By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Maybe the best thing about the Kids’ Day practice on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium, besides the overcast skies that provided a shield from the sun, is that quarterback Mark Gronowski made it through without suffering a physical setback.

He mishandled a couple snaps in shotgun formation and made a couple questionable throws, including one on a screen pass that safety Koen Entringer turned into what would have been a pick six in a real game.

But Gronowski also made some nifty throws in which he displayed both arm strength, accuracy and sound judgement.

And more importantly, he made it through the steamy two-hour practice unscathed, much to the relief of Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz.

“Standing here two years ago today was the day things changed on our end with the quad injury,” Ferentz said of the quad injury that former Iowa starting quarterback Cade McNamara suffered at the Kids’ Day practice in 2023. “Which how do you predict that? Everything was good and then, boom, down he went.

“You can’t predict those things. There’s no way. But we’re in better shape, obviously, in a lot of ways two yeas later. That was the start of a  very challenging period for us.”

McNamara would go on two start just 13 games over two seasons for Iowa.

His quad injury was followed by a season-ending knee injury in the fifth game of the 2023 season.

McNamara then suffered a concussion against Northwestern in the eighth game of the 2024 season and he would never play for Iowa again and has since transferred to East Tennessee State.

Overall, the Cade McNamara experiment was a disaster for Iowa, but it also helped pave the way for Gronowski to be a Hawkeye for his final season in college.

The hope is that Gronowski, who led South Dakota State to two FCS national titles as a four-year starter, can do for the much-maligned Iowa offense what McNamara failed to do, which is provide stability and productivity while also staying healthy.

Kirk Ferentz sure seems impressed with Gronowski as both a quarterback and person.

“Every day has been good,” Kirk Ferentz said. “His judgement is really impressive. He did some things there you can tell he’s on top of things.

“Mostly, just so impressed with the way that he operates and the way that he carries himself. He’s got a genuine confidence and it’s earned. You can tell he’s thinking the right way out there. It’s really impressive.”

Sophomore Hank Brown, who transferred from Auburn this past winter, worked as the No. 2 quarterback in Saturday’s practice followed by Wake Forest transfer Jeremy Hecklinski, a redshirt freshman.

Junior walk-on Jackson Stratton played some late in the practice as did true freshman Jimmy Sullivan.

The only quarterback that didn’t attempt a pass during the scrimmage phase of Saturday’s practice was true freshman walk-on Ryan Fitzgerald, who is the son of former Northwestern head  coach Pat Fitzgerald.

Ferentz was asked after Saturday’s practice if his relationship with Pat Fitzgerald has changed since they no longer are Big Ten coaching rivals.

“Yeah, it’s better,” Ferentz said. “I’m not really buddy-buddy with a lot of guys in our conference. I don’t have that many friends actually outside of our building. But I’ve always had great respect for Pat. Him and (former Wisconsin coach) Paul Chryst are two guys that I always felt a lot about.

“So we were excited that Ryan was interested in coming here. And it’s been fun to get to know Pat in a non-competitive way.”

Pat Fitzgerald attended Saturday’s practice and reportedly was wearing a Hawkeye t-shirt in support of his son.

“Ryan is really a tremendous young guy,” Kirk Ferentz said. “He’s a winner.

“It’s all new for him right now. Things are happening fast. We wanted to get him more work with our threes, but we got a little thin with a couple positions, so we just couldn’t.”

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Impressive freshman: Freshman running back Nathan McNeil was one of the final pieces to Iowa’s 2025 recruiting class.

In his case, better late than never.

McNeil, who is from Tampa, Florida, was among the players that stood out in Saturday’s practice as he showed good vision and the ability to make defenders miss in space.

And though it was just one practice, McNeil apparently has made a strong impression ever since he enrolled early at Iowa in January.

“Not to diminish the value of recruiting, but I can’t remember where he was going,” Kirk Ferentz said of McNeil. “But he came up for a game in October, early November with his dad and got to meet with him afterwards and was just really impressed with both people.”

McNeil’s father played football for South Florida under Jim Leavitt, who had previously been a graduate assistant coach at Iowa under Hayden Fry in the late 1980s.

“We were really impressed with him and thought he was a good player,” Kirk Ferentz said of McNeil, who picked Iowa over scholarship offers from Rhode Island and Arkansas State.

In addition to his elusiveness, McNeil, who is listed at 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, also has deceptive size and has shown that he can run with power.

“How much do you think he weighs?” Kirk Ferentz asked the media after Saturday’s practice.

A member of the media then responded by saying 175 or 180 pounds.

“He’s over 200 pounds,” Kirk Ferentz said. “I would have said 180 just looking at him in equipment. He weighs 200 pounds. He’s done a real good job. He’s a really mature guy and his mom and dad are great people.

“So we’re just really happy he’s here.”

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Injury report: A number of key players did not participate in Saturday’s practice due to injuries, though none are considered to be serious.

Senior cornerback TJ Hall has a bone bruise that could cause him to miss a week or two of practice.

Kirk Ferentz was asked after Saturday’s practice how concerned he was about Hall’s status.

“Not at all,” Ferentz said. “His demeanor has been great. He wants to get back. He had a really good spring and started out the same way here until he got injured.

“I’d rather him be out there, obviously, with everybody. But at least he’s a guy that’s played. He’s still learning. His mind is wired and he’s seeing thing that maybe he wouldn’t have seen three years ago.

“So it’s not a major concern at all. I think he’ll be fine and get back here and we’ll be better when he’s back on the field.

Hall, a senior from Fresno, California, started seven games last season while playing both cornerback positions. He played in 12 games overall last season and finished with 19 tackles, one interception, two pass break-ups and one forced fumble.

Senior center Michael Myslinski limped off the field Saturday with an apparent ankle injury, but Kirk Ferentz said afterwards that it wasn’t serious.

Transfer receiver Sam Phillips also apparently had his eye poked and he appeared to be in some pain as he stayed down on the field.

But Ferentz also said afterwards that his injury wasn’t serious.

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Once a Hawkeye, always a Hawkeye: Former Iowa All-America defensive back Desmond King and former Iowa All-Big Ten defensive tackle Jaleel Johnson both attended Saturday’s practice and were on the sideline giving advice and encouragement to the players.

King, who won on the Jim Thorpe Award in 2015 as the nation’s top defensive back, played slightly more than seven seasons in the NFL before retiring this past season.

The Detroit native spoke with the team on the field at the conclusion of Saturday’s practice.

Johnson played seven seasons in the NFL before retiring in 2023.

He and King were both in Iowa City for the past week.

“The messages they deliver are pretty good,” Kirk Ferentz said. “Those guys were here all week. They’ve been here since last Sunday. So, they’ve gotten to see the guys really work. So, that’s stuff you can’t buy. That’s one of the fun things about this. Camp’s a great time for that where they can just kind of blend in with us.

“Perspective is always a good thing. Guys that are twenty years away from it or ten years away from it, and have done different things, they look at the college experience a little bit differently than the guys living it right now.”

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First Wave of 2025 season: The Iowa players and coaches took time out from Saturday’s practice to perform the Wave, which is now a key part of Iowa’s football tradition.

The Wave is performed at the end of the first quarter of Iowa’s home games.

Players and coaches from both teams in unison turn and wave to the pediatric patients, who are watching from the top floor of the UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital, which is across the street from Kinnick Stadium.

“The Wave is the best ever,” Kirk Ferentz said. “That was just the best thing that ever happened.”

The Wave was established in 2017 after it was suggested by an Iowa fan on Facebook.

Starting in 2022, for every home game Iowa plays inside Kinnick Stadium, UI athletics, in coordination with the UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital Kid Captain program, has that week’s Kid Captain help select a new song to accompany the Hawkeye Wave.

The Kids Day Captains for the 2025 season were introduced on the field at the start of Saturday’s practice. Each captain was accompanied by family members and by members of the Iowa football team.