After Marvin McNutt, talent high, experience low for Iowa's WRs

IOWA CITY - Marvin McNutt surprised media and fans alike two years ago when he was placed on top of Iowa's wide receiver depth chart ahead then-leading receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos.

Many people questioned the timing or even the motive behind McNutt's ascension entering 2009 fall camp. McNutt shifted from quarterback to wide receiver midway through the 2008 season, but had yet to play substantial snaps at receiver. That year he caught just one pass for 11 yards in mop-up duty at Indiana.

McNutt - now a 6-foot-4, 215-pound senior - quickly proved his value. He caught eight touchdown passes in each of the last two seasons and stands fourth all-time in Iowa touchdown catches.

Now, like with McNutt two years ago, Iowa wide receivers coach Erik Campbell is looking for the next under-the-radar receiver to complement McNutt.

First dibs go to Keenan Davis, who has worked opposite McNutt on the first team both last spring and into the fall. Davis, a junior from Cedar Rapids, has played in each game the last two years. But behind Davis sits a group that's talented, yet unproven.

"The rest of the guys we're still waiting to see," Campbell said.

Red-shirt freshman Kevonte Martin-Manley has worked the majority of snaps at third wide receiver this fall. Sophomore Don Shumpert also is competing for playing time, along with junior Steven Staggs. None of the three have earned an offensive statistic at Iowa.

"They're just getting a crash course," quarterback James Vandenberg said. "Our defense doesn't take it easy on new guys out there. They've got a lot of different situations in their head, coverages changing, people blitzing. When they're seeing that, you're not really playing at full speed. So it's like if you're thinking, you're not really playing at full speed. As they continue to get more confident with their ability and what they're supposed to do, I know they're going to be great receivers."

Their teammates are trying to help them mature in practice. Senior cornerback Shaun Prater said he often can spot a route just by the way a young receiver lines up. Prater often dispenses advice on how he read the pattern.

"I'll tell them, you need to fix this to make my job harder so you can have a better chance against me," Prater said.

Although they are young and inexperienced, the new receivers are talented. McNutt watched them compete in the spring when he was out following a thumb injury. McNutt is high on Shumpert and Martin-Manley for different reasons.

Martin-Manley, a Bloomfield, Mich., native, is a thicker, stronger receiver. He stands 6-foot and weighs 205. Shumpert hails from St. Louis and is faster and slender at 6-3 and weighs 187.

"Those guys, they're two totally different players," McNutt said. "Shumpert has a lot of speed in him. You see a lot of spurts where he can catch the ball very well. Kevonte, he's a technician with his routes. You notice he can really run routes well. He's been coached like that in high school to really come out and improve the way he runs routes."

Both Shumpert and Martin-Manley also have noticeable work ethics, something junior defensive back Micah Hyde praised last spring.

"(Shumpert's) a fast guy, he's got good hands," Hyde said. "He'll go across the middle and catch a ball. He's a tough guy, and he's willing to work hard for anything. You can see the film work that he's going through. I've seen him walking it out of here all the time. I asked him what he was doing and him and Kevonte were watching film. So that's No. 1 thing you like to see with young guys, get their film work in."

"(Martin-Manley is) a bigger guy. He can go across the middle, too. He has real good hands. He's quick, quick off the line. Just going against him, too, is a challenge."

They have a long way to go to enter McNutt territory, but Shumpert and Martin-Manley already have turned heads. Now, it's time for them to turn the yard markers.