “Obviously Jackson has played before. The young kids got a long way to go. We’re going to see kind of how they develop. But Hank has really taken to it. He’s done a really good job. I’m excited to see Mark.”

One does not need to look far back to understand why that depth is so important. The Hawkeyes at one point were without their top three quarterbacks in the 2024 season due to injuries.

Lester’s 2025 confidence in Iowa’s quarterback depth is despite having almost an entirely different group from Lester’s first season with the Hawkeyes. Cade McNamara, Marco Lainez and James Resar all departed in the winter transfer portal window (although Iowa already moved Resar from quarterback to wide receiver).

Iowa replaced them with Gronowski — a two-time FCS national champion and 2023 FCS Walter Payton Award recipient — and Brown, who started two games last year for Auburn.

Then Sullivan, who started three games and appeared in another seven games as a reserve in 2024, departed via the portal earlier this spring. That leaves Stratton as the only quarterback left on the 2025 roster who took a snap for the Hawkeyes — or was even on the roster — in the 2024 season.

“It is ironic that none of them, other than Jackson, have ever played before here, wearing the Tiger Hawk on their helmets,” Lester said. “It’s a challenge. … It’s also rare to have a guy that’s thrown for 10,000 yards in your room. So that’s helpful.”

Lester also shared credit with players at other positions who have played well in Iowa’s first 13 spring practices. The second-year offensive coordinator has noticed Iowa’s receivers “getting themselves more open” in the spring.

“With the guys around them playing well, it’s really allowed those guys to have a little bit more confidence,” Lester said. “And Coach has done a great job of putting us in tough situations. We’re getting a lot of work done.”

Lester did allude to Iowa’s desire to add a quarterback in the portal in the Wednesday afternoon press conference.

“If something comes along that we can add somebody else in there to add depth, we would do it in a heart beat,” Lester said.

Seemingly a heart beat later, Lester got his wish. Former Wake Forest quarterback Jeremy Hecklinski announced his commitment via the transfer portal with four years of eligibility remaining.

Add that to the reasons for optimism, even if Iowa’s top option at the position can only do so much with a real football this spring.

“We’ve got a long way to go, but I’m happy where the room is at right now,” Lester said.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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