IOWA CITY -- Jarriett Buie is coming off his first season with Iowa where he saw the field in limited snaps. He has yet to register a reception in black and gold.
The 6'1", 200-pound wideout used his redshirt-freshman year as a learning opportunity and continued to grow throughout the spring.
"It's a big year difference from year one to year two," he said at last week's media availability. "I'm a grown up now. I'm not a high-schooler anymore, I know what's going on. I've grown a lot in that way."
The break between his first and second season was pivotal for his on-the-field growth, too.
"I had a great offseason," he said. "I've been keeping my head down and working. I've been in the playbook and been talking to God about it. God is my number one -- without Him, I wouldn't be here."
Spirituality — and also studying his craft.
"Getting in the playbook -- that's the main thing. Then, show up when I'm out [on the practice field], go hard when I'm out there."
Part of Buie's initiative to get in the playbook is rooted in seeing an opportunity to set himself apart during the the install of Tim Lester's offense.
"Nobody knew the playbook [going into the spring]," he said. "Everybody started at the same level. It's just a matter of if you're willing to take some extra time out of your day to go study to be ahead of the next person. That shows in practice that you've been studying and working on the new stuff. It shows that you can handle it as well."
With the return of receivers like Kaleb Brown, Seth Anderson, Kaden Wetjen, Alex Mota and Dayton Howard along with the additions of Northwestern transfer Jacob Gill and freshmen KJ Parker and Reece Vander Zee, there are only so many snaps at position to go around.
"Competition is great," Buie said. "You can never just flat-line or settle, especially when you've got guys competing every day and they're doing good things. It's like 'Okay, what can I do that would be better than what they did?' or 'What can I do to stand out?'"
If Buie needed any added motivation for continued growth, he's got it in Lester's new offense.
"It's a little more fun," Buie said with a smile. "There's a lot more versatility, you know? You could be at the X and move in to the slot. You won't just play on the outside the whole time. It's a lot more exciting to play in, and it's fun to watch."
By the sounds of things, not only is Lester himself leaving a good impression on Iowa's offensive personnel, but his playbook is, too -- and not just on Buie.
"I love playing in this offense right now," he added. "It's brought my confidence up. I'm more excited. You can ask anybody -- they're more excited, too."
