BROOKINGS — When Mark Gronowski took the field against Iowa two years ago, it was his first game back after missing an entire season with a knee injury. The Jackrabbits lost that game 7-3, but since then Gronowski has won 29 straight games.
Over the past two seasons, Gronowski has developed into a better passer, and as he enters his fourth season on the field and fifth with SDSU, coaches and players alike believe he’s as good as he’s ever been.
“Mark has never looked better,” said head coach Jimmy Rogers. “He has taken another step forward in his game. He has become a more complete passer and can manipulate the defense very well with his eyes. He can progress quickly, get the ball out quickly and be very precise. I’m excited to see what he can do. Practice is practice and he has to perform during the game.”
After the Jacks won their second consecutive national championship in January, it was questionable whether Gronowski would return, given his opportunity to transfer to bigger programs or even enter the NFL Draft. He made the decision to come back and hit the ground running in spring training.
Then in the summer, Gronowski attended the Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux, Louisiana, which featured 45 of the best college quarterbacks. Danny Freund, SDSU’s newly appointed quarterback coach, said when Gronowski returned from camp, he took his game to a new level.
“He came out of training camp with a little bit of a different outlook. He’s really motivated to play at the next level and win a third national title here in Brookings and get on the right path,” Freund said.
Fruend joined the Jackrabbit staff in the spring after spending the past six seasons as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at North Dakota. He had coached against Gronowski three times before becoming his coach and said he thought he knew what to expect, but what struck him when he came to Brookings was how Gronowski dominated the offense, not just on the field.
“I knew (South Dakota State) had a quarterback who had won a couple of national titles and played in another one. So when you watch from afar, I think you see his ability on the field and know he’s a talented player. But when you get here, it’s the things that stand out that are intangible. The leadership qualities. The ability to make players better just by being around them. I think when he comes into the huddle, he instills confidence in other people and the whole building as well,” Freund said.
For the past four seasons, former SDSU quarterback Zach Lujan has been Gronowski’s quarterback coach. Gronowski said he thought Freund would take a little while to get comfortable in the quarterback room, but that wasn’t the case. He said Freund jumped in right away and the two built a relationship that has allowed him to learn a lot this offseason.
“I think some people learn the same way over and over again, and I think for me it was huge to learn in a different style. (Freund and I) really did a lot of play-drafting so I can almost imagine the play as I hear it, and I can see it as I go to the line. He’s also really helped me with throwing on the run and throwing accurately. That’s something we haven’t really worked on in the past, and I think that’s going to be a big aspect of my game this year,” Gronowski said.
It’s no surprise to Jackrabbit fans that Freund recognizes how smart Gronowski is. He said the fifth-grader, who plans to study engineering, is constantly trying to learn and get better.
“He’s a very analytical kid. His pre-snap approach where he sees the coverage, identifies the front, talks about the defense, I think he’s really found a good balance of seeing a lot pre-snap and then letting his instincts take over. … I think a lot of that is him and the work he’s put in and (the coaching staff) has tried to give him a few things and he’s always taking notes. He’s a guy that will always take notes in meetings, although you’d be OK with him not taking notes,” Freund said.
Many players improve during their college years, especially when they start 40 games like Gronowski did. But in his 41st start in the Jackrabbit uniform, Gronowski said he feels more confident and comfortable than ever taking the snap from center.
“I think as the years go by and you gain more experience each year, you get more confidence. You’re able to make the plays on the field, but you’re also able to see a lot more things and recognize a lot more coverages. Those pre-snap plans come in handy because then you almost know what you’re going to do before the game even starts. That’s how it feels right now. The game is really slow for me, and if that keeps happening to me all season, that’s going to be very useful,” Gronowski said.
SDSU will need that confidence on Saturday when the Jackrabbits will try to beat the 17th-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys in Stillwater, Okla. Freund said having a quarterback with so much experience certainly gives the Jacks a much better chance of pulling off the upset.
“I think (having a guy like Gronowski) is great because it gives you some confidence. When you’re confident and prepared and you know you have a prepared guy under center, it gives the team a chance. … When I was at North Dakota, we went to Nebraska and had a veteran quarterback, and we kept up with them. I really think it helps calm the nerves, and when you can settle into the game and play well right off the bat, not necessarily score, but believe in it and realize it’s just football, (it makes things easier),” Freund said.
