INDIANAPOLIS -- Unsurprisingly, Iowa's offense and new offensive coordinator, Tim Lester were hot topics at Big Ten Media Days. A significant portion of Iowa's struggles have come at the hands of quarterback play and play-calling by the offensive regime in recent years. Wide receivers -- and their production -- have suffered greatly.
Between graduation, transfers and picking baseball, Iowa has been down in the dumps with even keeping receivers around over the last several years. Now, they've got two transfers, a walk-on and a barrage of first and second-year wideouts to work with.
That's probably why so many people wanted to hear about what the offense has done and is doing to improve this coming season -- and specifically what it has done for the receiving corps.
By the sounds of it, Kirk Ferentz wants to know just about as much as everyone else does -- and he wants to see who will step up and play at a high level this season at the position.
"We don't have a lot of production in that room, that's obvious," he said. "But the opportunity is there for them. We've got a group of 6, 7, 8 guys. I want to see who does and doesn't emerge. The good news is that we've moved the ball and scored without an NFL receiver, and if we can develop one, that'd be great. But, it's not requisite to be successful. Right now, it's a matter of putting the pieces together and everybody doing their jobs."
"I like the way the guys have worked. I liked what I saw in the spring, but we've go a long way to go."
One of those inexperienced players that appears to have found a way into the starting fold is Jarriett Buie, redshirt freshman from Tampa, Florida. He saw action in a couple games last season, but never caught a ball.
Just last week, Buie said his self-belief is growing thanks to Lester's offense.
"I love playing in this offense right now," he said. "It's brought my confidence up. I'm more excited than I was last year."
Ferentz sounds like he's excited about Buie, too.
"I think Jarriett is going to be a really good player for us," he said. "We need guys to have production that they didn't have the year before, where people say 'Oh jeez, where did he come from?' or 'How did that happen?' I think Jarriett is a candidate for that. He has an unbelievable attitude and work ethic. He's got good skills. We saw him improve over the course of the fall, and in bowl prep. He's totally capable of playing good football for us."
Ferentz's praise for the young receivers didn't stop there.
"I'd throw Dayton Howard in there," Iowa's head man said. "At our last spring practice, he made a catch over on the sideline and made a couple plays that really caught my eye. Watching him over the summer, it looks like he's growing and maturing, and gaining some confidence in himself."
Jacob Gill, who transferred in from Northwestern is another new face in the Iowa receiving room, though he's seen his fair share of college football. With the Wildcats over the last three seasons, he caught 16 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns over 28 games.
"Jacob isn't flashy, but he's had production," Ferentz said. "He's mature. He's got a good, really serious attitude. That's a young room, and it could use some maturity. It's good. It makes the environment a little bit better."
The personnel aren't the only fresh faces in the wide receiver room, as special assistant to Ferentz, Jon Budmayr took over coaching the position in the spring.
"He has done fine," Ferentz said of the former Wisconsin quarterback and assistant. "The biggest thing is that the players have responded to Jon well. We're seeing growth on the field, and that's important."
The fact that Budmayr doesn't have prior experience playing the position isn't a concern for Ferentz.
"He actually had some experience [coaching receivers] at Colorado State, he worked with the receivers as well [as quarterbacks}," Ferentz added. "I'll go back to Bill Snyder. I was with him for eight years. He coached both QBs and wide receivers. He had both positions. This was 30 years ago, but he did them both. It's kind of glove-in-hand, if you will. It makes perfect sense."
