Iowa football, WR Jerminic Smith part ways

Iowa's already-thin wide receiving corps has taken another hit.

Coach Kirk Ferentz announced Friday that receiver Jerminic Smith, who was suspended from spring practice because of academic issues, is no longer on the team.

'We have mutually agreed that at this point it is in everyone's best interest that Jerminic starts a new chapter in his collegiate career,' Ferentz said in a statement. 'We wish him success moving forward.'

Smith was set to be Iowa's second-leading returning receiver behind running back Akrum Wadley. Smith caught 23 passes for 314 yards and four touchdowns as a sophomore last season.

'What we need are guys who want to do things the way we want to do them,' Ferentz said at a Hawkeye State Tour event May 3 in Manchester. 'I'm hoping that he'll come that direction. For us to pull him off the field just indicates he wasn't doing things the way they needed to be done. It all starts in the classroom.'

The Hawkeyes will rely even more on senior Matt VandeBerg, who received a medical redshirt for a broken foot that cost him most of last season. VandeBerg missed spring practice after re-injuring his foot and was expected to be healthy by June. The only two scholarship receivers who took part in spring ball were Devonte Young and Adrian Falconer, neither of whom made a catch last year.

Walk-on Nick Easley, a transfer from Iowa Western Community College was also on the spring depth chart.

Here's more from the spring on the issues the Hawkeyes face at receiver.