Engineers pave way for football title

Sportswriter verbiage about engineering the game-winning drive usually falls in the category of inventive language, but in the case of the 2022 Jackrabbits, truer words were never spoken.

The roster for the 2022 Football Championship Series national champs sports nine engineering majors, including game MVP Mark Gronowski. The sophomore mechanical engineering major went 14 of 21 for 223 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 58 yards on five carries, including a 51-yard touchdown.

It was a continuation of the regular season, when he earned second-team all-conference honors by completing 65% of his passes for 2,247 yards.

In the classroom, his stats are equally as impressive. His 3.71 GPA earned him a first-team all-Missouri Valley Football Conference Scholar-Athlete selection.

Gronowski wasn’t alone in shining for Department Head Yucheng Lui and Coach John Stiegelmeier. Junior linebacker Adam Bock carries a 3.82 GPA, was twice selected for the Missouri Valley Football Conference Scholar-Athlete team and was a first team all-Missouri Valley Football Conference selection who lead the team in tackles despite missing three games due to injury.

In the title game, he had six tackles and a quarterback hurry.

Gronowski and Bock were both chosen as members of the 2022 Academic All-District Football Team, selected by College Sports Communicators. Also on that list are Ryan Van Marel, a graduate student in mechanical engineering and Mason McCormick, a senior construction management major.

Van Marel, who carried  a 3.60 GPA as an undergraduate and a 3.50 mark as a graduate student, started at nose tackle. He had two tackles, including a nine-yard sack, in the title game.

McCormick, a 3.55 student, started for 42 consecutive games on the offensive line and received All-American honors from four organizations for his role in helping SDSU to a 14-1 mark and 14 consecutive wins, both of which are school records.

Other engineering majors on the roster:

• Bo Donald, a junior reserve offensive lineman and construction management major;

• Luke Fenton, a freshman reserve kicker and construction management major;

• Aaron Kusler, a sophomore reserve linebacker and construction management major;

• Brennan Leines, a freshman reserve offensive lineman and electrical engineering major;

• Michael Morgan, a senior fullback/tight end and civil engineering major who had a 44-yard TD reception in the title game; and

• Davion Sterner, a sophomore reserve linebacker and a dual major in operations management and recreation management.