VandeBerg ‘first down’ motion pays tribute to a fallen friend

LOS ANGELES — When Matt VandeBerg played football in high school for Brandon Valley (S.D.), 500 people showed up for the games.

'Maybe 500,' VandeBerg said Sunday morning. 'Maybe.'

When Matt VandeBerg first showed up at Iowa, he weighed in at around 170 pounds.

'170-ish,' Iowa offensive coordinator Greg Davis said.

When Matt VandeBerg signed a scholarship to play football at Iowa in 2013, he was one of six wide receivers in the class. That spring, before he was enrolled at Iowa, he traveled to Iowa City for a meeting with wide receivers coach Bobby Kennedy.

'I remember he (Kennedy) walked out of his office and said, 'Another walk-on,'' Davis said. 'I said, 'No, he's not. He's one of ours.''

VandeBerg showed up in Iowa City and almost immediately had the nickname 'Meerkat' slapped on him. Meerkats are skinny, little creatures who often stand straight up on their hind legs.

And now, here's Matt VandeBerg. He's now a 6-1, 185-pound junior who happens to lead the No. 5 Iowa Hawkeyes with 61 receptions and 639 yards with three TD catches. He's now quarterback C.J. Beathard's go-to receiver and will be when the Hawkeyes meet No. 6 Stanford in the Rose Bowl on Friday.

Iowa has these types of stories a lot because the Hawkeyes shop for these types of players, ones with raw talent and who need development. Asked to reflect on the where and how of his career, in typical grinder fashion, VandeBerg said sure, maybe after the Rose Bowl, maybe on Jan. 2 he'd give it some thought.

It's not that VandeBerg gets nervous about sharing his thoughts. He's an emotional, fiery player. Davis said when they go over practice and talk about dropped passes, he'll often tell VandeBerg that, no, that one wasn't on you. VandenBerg — workaholic, remember — will actually argue that, yeah, that missed play was on him.

And of course, there's that outstretched arm thing he does when he catches a pass for a first down. He clears himself from the pile and motions 'first down' rather pointedly. It sort of became his thing this season. You saw it a bunch against Iowa State, Wisconsin, Northwestern and Minnesota, when VandeBerg made big first downs in big moments.

That 'first down' gesture was something Iowa fans certainly loved seeing. It's also part of the tapestry of the season.

It's also a tribute to a friend.

Coming up at Brandon Valley, VandeBerg did everything sports with his friend Adam Bauer. They ran on spring relays together, did the long jump. On the October night in 2012 when VandeBerg caught his 32nd TD pass of the season to set the South Dakota record, Bauer one-upped him with two TD catches and a fumble return for a TD.

When Bauer moved the chains for a first down, he did the 'first down' arm motion. VandeBerg picked that up from his friend. When he makes that motion now, it's a remembrance. Bauer was killed in a car accident in South Dakota in May.

The conversation started with VandeBerg's fearless style of play and if the first down gesture was more out of relief than anything else. And then it went back to Brandon, S.D.

'That was something he did all through high school,' VandeBerg said. 'Any time he got a first down, he made sure everyone knew about it. I picked up on that and now it's kind of stuck. That was something he always did. I wanted to bring that into my game.'

It wasn't something VandeBerg anyone about. It was a tribute to a lost friend, it was never a relief mechanism or a 'hey look at me.'

'We were neighbors,' he said. 'We graduated together, grew up together. That was something I wanted to bring from him to the field. It (Bauer's death) wasn't easy.'

VandeBerg remains in contact with the Bauer family. He sends texts back and forth with Adam's mom, Merry, after every game. VandeBerg said he's tried to get her to as many games at Kinnick this fall as he could, just something to ease lingering pain.

If the camera pans closely enough during the Rose Bowl, you'll see the initials 'AB' on VandeBerg's wrist bands. You'll certainly see the 'first down' gesture and now you know where it comes from.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com