The art of WR blocking

IOWA CITY - Yes, that was a pretty block that Jacob Hillyer put on Indiana safety Chase Dutra last week. It was crisp and definitive. You could hear the 'clack” of his pads on the ESPNU telecast.

Running back Jonathan Parker split the hole that Hillyer and tight end Jake Duzey created and went 60 yards untouched for a score. Thing of beauty, really.

So, why didn't head coach Kirk Ferentz do back flips and slap an 18-karat gold helmet sticker on when asked about the play?

Well, it is part of the job description. Wide receivers and tight ends are asked to block, that's part of the deal. It's not as sexy cool fun compared to the 72-yard post route that wide receiver Damond Powell cashed in for a TD also against the Hoosiers, but it is a vital part of what they're asked to do.

'Yeah, you don't want to make general statements, but that's usually not No. 1,” Ferentz said of receivers and the chore of blocking. 'The further away you get from the ball, it seems like that's less of a priority, at all levels. So, it's just one of those things that you've got to try to work at and we can still get better there.

'To that point, Hillyer did an outstanding job on that play, really good job. And I think it was Jake Duzey at tight end too, really nice job.”

Blocking is an element wide receivers coach Bobby Kennedy consistently drills. You would probably buy a DVD of Iowa's wide receivers and defensive backs going through their blocking techniques against each other in full-go situations. As you might imagine, there is quite a bit of primo trash talk during these sessions.

'I think we win most of those,” senior wide receiver Kevonte Martin-Manley said with a laugh. 'The DBs get lucky sometimes, but for the most part we come out victorious.”

That might be true. In general, the receivers are a bigger group than the defensive backs. But the receivers also are occasionally asked to block linebackers.

This is much less fun, of course. Your prime example of this matchup is Powell, a 5-11, 180-pound speedster, vs. middle linebacker Quinton Alston, a 6-1, 232-pound fighter.

Powell admitted to throwing blocks sometimes and feeling as though he's hit a house.

'I get that a lot in practice, going against Q and people like him,” he said. 'The guy is pretty big, so you get that a lot.”

And here's Alston's take, 'Yeah, they've sent him over the middle a couple of times to block. I try to remind him, ‘I am a linebacker, you might want to get out of the way sometimes or you might want to take a different shot.”

But after the bravado, Alston understands that the blocking job for receivers might not be their favorite thing to do, but it's vital, mostly for the runs that break big.

'Our receivers do a great job blocking downfield here,” Alston said. 'When we have a big run it's because of them. It's a testament to their hardwork. They run hard routes, they block well. It's a team game here.”

There are strict techniques that wide receivers have to adhere to while blocking downfield. It's a 'space” endeavor for receivers, so there is a high degree of 'whiff-ability” if you run out there arms and feet akimbo.

'We go over the technique a lot,” Powell said. 'You can't go out there all wild. You have to set your feet and find the guy.”

In their zone blocking scheme, Iowa offensive linemen have an 'aiming point” in mind on their defender. Receivers also practice that, with the big difference being they're aiming at a moving target. Staying in control is a huge part of their technique.

'You want to see your target and keep your feet alive,” Martin-Manley said. 'You don't want to be reaching and grabbing too much. You want to stay square. There's a lot of technique to it, but we do it a lot and we're starting to get good at it.”

Hillyer is becoming a bit of an assassin on the block. He took out a pair of Nebraska Cornhuskers on a 37-yard run by Jordan Canzeri that set up a TD and helped seal Iowa's victory in Lincoln last season. Duzey played wide receiver and some running back at Athens High School (Troy, Mich.). He wasn't asked to block. When he signed with Iowa, he knew blocking was going to be a thing.

'When I first came here, they said to play tight end at Iowa, you have to block,” Duzey said. 'Just coming into camp that first year is a huge difference. It was just a huge process for me.”

Ferentz was asked this week about any 'teaching points” that he remembered while receivers learned to block. He brought up redshirt freshman Ike Boettger, who played QB for Cedar Falls High School, camped at Iowa as a tight end and is now the backup left offensive tackle.

As long as the willingness is there, they will work with you.

'Playing under coach Ferentz, you better block,” Martin-Manley said.

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