After ‘trusting the process,’ Iowa’s Kaleb Brown gets taste of on-field success

IOWA CITY — Iowa wide receiver Kaleb Brown received a surprise during the Northwestern football game.

The wide receiver wearing No. 3 could not wear No. 3 anymore because Cooper DeJean — the defense and special teams star who also wears No. 3 — took a couple snaps on offense at the same position.

“I would have to switch out and let the referee know that I switched,” Brown said. “They took me under the tent, changed it and that was that.”

A more consequential surprise happened in the fourth quarter. Brown caught his first pass — a reception that “definitely has been a long time coming” — in the final minute of the win over the Wildcats.

“Behind the scenes, I’ve been working,” Brown said. “It’s just a matter of time, and the time has come.”

Brown arrived as a much-ballyhooed transfer portal addition.

After all, Brown previously attended Ohio State — a school with a track record of identifying elite wide receivers — and had a scholarship offer as a high school recruit from Alabama.

He has not put up high-profile results so far as a Hawkeye, though, following the high-profile arrival.

Before the catch against Northwestern, Brown had appeared in five of Iowa’s first eight games. He had not been targeted since the Sept. 30 win over Michigan State.

Brown missed the Oct. 7 game because of “personal reasons,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said at the time. When asked about specifics of the absence, the 25th-year head coach reiterated that it was a “personal matter.”

“Personal is personal, not public,” Ferentz said.

He was in uniform with the team against Wisconsin and Minnesota, but he did not see game action.

Despite the lack of playing time, Brown still considers DeJean’s punt return — the one that eventually was called back because of an invalid fair catch — to be his favorite Hawkeye moment.

“I almost teared up,” Brown said. “Like, ‘How did you do this?’ … It was a jaw-dropping moment.”

Staying engaged while on-field opportunities were few and far between was “not easy at all,” Brown said.

“It can be discouraging at times,” Brown said. “It can make you feel different about certain things. But that’s the whole point of trusting the process.”

He has learned to “walk by faith rather than sight.”

“The faith to just believe in something that’s not exactly there yet,” Brown said. “But it will be if you have faith in it.”

Despite the lack of recent results, Brown remained confident going into the Northwestern game.

“It was a different confidence just walking in to it,” Brown said. “With (Diante) Vines a little banged up, I knew that I had to be there for him and step in whenever he needed me.”

Then came the reception on an out route in the fourth quarter.

“To break the ice definitely felt good for me,” Brown said. “Something I definitely needed, and we’re going to build from there.”

The catch itself was a crucial gain for the Hawkeyes as it set up Drew Stevens’ game-winning field goal. Quarterback Deacon Hill said afterward it was a “great play by Kaleb.”

But ask Brown about the catch, and he will say he “really can’t take credit for it.”

“Great protection, even a great ball from Deacon,“ Brown said. ”It just happened to be there, and we executed.“

Brown’s first reception of the season came in his hometown of Chicago. He received a “whole lot” of ticket requests and spent a quick moment with his friends and family afterward before boarding the team bus.

“It’s always a big confidence boost knowing that you’re in the presence of people who know you and know what you’re capable of,” Brown said. “It just gives you a different kind of confidence.”

Brown is back on the depth chart this week as a second-team wide receiver after Iowa replaced him with walk-on Alec Wick earlier in the season.

Ferentz said in his Tuesday news conference this is the first season Brown has “really been in the deal” at wide receiver. He played 24 offensive snaps last year at Ohio State, according to Pro Football Focus.

“He certainly wasn’t out there in critical times a year ago,” Ferentz said. “Right now, he’s getting the work, and he’s doing a really good job. He has good ability, good attitude.”

As for Brown’s jersey number, it may depend on how much DeJean plays offense. The wide receiver from Chicago will not be hung up on what he is wearing, though.

Wearing No. 81 “didn’t make me a different person or anything,” Brown said.

“I don’t really care for a number,” Brown said.

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