With the ability to play multiple wide receiver positions and work in the return game, Diante Vines hopes to be a playmaker for the Iowa Hawkeyes. This week, we caught up with the 6-foot-0, 185-pound Vines to discuss his training regimen during the pandemic, goals for his freshman year at Iowa, and much more.

Q: What have you been up to since the pandemic started? What does your day kind of consist of?

VINES: I’m back home and usually have like one or two classes a day online and then go work out. I live right next to a school, so I go out to this little field and do my footwork and my receiving drills. That’s kind of my day during this quarantine.

Q: Is that a workout program you developed or something Iowa sent you?

VINES: It’s my own. I’ve got my own receiving coach, so we’ve got drills that we’ve always done. Iowa just said to keep up with my conditioning, so I’m doing that and then my receiving drills too.

Q: In your conversations with the Iowa coaches, who are you mainly talking with and what has their message been?

VINES: I’ve talked with Coach O’Keefe, Coach Brian Ferentz, and Coach Copeland. Their message has kind of been just to keep up with it, stay safe, and not hang around too large of groups because we want to get back to playing football. They’re just staying positive. Coach O’Keefe has sent me some videos that help motivate me and things like that.

Q: As far as when you might move out there, is it just kind of a wait and see right now?

VINES: Yeah. Everything is up in the air right now, so we’re just kind of waiting to see what happens.

Q: Are you signed up to take classes in June?

VINES: Yeah, I’m supposed to take classes in June.

Q: Will that be online now?

VINES: Yeah.

Q: When you do eventually arrive for your freshman year, what are you looking forward to the most at Iowa?

VINES: I’m looking forward to just being there and playing football, of course. I can’t wait to get on the field and try to make my name early as a freshman and help the team in any way possible. Then just being around a great group of guys and the whole environment, just being away from home and learning who I am.

Q: What have the coaches said as far as the opportunity for a freshman at wide receiver this year?

VINES: It’s definitely going to take a lot of work because first when I was being recruited they thought maybe Ihmir or Brandon would go off to the draft, but since that didn’t happen it’s definitely going to be a little harder to earn some playing time. So I think I’m just going to sit back and learn and wait for my chance. Then when I do get it, I’m going to make the most of it. I’m going to try to get on the field different ways whether it’s special teams or anything I can do. I’m trying to get on the field in any way possible.

Q: Will that include working on returns?

VINES: Yeah.

Q: Which wide receiver position are they looking for you to start out at and learn first?

VINES: When they originally talked to me, they said they could see me playing the X and playing the slot as well. They liked me as a Nick Easley type of player. But they also like how I can take it deep as well because a lot of my film is go routes and posts, so they also like me outside to run those kinds of routes. I’m just going to see when I get there what fits me best and hopefully it all works out.

Q: Have you found out what number you are wearing in college?

VINES: I'll be wearing #18.

Q: Iowa is recruiting your teammate Skyler Bell. What have you told him and what have you kind of heard about where things sit there?

VINES: We talk a lot and I always tell him, “Don’t go for the schools that tell you you’re going to come in and start or be the most special player ever. Look for a program that is looking out for your best interests and is going to develop you. Look for the most real coaches out there.” He always tells me that a lot of coaches tell him he’s going to start, but Coach Copeland is the most genuine and real guy that he’s spoken to so far. So I think we’re looking like a front runner right now to pull Skyler in if he commits anytime soon.

Q: Is the biggest them for them just getting him out there for a visit since he hasn’t been there yet?

VINES: Yeah, he’s never been there. He was supposed to go out (this month), but now with this situation he can’t right now.

Q: Looking back at your own recruiting, what do you think made Iowa the right choice for you when you committed last summer?

VINES: Well, as you know, my recruiting kind of picked up late. When I got the Iowa offer and went out on a visit, it was just like everything I wanted in a school. The coaches were so real and everything just felt right. I know that when I get there, I’m going to be able to develop the best I can and hopefully be successful enough to get in the NFL Draft. Every football player’s dream is to go to the NFL, so I think it was definitely the best school for me to try to achieve my dreams in the years to come.

A three-star prospect, Vines committed to the Hawkeyes in July of 2019, choosing Iowa over scholarship offers from Boston College, Syracuse, Army, and Navy, among others.

As a senior, Vines finished the season with 49 catches for 552 yards and eight touchdowns at Taft.

See highlights from Vines' senior year in the video below.