Will Iowa ever have a QB that can throw

[longtimer]

This is a factual post.
It's utterly bizarre to see Gron repeatedly, in game 10 of the season, still throwing the ball at receivers' feet on simple screen passes, or throwing it in the dirt 2 yds in front of a WR who's open 15 yds down the field.
Repeatedly.
And the most striking thing about these throws is that he's rarely under pressure when he's throwing them. Iowa's OLine this year is one of KF's best, and most of Gron's errant throws have come with no pressure...that's what makes them inexcusable.

Gronowski has QB rating of 58.3. Good for13th

Gronowski has some talent but he is j u st not a good passing QB. Been a long time since we have had one.

Gronowski stats. 58.3 qb rating good for 13th in big ten. 6 touchdowns and 5 Interceptions. 63% completions. 133 yards per game. Just what they are. I think most were hoping for a little better

 

[SCHawkeye2]

Apparently one aspect of the Kirk regime that will never change is we have to train our QBs to be super fearful of an interception, so they throw every fucking ball at the receiver's feet. We had multiple incompletions against USC because Mark threw at their feet. The INT off Gill's fucking knee only happened because we train our QBs that the last place to throw the ball is to the receiver's hands.

Do you think Gronowski is intending to throw the ball that poorly on purpose?

 

[HawkPowerlifter]

We just got a UCLA de-commit out of Florida, Xavier Stinson, who is a receiver. 6'3/205. I think he's a 3 star, but seemed to have a few other notable offers. I do know we have some decent O-linemen coming in too. Also throw in a stacked tight end room. I think we are turning the corner.

 

[HawkPowerlifter]

Gronowski has QB rating of 58.3. Good for13th

Gronowski stats. 58.3 qb rating good for 13th in big ten. 6 touchdowns and 5 Interceptions. 63% completions. 133 yards per game. Just what they are. I think most were hoping for a little better

I really wonder how much this labrum injury has affected his ability to throw. You watch old vids of him and he definitely can throw the ball. I also recall him mentioning the knee brace affects his ability to throwing.

I make no excuses though. I think our expectations were much higher for his ability to pass, but I think some of that has balanced out with his run ability and his leadership and moxie. Tough kid and he's got guts and is a winner. I think some of that is hard to quantify.

 

[HawkeyeHypnosis]

Gronowski said in post game that he threw the ball too late on the tip pick. He said a half a second earlier and it’s a catch.

 

[Gibsonian]

Do you think Gronowski is intending to throw the ball that poorly on purpose?

Not a chance. And no one is instructing our QBs to throw the ball at receivers feet

 

[haydensly]

FWIW, both the ANF and HawkCentral podcasts believe that Hecklinski or Brown will be Iowa's starting QB next year with the early edge to Hecklinski. Tim Lester really seems to like him. Gronowski has been a huge improvement at the position this year but I think either one of those two could be a better passer.

 

[SCHawkeye2]

Gronowski said in post game that he threw the ball too late on the tip pick. He said a half a second earlier and it’s a catch.

Also late with the final pass to Wetjen - out of bounds

 

[SCHawkeye2]

I really wonder how much this labrum injury has affected his ability to throw. You watch old vids of him and he definitely can throw the ball. I also recall him mentioning the knee brace affects his ability to throwing.

I make no excuses though. I think our expectations were much higher for his ability to pass, but I think some of that has balanced out with his run ability and his leadership and moxie. Tough kid and he's got guts and is a winner. I think some of that is hard to quantify.

We are seeing the impact of his shoulder and knee injuries.

 

[Sooby]

Haven't seen an Iowa QB throw this many passes in the dirt in a season since Jake Christensen.

 

[Gibsonian]

I was at birthday party so checking scores by phone not watching. Early in game Mark was 0 for 4 for -5 yards and a pic, He sure found his stroke late and just in time, wow. He’s a winner warrior as the record clearly shows. There is a thrower in there we just haven’t gotten to see it a lot this year. Kudos to the winner in there though

 

[HawkPowerlifter]

I was at birthday party so checking scores by phone not watching. Early in game Mark was 0 for 4 for -5 yards and a pic, He sure found his stroke late and just in time, wow. He’s a winner warrior as the record clearly shows. There is a thrower in there we just haven’t gotten to see it a lot this year. Kudos to the winner in there though

Love his mentality. Humble. Positive and a winner. The kid is a leader. There's a reason why he has the locker room. He may not have insane numbers, but he plays within the system and makes plays when needed. I still think he has cemented his name as a legend with the Hawkeyes for what he has done.

 

[dagdaj]

Gronowski is one of the reasons this team has bed. In every game this year. He’s a fine QB, in my opinion

I don't disagree, terribly.
He's good because a QB that purposefully gets 30 yards rushing in a game (not exclusively from scrambling on a broken play) is an offense that can get first downs. If you string together enough first downs, you score points. If you score points with some regularity, you are "in the game".

Remember, I don't truly know how football works. I don't know how long you can change a team. I don't know if they are trying. I don't know what it takes to....

But, I wondered the other day in a thread if Gronowski was the perfect pick for year 2 of Tim Lester. For the most part, the upperclassmen receivers and tight ends were all recruited by a different coach. I don't even remember the timing of when Lester came aboard or if it would have made a difference with Van Der Zee. But the others? Might not have been Lester's choice. The offensive line and tight ends, same thing.

I mean, one thing we know is that QBs known for throwing the ball did not exactly fare all that well with teams made up and developed by previous coordinators/coaches. So maybe they look at Gronowski and say "well, he can throw the ball and should be able to wayyy better than Deacon Hill and at least as good as McNamara. But, he can run. The offense line can run block. Let's just get some first downs and see if he can throw enough when he has to. Get through the season as strong as possible and then we'll have some of "our guys" playing in "our system" and we can run an offense that's a little more balanced with a little more passing.

To a degree Growowski's been able to throw when he HAD to. What he hasn't been able to do with any consistency is thrown the ball when it would be "really good" to do so. He seems to run awfully hot and cold.

Maybe Lester is sitting there with some confidence in Hecklinkski (sp?) and the scheme/players he'll have on offense and that they'll either develop or portal in some receivers for next year and actually TRY to rely on having both a running and passing game? Gronowski being like the perfect stopgap?

Then again, with the average being 2-3 years for an OC, you'd have to argue that the cupboard was absolutely bare in the passing game. Which, seeing the performance of the previous OC in the passing game over the last 6 years, one could maybe argue that the cupboard was indeed...that bare.