Hawkeyes play waiting game with VandeBerg, Bazata

IOWA CITY — When Matt VandeBerg suffered the broken foot last fall that erased what was supposed to be his senior year, he was told that type of injury doesn't recur.

So then this spring, his left foot bothered him for a few weeks before he had it checked. You know how that went. It was the same break in the same left foot. The senior wide receiver sat out spring and rehabbed.

During interviews Wednesday, VandeBerg brought up Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant and his multiple foot surgeries as a source of inspiration. Or, at the very least, that there is life after foot injuries.

'It's not something you want to hear, but I'm just happy to be working out right now,' VandeBerg said.

VandeBerg's foot was one of the points of interest Wednesday. Defensive tackle Nathan Bazata also talked injuries. He's basically been out since last October when he suffered a high-ankle sprain against Wisconsin.

The senior from Howells, Neb., said he suffered a few other minor injuries during the offseason. This has culminated in him missing spring drills and now not fully working out in the early weeks of summer conditioning.

'I want to be there for my team and my position, but right now I'm not able to,' said Bazata, who was limited to 459 snaps last season, lowest among starters on the D-line. 'I'm able to help them out mentally but not like show them through drills and that frustrates me. As long as I'm helping in some way, that's the biggest point.

'It's not there yet, but by August I'll be good.'

Just to recap, two seniors are still not fully participating in practice at a pair of positions for the Hawkeyes that need depth, experience and bodies.

Bazata has focused on tutoring the young bodies at the DT position. Sophomores Cedrick Lattimore, Brady Reiff and Garret Jansen are those young bodies, with Lattimore expected to start opposite Bazata.

'As long as I'm helping in some way, that's the biggest point I can make,' Bazata said. 'My biggest focus right now is helping them grow and improve.'

Also Wednesday, Iowa announced that junior walk-on wide receiver Ronald Nash left the team but will remain in school (same with kicker Mick Ellis). This leaves VandeBerg as the lone Iowa wide receiver with a college catch going into the 2017 season.

VandeBerg isn't doing everything he wants to be doing right now. 'The only way to get into condition to run is to run,' he said. 'As far as cutting and all of that, I'm feeling good. There's no pain and I feel good about what I'm doing.'

VandeBerg isn't to the point where his foot has tempered his expectations for the coming season. Now that this has happened twice in the same foot, he's going over the 'why' and 'how' and putting his thoughts into changing up his game, mainly how he makes and comes out of cuts in his route running.

'I'm not worried,' he said. 'There are some things I'm going to tweak in my game. It's not every cut, but maybe there are a few routes where I'm doing something wrong, because it's a fluke thing that's happened twice. Maybe I'm doing something wrong that I need to correct. That's something I've been watching film on and talking with coaches about.'

VandeBerg has talked with quarterbacks coach Ken O'Keefe, who served as wide receivers coach with the Miami Dolphins before returning to Iowa this winter. At this point, it's worth discussion. VandeBerg is worth his weight in gold doubloons to this offense, well, if this offense plans on using wide receivers at some point.

'Is there something I need to change in my game to avoid this from happening again?' said VandeBerg, who's also wearing inserts and extra padding in his cleats.

If there's a Hawkeye who'll crawl through a field of glass to get this right, it's VandeBerg.

During the summer break, VandeBerg got married and went on his honeymoon. It was a four-day trip. He wanted to get back and get training.

'I expect perfection anytime I do anything,' VandeBerg said. 'Whether it's lifting weights or running, so obviously that (the injury) is going to annoy you. I always expect to be up here. I'm a realist, but I have these unrealistic expectations for myself that I expect to get. That's something I'm working on.'

As far as carrying the wide receiver flag and making sure the position holds up its end of the bargain this fall, VandeBerg isn't sweating that.

'My job when I showed up here was run routes, catch the ball and block.' he said. 'My job right now whenever we step back out on the field is run routes, catch the ball and block. I'm not worried about anything else, like 'hey, look at us.' That's not who we are. We're guys who are going to go to work, show up and do our jobs. That's what we're about.'

While you have VandeBerg on the line, of course you have to ask about the new offense. Maybe the Iowa offense won't look all that different under first-year offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, but it's not Sept. 3 and so it's worth a question.

Looking at the playbook, what excites VandeBerg?

'At this point I'm excited to do anything,' he said with a laugh. 'I don't care if it's run block or block the perimeter, I'm excited about everything. I can't tell you I'm excited for this play or that play. I'm excited for 'a' play.'

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