Matt VandeBerg in as a Hawkeye in 2017 will/should be a bonus

IOWA CITY — Matt VandeBerg gave himself one night to curse the pretty much literal twist of fate that cost him the 2016 season.

The senior wide receiver suffered a broken foot during a Monday morning practice on Sept. 26. He was the No. 2 option during the rep. He ran a backside double move in case quarterback C.J. Beathard felt some pressure.

'I thought it was a good route, but I obviously ended up paying for it a little bit,' VandeBerg said. 'I wouldn't take it back. You have to attack practice that way.'

You soared with VandeBerg the night of the Iowa State game. He caught seven passes for 129 yards and a dazzling TD catch that quarterback C.J. Beathard put up and VandeBerg went and grabbed. Also that night, VandeBerg proposed to his girlfriend, Laura Bulanda.

That was a yes, too, and everything seemed to be coming up VandeBerg.

At some point between Iowa State and Rutgers, VandeBerg suffered an injury that slowed him down. At Rutgers, he caught four passes for just 17 yards. Then on the Monday going into Northwestern week, his season ended.

'That night I went home to my fiance and kind of vented it out and got over it,' VandeBerg said. 'That's not going to help me get where I needed to be. What I needed to do was start working out.'

VandeBerg suffered a broken bone in his foot and that ended his season. He caught 19 passes for 284 yards and three TDs in four games.

'After it happened, I actually jogged off the field, it didn't feel good,' VandeBerg said. 'I jogged off and tried to put pressure on it and it wasn't working. I was trying to go back in for the next play and that wasn't going to happen.'

Do you sense a theme here?

First, VandeBerg has no regrets about 'attacking practice.' And then he tried to go in for the next play — and remember, we're talking about practice — after he broke a bone in his foot.

This is the kind of attitude you'd expect from the Brandon, S.D., native. As a junior last season, VandeBerg led the Hawkeyes with 65 receptions for 703 yards. It was a huge leap in his career, considering he caught just 22 passes in his first two seasons as a Hawkeye.

It was a double-huge leap considering that VandeBerg's only college offer was from Iowa. It also initially was for a gray shirt, which would've meant paying his own way for his first semester at Iowa before going on scholarship.

VandeBerg also came in with a huge wide receiver class in 2013. It included Derrick Willies, A.J. Jones and Andre Harris, all of whom left Iowa. Damond Powell was a junior-college receiver in that class. Derrick Mitchell came to Iowa as a wide receiver before making the move to running back before last season.

So, you know it was right back at it for VandeBerg.

It's not just the broken bone, there's also soft tissue that needs to heal. There's no target date for a return. There really doesn't have to be right now.

The Hawkeyes (8-4) are headed to a bowl game. VandeBerg won't be playing in it. He plans, however, to play in Iowa's 2017 season opener, Sept. 2 vs. Wyoming at Kinnick Stadium (that's just nine months away, you know).

Of course, we're talking about a fifth year for VandeBerg. That would take a medical hardship waiver and, yes, that also would take Big Ten and NCAA approval. You're still sore about former Iowa defensive end Drew Ott being denied a fifth year? Don't worry about this one.

VandeBerg's season ended before the midway point and he played in four games, which the NCAA counts as a third of the season. That's well within range to qualify for a hardship waiver.

On his radio show before the Nebraska game, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz called it a 'slam dunk.'

Wait, is this what VandeBerg wants? He's engaged and maybe he wants to see what life has to offer beyond Iowa City?

'As soon as I figured out I was done for the year,' VandeBerg said about how quickly his thoughts went toward applying for a hardship waiver. 'It was a very easy decision. This organization is fantastic. I don't know why anybody would want to leave it early.'

The absences of VandeBerg and tight end George Kittle, who missed 2 1/2 games with a foot injury, took a toll on the passing game in 2016. Beyond the 12-2 record vs. the 8-4 record, one of the toughest reconciliations of the 2016 season is Beathard 2015 vs. Beathard 2016.

Ferentz doesn't look any farther than the personnel Beathard had to work with.

'I still think C.J. Beathard is a heckuva player,' Ferentz said. 'A year ago, he had an NFL center (Austin Blythe) snapping to him. He had an NFL tight end (Henry Krieger Coble) who made a lot of big plays week in and week out. He had George as our second tight end. We had VandeBerg and Tevaun (Smith, who made the Colts active roster this season). Now compared to what he's working with, you wonder why the numbers aren't the same?

'I don't even know how they compare. I haven't looked at them. I don't care to right now. It's common sense why we're not the same team offensively. We're pretty much doing the same things we were doing a year ago. We haven't gotten that dumb in a year. So, sometimes you have to look at the little details and how things pull together.'

VandeBerg at Iowa in 2017 will/should be a bonus. Quarterback Nathan Stanley likely will be in his first year as the starter, as a true sophomore. He should have a sturdy offensive line, but he's going to need weapons in the passing game, which was what Beathard dearly missed this season.

VandeBerg has enjoyed his run as a 'de facto' coach.

'I think they listen to me,' VandeBerg said with a laugh. 'I'd like to think that.'

But yeah, he'll take playing.

'You care so much and you put so much into this,' VandeBerg said. 'Being a true senior, I wanted to help my team. Not being able to help your team, being told you're going to be out the rest of the year, that was pretty tough.'