Mark Gronowski injury update: Iowa announces QB's official status after leaving Indiana game in 4th quarter

After suffering an injury against Indiana, Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski is questionable to come back. He went down in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be a leg injury.

Gronowski left earlier in Saturday’s game and was seen on the stationary bike. He later returned, though, as Iowa looked to knock off Indiana at Kinnick Stadium.

But in the fourth quarter, he left again and is questionable to come back, Peacock’s Carolina Pineda said on the broadcast. Hank Brown took over at quarterback afterward.

“Mark Gronowski is officially questionable, according to the team,” Pineda on the broadcast. “You’ve seen him dealing with that injury. He spent 10 minutes in the tent. He has been working with a team doctor.

“When he was on the bike, he was talking to that team doctor as well. He’s been jogging up and down the sideline intermittently. He’s left his helmet on the whole time and been working with his teammates, being that extra coach on the field that the coaching staff told us he is all week.”

Gronowski arrived in Iowa City with plenty of fanfare after a decorated career at South Dakota State, where he became one of the best quarterbacks in FCS. He threw for more than 10,000 yards over his four years with the Jackrabbits, including 2,721 yards this past season to go with 23 touchdowns. His best year came in 2023 when he threw for 3,058 yards and 29 touchdowns as SDSU defeated Montana for its second straight FCS national title.

Entering Saturday, Mark Gronowski completed 60.5% of his passes for 492 yards and three touchdowns while adding 143 rushing yards and a team-high six rushing scores on the ground. He was in the midst of an efficient day against Indiana, going 19 of 25 for 144 yards and also adding a rushing touchdown, as well.

Iowa presented quite a test for Indiana, which had to go into a hostile environment at Kinnick Stadium fresh off a blowout win over Illinois. Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti knew what his team would be up against, and the Fighting Illini also caught a stray as he explained why.

“Iowa, it’s a tough place to play, Kinnick Stadium,” Cignetti said. “They sell out almost every Saturday. It’s loud. We’re going to have to play well. This will be a challenge, a more difficult challenge than the last one, for sure. And the sooner our guys realize that, the better.”