Martin-Manley sees the end and a possible record

IOWA CITY - Maybe part of the reason it feels as though Kevonte Martin-Manley has been at Iowa forever is because he had massive success in the third game of his freshman year.

That was a 31-27 victory over Pittsburgh. It wasn't a plug-and-play victory. It was only the greatest comeback in Iowa football history, with the Hawkeyes extinguishing a 17-point deficit in the game's final 12 minutes. In the middle of that shotgun, spread free-for-all, a freshman wide receiver from Pontiac, Mich., was dealing, catching four passes for 76 yards and a pair of TDs in the fourth quarter, including the game-winner.

Of course, Martin-Manley knew it wasn't always going to be that way.

'That was a very big moment, that's why it was special,” Martin-Manley said. 'It was something that happen all that often and I was a freshman and I caught the game-winner. I think about it to this day. It was a moment I appreciate very much.”

If you think Iowa (7-5) is simply going to mail it in for the TaxSlayer Bowl against Tennessee (6-6), try to look at it through Martin-Manley's eyes. He's a fifth-year senior who's been in Iowa City since 2011. He's invested to the nth degree. And he has a chance at a career record.

Martin-Manley goes into the Jan. 2 matchup in Jacksonville, Fla., needing three catches to pass Derrell Johnson-Koulianos as Iowa's career receptions leader. Johnon-Koulianos stands at 173 with Martin-Manley at 171.

You've seen Iowa's offense this season. There are no guarantees. Against Louisiana State in last year's Outback Bowl, the Hawkeyes passed for just 157 yards. The Volunteers finished fifth in the SEC in pass defense.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said there are no guarantees, meaning Iowa won't go out of its way to make this happen.

'I hope it happens, obviously you hope it happens for anybody, but we're not going to jerryrig the deal at all,” Ferentz said. 'It's a testament to his consistency. I think the guys call him ‘Pops,' it's kind of like (former Pittsburgh Pirate veteran) Willie Stargell. He's been here awhile, but he's had a really productive career. I go back to the 2011 game and making the big plays against Pitt in a timely fashion. We're hoping it happens for him. It would be nice to see.”

Let's walk a little bit with Martin-Manley through his Iowa career.

From how many quarterbacks has he caught passes? In 2011 and ‘12, it was James Vandenberg. In ‘13, of course it was Jake Rudock and C.J. Beathard. Same for 2014 with Rudock and Beathard throwing passes.

(By the way, Martin-Manley wouldn't go there when asked how QB repetitions were going during bowl preparation. In a Monday interview with The Tennessean, Beathard said bowl practice has been an open competition for the first time this season.)

The first QB Martin-Manley mentioned was former Hawkeye A.J. Derby, who's now a tight end at Arkansas. Martin-Manley recalled that for a different reason.

'I dropped my first pass from A.J. Derby,” Martin-Manley said. 'I'll never forget that.”

Going into the TaxSlayer, Martin-Manley already stands with a few of the receivers with whom he started his career. Johnson-Koulianos is the receptions leader with 173, Martin-Manley is next with 171 and then there's Marvin McNutt at 170. All three were Hawkeyes in 2010. McNutt had the best season in Iowa history for a wide receiver in 2011.

During that 2010 redshirt year, Martin-Manley focused on Johnson-Koulianos' lead. Yes, the same Johnson-Koulianos whose Iowa career ended with a drug arrest before the 2010 Insight Bowl and whose persona among the fans base still orbits between freethinker and social media real-talker to outcast.

When Martin-Manley was a freshman and had yet to play a down, Johnson-Koulianos told media that Martin-Manley would break records at Iowa. Say what you will about Johnson-Koulianos, he had mentoring in him and that stuck with Martin-Manley. The texting between the two lately has been 'Get the record” and 'I will.”

'When I first came in, I really watched him,” Martin-Manely said. 'We were similar in the way we run, our route techniques and even our stature. I really watched him on the field and watched how he got open and how he made plays.”

There will be no jerryrigging and there are no guarantees. Against LSU last season, Martin-Manley caught one pass for 4 yards. It's been refreshing to hear Martin-Manley talk about the receptions record. He really wants it. He's open and honest about it.

Still, it's three more receptions. Martin-Manley has had 21 games in his career where he's caught fewer than three passes.

'It's been very uncomfortable, to be honest,” he said. 'I really can't relax mentally right now. There's a little worry, a little nervousness behind it. You have to do it to get it. It's something you think about and know you can achieve, but until you do it, it's not done.”

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