Four Downs (post-spring): Wide receivers/tight ends

IOWA CITY — So much of the offseason talk in regard to Iowa's receiving corps has been focused on what it's missing. It's a valid point. On paper, it's not a strength and the roster is full of short resumes.

But it does have senior tight end George Kittle and senior wide receiver Matt VandeBerg. They are proven commodities and they can lift the receiving group. They'll need help and there are others with less experience who'll be counted on, but these two will give quarterback C.J. Beathard a start.

The fun part with Kittle and VandeBerg is that they might be the recruiting brochure for what Iowa the program can do for you, if you, of course, plug in and work the program.

VandeBerg was a two-star wide receiver from Brandon Valley (S.D.) with just one offer (Iowa) coming out of high school. He caught 65 passes last season (22 of those came on third down with 17 conversions, which was fourth in the Big Ten).

Coming out of Norman, Okla., Kittle had offers from Weber State (Utah), Navy and Air Force. Iowa was the dream. Kittle's dad is Bruce Kittle, an offensive tackle on the 1981 team that punched through to the Rose Bowl.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz called George Kittle on signing day afternoon in 2012 and offered a scholarship. He was a wide receiver and safety at Norman High School. Iowa wanted him as a tight end. Yes, he wondered how this might work, too.

'I was out on the edge blocking corners. It was high school and it wasn't that physical,' Kittle said. 'You come to Iowa and every day is a grind. It really is. If you don't love it, it's not going to work out for you.

'That's one thing I focused on, especially when I was really young, just doing my best on every play. Coaches always say, if you're going to mess up, just do it at 100 mph. That's something I always took to heart. I messed up a lot as a freshman and I just tried to do it as fast as I could.'

Another factor, Kittle reported to play tight end for the Hawkeyes weighing in at a robust 201 pounds.

'As a true freshman, I was scared out of my mind,' Kittle said. 'I didn't want to play my true freshman year. I weighed 201. People say you can just hop in and get out there and run, it's different. Skill guys can do that. They have speed. Desmond (King) destroyed it his freshman year. At tight end, you're going against guys like (Shilique) Calhoun from Michigan State. It's Big Ten football and it's a grind.'

You could argue that Iowa and programs like Iowa — mostly programs in the Big Ten West Division — get dinged by things like ESPN's FPI. This is how ESPN is handling preseason rankings. There's solid logic here. The components that go into it include prior years' performance on offense, defense and special teams, with the most recent year counting most. Opponent-adjusted expected points added (EPA) is the spine of this. Returning starters, a four-year average recruiting ranking of four systems (ESPN, Scouts, Rivals and Phil Steele) to measure talent on a roster and coaching tenure also are factored. The recruiting rankings and coach tenure hold less weight. Also, I didn't know Phil Steele did recruiting stuff.

I don't want to feed any paranoia that ESPN hates Iowa or the Big Ten or the Big Ten West. Read the logic behind the equation. It's sound. Maybe you can question putting a number value on recruiting and throwing it into a mix to say how good a team is. It puts value on what? You know, you're getting there. It puts value on recruiting rankings, which, in my opinion, need to be valued.

Again, the logic is sound. From the post: Although recruiting at times can be overvalued, it's no coincidence that the last five national champions have had a four-year average recruiting rank in the top six nationally. The difference between the 16th- and 20th-ranked classes is slim, but there is value in knowing the difference between the 16th- and 50th-ranked classes.

Iowa recruiting classes rank in the 35th to 45th usually. What fills in the gap between recruiting stars and a team that bucks analytics and finishes 12-0? You know the answer. It's development.

Are Iowa and Big Ten West schools, many of which rely on, depend on and are confident in making players, penalized because of the absolutely unpredictable nature of 'development'?

We (me and most people who write about Iowa) glom on the success stories, like Kittle and VandeBerg. The misses (Omar Truitt, Andre Harris) end up as notes. The only real measure of success for programs that depend on a certain amount of development is wins. Right? Wins have to measure something. I enjoy analytics and believe they shed light and add to my understanding of who wins and why, but wins and losses translate to the masses. Everyone understands W-L metrics.

I don't want to add weight to ESPN's FPI. Some of you might not know what it is. Those of you who do probably don't put a lot of value on it. It doesn't seem to like Iowa and the Big Ten West. Nebraska is the highest ranked B1G West school at No. 23. Wisconsin sits 32 and the Hawkeyes are 35th (one behind Penn State and one ahead of Boise State).

Recruiting rankings are quantifiable. Whatever happened between Iowa linebacker Josey Jewell's freshman and sophomore year is ... well, it doesn't come with a ranking, it doesn't happen on TV and you only really know it when you see it. (FPI could argue that it values returning players, and Jewell was a starter at the end of 2014).

'Iowa develops guys,' Kittle said. 'That's what helped me. My redshirt freshman year went a long way with my career. I didn't really want to play. Most freshmen tight ends want to play. I wanted to gain 20 pounds and gain strength.'

Iowa hangs its hat on development. Ferentz proudly calls his program 'developmental.' When there are more hits than misses, Iowa has a chance at double-digit victories. Iowa's program has volumes of success stories. It's something that takes time to articulate.

I think this does it. This is George Kittle, a fifth-year senior, talking about his final spring practices at Iowa.

'I've been waiting for this opportunity my whole life,' Kittle said. 'My dad and I have talked about this countless times. The fact I have the opportunity to take as many reps as I possibly can, it's an opportunity I don't want to miss.

'I use the guys below me as competition. They're all great football players. They want to take my spot and I want them to want to take my spot, that's healthy competition. I'm using that as a driving force. The Big Ten championship game, that's a big driving force. I want to get back there and I want to be a playmaker in one of those games.'

That's development. It took George Kittle five years and who knows how many workout hours to be able to say it.

4th Down

The receiving group needs explosion. That's an every-year thing for Iowa and that leads us to Jerminic Smith, who, yes, caught only six passes but also, yes, averaged 23.5 yards a catch. That's pretty good. That's something you can build on.

Beyond Smith, there's redshirt freshman Emmanuel Ogwo.

'He's fast, he has national speed. In terms of track, there's some stuff he did nationally last summer. We were nervous some bigger schools track-wise would come after him. He's fast. There's an upside there that we're excited about,' Iowa assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Seth Wallace said last winter.

3rd Down

Can a true freshman tight end crack the lineup? Your candidates are Noah Fant (225 pounds), T.J. Hockenson (235 pounds) and, maybe, Shaun Beyer (210 pounds). You read what Kittle said. It's not an automatic, but one of them probably has to play. It's weird to write this, but the Iowa TE depth chart is unsettled at best.

Kittle is a potential all-Big Ten performer. After him, maybe junior Jon Wisnieski is the No. 2. Walk-on Peter Pekar? Will sophomore Jameer Outsey find steady footing?

Iowa will play to its strengths, so maybe this isn't a big deal. Still, two tight-end sets have become a go-to personnel group over the last four years (maybe four years?). Right now, that second TE is up in the air.

2nd Down

Sophomore WR Jay Scheel, hounded by a knee injury his first few seasons in Iowa City, is a local (Mount Auburn/Union High School) and everyone Iowa has expectations set pretty high. He cracked the two deep going into August, but lost ground to Smith and Adrian Falconer and didn't see significant action. It's a new year for him.

One factor to watch for with Scheel: He is listed No. 2 behind Smith and has said he is learning more than one WR spot. This should give him a better chance to see the field.

1st Down

Obviously, the third-down stat VandeBerg put up last season (17 third-down receptions that converted first downs) is a big deal. How does it radiate? It keeps chains moving. It keeps the defense off the field. It makes Iowa's quick-passing game something teams have to honor and that helps open running lanes.

Beathard and VandeBerg gave life to Greg Davis' horizontal passing game. WR quick throws/screens worked better than they had since Davis' arrival in 2012. I wish I had the numbers for passes 0 to 10 yards on the chart, and I did do charts this year, I just didn't save them.

Everyone wants the home run, but keeping possession is another way through the W door. Improvement can be made here, too. Beathard's 45.7 completion percentage (16 of 35) on third-and-4 to 6 yards was ninth in the Big Ten (oddly, three of Beathard's five INTs came on third-and-4 to 6 yards).

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