In 2022, the Iowa wide receiving corps put together just 76 catches for 796 yards and two touchdowns. For context, 23 players in Division I registered 76 or more catches in 2023. Each of them tallied over 900 yards and at least three scores.
To pour salt in the wound, one of those receivers was former Hawkeye Charlie Jones, who led the country in receptions with 110 catches for 1,361 yards and 12 touchdowns for Big Ten rival Purdue.
Iowa wide receivers coach Kelton Copeland says he expects much more production from his group in 2023 -- especially with Diante Vines and Nico Ragaini healthy, plus the additions of Seth Anderson and Kaleb Brown out of the portal.
"It's been a little bit since we've had this much talent," Copeland, who has been on staff for Iowa since 2017, said. "This is like the third time that we have felt really confident about the level of talent in the room. There's a lot of opportunity for these young men to contribute to Iowa football."
Though the fanbase is excited about the additions of Anderson and Brown, for Copeland, it all starts with Ragaini, who is the most senior member of the receivers.
"If I had to pick one guy that stands out, it'd be Nico because he's been here so long," Copeland said. "Obviously, this is his sixth year. I only have 11 months in this building more than he has. I got here in February of 2017 and he got here in January of 2018. He's a guy that knows the ropes, the standards and the expectations. So, I lean on him a lot. Not just on the field, but in the meeting room and the weight room."
"In the summer time, they have these rules about how much time coaches can spend with athletes and what you can and cannot do on the field. When we reported for camp and I met with the freshmen for the first time, they already had a leg up on the playbook, they knew the standards for the room, they knew to take notes, they knew to be five minutes early to meetings. All those things -- that's Nico."
Vines is a fellow returner. Though those on the inside of the program know him well, he hasn't been able to see the field much due to a torn Achilles tendon in 2020 and a broken wrist in 2022.
"Diante has been through a lot, and I've never seen that young man flinch," Copeland said. "It's been a journey between him and I, and I'm his biggest fan. I'm really proud of the progress he has made. He and I have had some meetings individually where we've talked about raising his standards and the expectations I have for him. I have not been disappointed. He's met my challenges head on and he's even exceeded my expectations."
But Copeland didn't forget about the shiny, new toys in the room, either. One of which he brought in from a Big Ten Rival.
"Kaleb [Brown] is looking really good," Copeland said of the former Ohio State receiver. "He has done some really good things, and the athletic ability -- there's no question there. The best thing I've seen from Kaleb outside of his athletic performance is just him fitting in. It's been a seamless transition. His teammates really like him. He's been well liked and well-respected, and that's all I can really ask for."
The former four-star, top 100 recruit is picking up the playbook quickly, too.
"We've put him in a couple different spots, and I try to teach progressively," Copeland added. "We've done that and kind of locked him into some positions so he can just learn and get more confidence. So, as he's shown that he can handle more, we've put more on his plate. There hasn't been anything that he can't do on the football field -- that's not an issue at all. I've just got to make sure that I'm doing my job and not overwhelming him by putting too much on his plate too fast. So far so good. So, as long as I don't screw it up, we'll be just fine."
A lesser-known commodity coming in from FCS Charleston Southern, Seth Anderson brings a different dynamic to the wide receiver room.
"When I got to talk to him and his family when they came on campus in the spring, I noticed his humility," Copeland said. "He knows he's good, there's no doubt about it -- that's part of being a good receiver -- you've got to have some confidence in yourself. But, he knows he's got a lot more to learn, and his ceiling is really high. Every practice, every opportunity that he's had a chance to come out here and show what he can do, he's shown increments of improvement. That's all I can ask for from him."
As the son of former NFL wide receiver Flipper Anderson showed in the Kids' Day open practice on Saturday, Copeland believes he has the capability to contribute right away to the Hawkeyes' offense.
"Going off what I've seen and my evaluation of him so far, Seth has done a really good job going all the way back to January when he got here out of the portal," Copeland said. "He has done a really good job of meeting the expectations. There's no accountability issues. It starts with the little things, and Seth has done a good job of executing the little things. Hopefully that turns into big things -- that's usually how it works."
