Iowa Receivers Looking for Breakout Year in New Offense
IOWA CITY -- Iowa ranked 130th in total offense in 2023 -- dead-last in the entire country. The passing offense ranked 127th, Deacon Hill had the worst passing efficiency in the country, and the receivers finished with 76 catches for 754 yards and three touchdowns. 21 individual receivers had the same or more receptions and 84 players had more receiving yards than the entire receiving corps in Iowa City last season.
If any position group on offense -- besides quarterback -- could use new leadership, it was wide receiver. Enter: Tim Lester, Iowa's new offensive coordinator, and Jon Budmayr, the new wide receivers coach.
"I think the fresh start was nice with the different coaching, the different plays," sophomore wideout Jacob Bostick said. "We’re all really excited with what’s to come. Coach Lester is awesome. He's always full of energy and pushing us to be the best we can."
"[He's] definitely putting an emphasis on throwing the ball," added fellow redshirt sophomore, Kaleb Brown. "He wants to be balanced in the run-game and the pass-game."
Hill, who started nine games last season due to an injury to Cade McNamara, is airing things out quite a bit in practice as QB1 while McNamara continues to work back from a torn ACL.
“We throw the ball a lot," Hill said. "There’s new route combinations, new routes [the receivers are] learning to run. We’re pretty aggressive downfield. Lester likes to take some shots."
"I think the biggest change is that we have more and different pass concepts."
Since taking over for Kelton Copeland this spring, Budmayr has helped the cohesion between the quarterbacks and the wide receivers continue to grow.
"The biggest thing is that now you have a quarterback brain teaching the wide receivers in that room," Hill said. "From what I've seen, he and Lester talk a lot. So him teaching the receivers what we're thinking on each play allows them to adjust what they're doing and help us come together to create a good play."
"Bud is really smart, and the offense is similar to what he was running at Wisconsin," Hill added. "He definitely knows what we wants to do in the quarterback room, and he's just preaching it to the wide receivers."
From first-hand experience, Brown agrees that things are going in the correct direction.
"[He and Lester] both help me with the receiver position," the former Ohio State wideout said. "I still have Brian Hartline's mindset for myself, too. I know what things are supposed to look like -- whether I'm getting open on a route or something like that. It's a mental thing -- and they both help a lot. I can talk to them about what I think. We can talk about those things."
The offense as a whole is working to learn what Lester's offense should look like on a day-in and day-out basis.
"It's a complicated process," Brown said. "Taking the meetings to the field is probably one of the biggest things. The first thing to do is to know what to do, and then know how to do it. Coming to meetings and being focused in on what we've got to do -- spring has been very helpful overall, to sit down and do the things with the guys."
Bostick agreed that the process of learning the offense can be a lot.
"Some of the guys and I were comparing this to our freshmen year, it's like being fed from a fire hose. It's a new install every week," he said. "But it's good. I think the way they're teaching and coaching is very helpful. We're walking through plays and having a lot of meeting time, so it's been good."
Brown and a crew of his teammates spent time during spring break digging deep into their roles in the new scheme.
"We were able to study there," he said. "It was like learning a whole new language. Then it was like 'Okay, cool. We've got it.' So we came back and got lined up just like that. It was pretty smooth."
For Bostick the excitement to have a coach like Lester goes back to his recruitment -- while at Western Michigan, the former Broncos head coach offered him a scholarship, and Bostick liked what he saw Lester do with now-Kansas City Chiefs receiver Skyy Moore.
"I saw myself in Skyy," Bostick said, "He's a little bit shorter, but I was thinking 'Maybe I can go out there and do that.' Seeing their success with the receivers was really awesome."
"I'm trying my best to play like Skyy this spring," he joked. "But I need better footwork."
The coaching change isn't the only reason for optimism going into next season for Bostick. The Palatine, Illinois native has played limited snaps at Iowa thus far due to injury, but he's healthy and practicing regularly this spring.
"It's amazing," he said. "It's a blessing every time I get to lace up the cleats, put the helmet on, and join my team out there. I just want to do the best I can for the team."
The limited snaps have hindered his opportunities to haul in a pass, as he's still in pursuit of his first collegiate catch.
"I'm itching for it," Bostick said. "I think the opportunity is going to come, and it's going to be my job and my responsibility to make it happen when it does. I want to be able to show what I can do. I think I've been held off and haven't been able to show my skills. It'll be a little eye-opening to see what I can do."
Between the new system and coaches and focusing on playing slot receiver, Brown is eager to show what he can do this fall, too.
"The slot helps me see the whole field and see the coverages," Brown said. "It helps our offense with quick plays and quick pick ups. I know that'll be huge in games. There are a lot of different things we can do out of it. I'm excited to see what we can do with it."
"We can confuse the defense a bit, get them moving around a bit and a lot of the motions we make, it sets off the defense," he said. "It's definitely fun to pick apart the defense. I think that's what offense is about."
Put it all together and Brown believes he can put together a breakout campaign in 2024.
"My goal is 1,000 yards, and I'm going to leave that right there," he said. "I'm definitely going to be versatile and do what's needed for my team. However that comes, 1,000 yards."
Two of the older receivers on the roster, Bostick and Brown have also seen some glimpses of promise in some of the youth at the position group, particularly two redshirt freshman -- Dayton Howard and TJ Washington.
"Dayton is definitely somebody that will make an impact in a game, that's for sure," Brown said. "There are a lot of people. They're making progress everyday."
"Dayton's been tearing it up," Bostick added. "He's put on a few pounds. I think the year of growth he's had is really showing right now. He's been doing a really good job."
Washington, who primarily played running back last season, is seeing more and more snaps at receiver.
"He's playing both right now," Hill said. "He's learning the receiver position, and I think he's been doing a great job of it. He can be a receiving back or line up in the slot and cook you."
"I see a lot of myself in him, coming from the running back position myself," Brown said. "We're just learning from each other. He had a good catch today, and he's just building. It was a really quick transition, and he just picked up everything. ... Just having him in the room is good. He's a playmaker."