Kaleb Brown finally has opportunity to do what he loves again after transferring to Iowa

Editor’s note: First in a 9-part series looking at each Iowa football position group ahead of the 2023 season

IOWA CITY — Kaleb Brown can finally play football again.

“Words really can’t explain it,” Brown said. “Definitely feels great.”

Technically, the wide receiver played some football last year at Ohio State. Technically, he played some football the year before as a senior in high school at St. Rita’s in Chicago.

But this year, Brown has been both healthy (for the most part) and on a team where he can quickly be a difference-maker after transferring from Ohio State to Iowa in the spring.

"All he wants to do play football,“ said Todd Kuska, his former coach at St. Rita High School, in a phone call to The Gazette — a similar message to what Kuska gave to the Ohio State staff after Brown entered the transfer portal.

“I’m not trying to sleight him by any means,” Kuska added. “But that’s what he is. He’s a football player.”

Brown missed most of his senior high school season with an injury on the first drive of the year. He did not return until Week 11 even though he still “wasn’t 100 percent.”

The injury-plagued senior season followed a shortened schedule during his junior year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I missed having him for almost two full seasons,” Kuska said.

Then in 2022 as a true freshman at Ohio State, Brown took 24 offensive snaps and had one reception for five yards. (The catch ironically was against his future team, the Hawkeyes.)

Brown does not seem to be harboring any resentment toward his former school, though.

“I try to see the good in every place that I’m at in a way,” Brown said. “I love it here. I loved it there. I’m just at a different place now.”

Brown’s committed in May with plenty of fanfare from Hawkeye fans.

“Seeing the comments on Instagram, Twitter, whatever it may be — I felt the love from Day 1,” Brown said.

It is not hard to see why fans were so excited.

Brown was the 13th-best wide receiver recruit in the 2022 class, according to 247Sports. The school that had seen severe wide receiver attrition in recent years landed a wide receiver via the portal from a school known as “Wide Receiver U.”

Ferentz has pumped the brakes on the preseason expectations for Brown slightly, though.

“He was a really good prospect out of high school,” Ferentz said at last week’s local media day. “I would say he is a better prospect now, but he's still a prospect.”

As Ferentz sees it, ex-Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara and ex-Michigan tight end Erick All both “got a resume” at the college level, but “Kaleb doesn’t.”

“To expect the same out of him as maybe McNamara, All — you're looking at two different categories,” Ferentz said. “But I am glad he is here. Great young guy and has fit in really well and he's working hard.”

Switching from Ohio State’s offense to Iowa’s offense, especially without the 15 spring practices to acclimate, comes with some challenges.

“Whether it’s at a place like Ohio State or wherever else, there’s going to be different standards,” Iowa wide receivers coach Kelton Copeland said. “There are going to be different techniques, fundamentals that they are being taught to fit their system.”

Sometimes, those differences can be smaller things a casual fan may overlook.

“The biggest adjustment probably is going in a huddle,” Brown said. “I’m used to formations being signals and everything like that.”

Ohio State used Brown mostly in the slot, but Copeland has him “playing pretty much all over” in fall camp.

“We played him outside,” Copeland said. “We played him inside the slot, and then again, another piece of it is the special teams piece. … I wouldn’t be surprised if you see him playing a couple different spots not only on offense, but hopefully on special teams as well.”

Brown also has a history as a running back — he rushed for "close to 2,000 yards“ as a sophomore in high school — adding to his versatility.

“Alabama wanted him as a tailback,” Kuska said. “Nebraska wanted him as a tailback. … He can be on the edge. He’s got a great catch radius, great body control. His jumping ability is off the charts.”

Brown’s 5-foot-10 height usually would not suggest a large catch radius, but he makes up for it in other ways.

Kuska still remembers the time when Brown’s teammates recorded a video of Brown doing a 38-inch straight jump on top of a box in the weight room.

“It’s an obscene thing,” Kuska said. “That was ridiculous. He can explode.”

Brown’s personal goals include wanting to “break the starting lineup.” Iowa did not have him on the preseason depth chart last month, but that is not a surprise for someone who was not on the team in the spring.

If Brown does what he did the last time he could play football without limitations — whether it be because of injuries or a stacked WR room at Ohio State — it might be hard to keep him away from the first team.

"I coached for 25 years, and he’s by far the best offensive player that I’ve had,“ Kuska said. ”He was electrifying with the ball.“

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com