As the 2025 college football season swiftly approaches, Iowa football’s presumptive starting quarterback, Mark Gronowski, has landed himself a spot on the 2025 Maxwell Award watch list, announced by the Maxwell Football Club on Monday.
The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the most outstanding player in college football.
At 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, the native of Naperville, Illinois, will be in his first and final season with the Hawkeyes after transferring from South Dakota State, where he led the Jackrabbits to a pair of FCS national championships in 2022 and 2023.
Gronowski was the 2023 FCS statistical leader in passing efficiency (179.67) and compiled a 49-6 career record as the Jackrabbits’ starting quarterback, with the 49 wins tying for the most wins in history by an FCS quarterback.
Gronowski has already won the FCS equivalent of the Maxwell Award, when he secured the 2023 Walter Payton Award with South Dakota State.
The Maxwell Award has been awarded to College Football’s Player of the Year since 1937 and is named in honor of Robert Maxwell for his contributions to the game as a player, sportswriter, and official.
Only two Hawkeyes have ever won the high distinction in the award’s history: halfback Nile Kinnick in 1939 and quarterback Chuck Long in 1985.
Semifinalists for the award will be announced on Nov. 11, while finalists for the distinction will be revealed on Nov. 25. The winner will be announced on Dec. 11.
While the list is quite expansive at the moment, Gronowski will have an excellent opportunity to prove he is worthy of the award with a potentially historic Iowa season on the horizon.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa football QB Mark Gronowski named to 2025 Maxwell Award watch list
Reporting by Scout Springgate, Hawkeyes Wire / Hawkeyes Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
