Iowa’s great wide receiver reclamation project

DES MOINES - We'll have to wait until actual football games, but today we might be able to gauge progress in what has been a total rebuild at Iowa wide receiver.

That is probably where you'll see most of the competition during the Hawkeyes' open practice at Valley Stadium. There will be some hitting among the big names, including offensive tackle Brandon Scherff and defensive linemen Carl Davis and Louis Trinca-Pasat, but the real competition will come where players run to make their living.

When offensive coordinator Greg Davis arrived before the 2012 season, he immediately noted that Iowa needed a speed upgrade at receiver. Then, Iowa threw seven TD passes in 2012. Last season, with junior quarterback Jake Rudock under center, the passing game made strides (18 TD passes and 197.1 yards per game compared to 187.4 in 2012).

And then, in the winter of 2013, Iowa went all-in on wide receiver recruiting. The 2013 class included five wide receivers - Derrick Willies, Derrick Mitchell Jr., Andre Harris, A.J. Jones and Matt VandeBerg.

This week, wide receivers coach Bobby Kennedy, who worked with Davis for seven seasons at Texas, couldn't hide his smile when talking about the influx of bodies at his position, particularly the 2013 group.

Keep in mind the caveat, 'work in progress.” The early reports from Kennedy are positive, but he cushioned every statement with a qualifier on just how brand-spanking new these receivers are.

'I'm really pleased that we decided to redshirt some of those guys, because I think they've got the ability to really maybe change the, not necessarily the face of our program, but our ability outside to make plays,” Kennedy said.

The first name Kennedy mentioned was Willies, a 6-foot-4, 210-pounder from Rock Island, Ill.

'He's made some really good plays and some really big plays this spring,” Kennedy said, 'and so it excites us because here's this kid who's big, fast, can run and he has a really good demeanor about him. I see really good improvement out of him, and I see him being a key player for us in the future.”

Willies can run, winning the 110-meter high hurdles as a junior at Rock Island. Mitchell (6-1, 205) was the next new receiver mentioned. A former quarterback at Vashon High School (St. Louis, Mo.), Kennedy likes him, but, yes, again the caveat is in play.

'Derrick Mitchell is a really strong and powerful guy,” Kennedy said. 'If you look at his shoulders, he can probably put a 2 by 4 [board] on his back and not see it. He's a really wide-shouldered kid and really strong and powerful. He has to do a little better job of getting in and out of those cuts. Sometimes, he doesn't play as physical as he could be, which I think he'll grow into, but also a natural ball-catcher. He'll make a great play and then miss one. He's got to develop his consistency.”

Harris (6-0, 180), a first-team all-stater at Kirkwood (Mo.) High School, has a 'whoosh” factor in the speed department.

'Andre Harris, boy, the sky's the limit for him,” Kennedy said. 'He has really good ability. We continually talk to him about maturing and growing up because he's really a good kid, he just doesn't let everybody know it yet, so he's young in his development.

'I see really good quickness out of him, really good getting in and out of his cuts, a natural ball catcher, which is important for a wide receiver. With him, I think he might have the opportunity if he continues to develop to give us maybe a little bit of juice that we've been missing.”

Juice is good. Everyone loves juice.

VandeBerg is still kind of new. He was the one ‘13 receiver who saw playing time as a true freshman, catching eight passes for 59 yards. His profile could rise, Kennedy said.

'He's a guy who has to develop a little more strength, and sometimes that's tough,” Kennedy said. 'Their metabolism is so high, putting weight on sometimes is tough, but he's got really good strength, he's got really good quickness, getting in and out of cuts, can stretch the field. I see him as a guy who has an opportunity to play and make some impact.”

How will the new faces mix with upperclassmen Kevonte Martin-Manley, Jacob Hillyer, Tevaun Smith and Damond Powell? That's one of those good problems for Kennedy, who sees a six-man rotation and a major jump in competition for playing time.

'I tell them all the time that competition is a good thing,” he said. 'I get it that it's no fun to stand on the sideline, but the way this program is built and the way it's set up is that you've got to earn your way in. It's no different in the wide receiver room. There is more competition, and we've got to continue that.”

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