Iowa’s offense finally found some rhythm in its 47–7 rout of UMass last Saturday. Quarterback Mark Gronowski, the South Dakota State transfer, completed 16 of 24 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns while adding another score on the ground. With that performance, the Hawkeyes looked closer to solving their offensive woes, and they’ll try to carry that momentum into Friday night’s Big Ten opener at Rutgers.
Still, consistency remains a concern. Across the Iowa State and UMass games, Hawkeye wide receivers and tight ends dropped between 8–10 passes from their new signal caller. In the 16–13 loss at Ames, those miscues may have swung the outcome. Against UMass, the mistakes didn’t cost Iowa, but they likely prevented the team from topping the 50-point mark for the first time in years.
“Believe it or not, we coach not to drop it—we emphasize catching,” head coach Kirk Ferentz joked Tuesday. “I always tease the guys, that’s why they’re called wide receivers, not wide droppers. The objective is to catch the football. Sometimes it’s ball placement, sometimes a tough throw, but it goes both ways. The quarterbacks don’t always have clean pockets, either.”
Ferentz also credited Iowa State’s unique defensive looks for disrupting the passing game in the Cy-Hawk matchup.
“The challenge we had two weeks ago, it’s a really unique defensive scheme, unique coverages. Not a lot of clean looks,” Ferentz said. “I thought we took a step forward [against UMass]. There’s still work to do—ball placement at times could be sharper. And if you get your hands on the ball, we’ve got to come down with it. If we want to keep moving forward, both areas have to improve.”\
Redshirt freshman wideout KJ Parker, one of Iowa’s most talked-about young players in the offseason, had a mixed outing against UMass. He caught the first pass of his college career—a two-yard touchdown from backup quarterback Hank Brown in the third quarter—but also dropped a couple of balls during the game. Parker admitted he knows what needs to change moving forward.
“Definitely just dialing in on focusing on my hands more, not taking my eyes off the ball,” Parker said. “Most of the times I’ve dropped a pass, it’s because I looked away too early. I need to look the ball all the way in, slow the game down for myself, and get more reps on the Jugs.”
For the uninitiated, the Jugs machine mimics a quarterback’s throw by firing footballs at high speeds, giving receivers extra practice tracking and securing the ball.
Senior wide receiver Seth Anderson echoed that same emphasis after a night in which he hauled in Iowa’s first two touchdowns, but also let a couple slip through his hands.
“I’m getting 150 [catches] after practice on the Jugs, working on it every day,” Anderson said. “It’s just fundamentals. The game doesn’t change that. After practice, I’m making sure to get my extra catches in—and so is everybody else.”
Jon Budmayr, who moved from offensive analyst to receivers coach last season, has been actively addressing the drop issues within the position group.
“Coach Bud did mention it,” Parker said. “He knows what we’re capable of 100%. It’s not like we can’t catch the ball—we just need to focus on the details. He emphasized looking the ball in more. When we went over film, he said, ‘Everybody needs to look the ball in more. Stop trying to make a play before you get the basics down with catching the ball first, and then make a play.’ Our eyes are going to do the work for us; we’re just trying to move too fast.”
Even Gronowski, who’s doing all he can physically as the quarterback, acknowledges he has a role in solving the problem.
“It’s more about continuing to encourage those guys,” the graduate signal-caller said. “I know they’re going to have to make plays for us at some point, so I keep giving them opportunities. I’m not wavering in my faith, but I’m making sure they take extra reps—maybe more catches on the Jugs machine after practice—so they’re getting all those reps. I’ve got to keep the pressure on them, keep throwing them the ball, and they’ll continue to make plays.”
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