As the kickoff to the 2015 Iowa Football comes closer, during the month of July we will profile a key Hawkeye player each day. We call this series, Key Hawkeyes, as we try to identify and rank the most important players on the roster for the upcoming season.

This will be a ranking based on how important they will be to the Iowa team this season. That ranking is arrived at based on their position on the depth chart, expected and past production, and their importance to the Iowa team.

We move on with our rankings to #14 on our list.

Kevonte Martin-Manley ended his Iowa career with the most receptions in school history. That is the void that Matt VandeBerg will be attempting to fill in the Hawkeye lineup at wide receiver.

The junior wide receiver from South Dakota arrived on campus a really thin and probably needing to redshirt. VandeBerg told us this spring that when he arrived he was carrying about 165 pounds on his 6-foot-1 frame. That's pretty thin even for a wide receiver at the college level.

But, that didn't stop him from seeing action in his first year on campus. VandeBerg saw action in 11 games in his first year with the Iowa program, starting two games. He caught 8 passes for 59 yards that season. In his sophomore season saw action in 12 games, starting one and had 14 receptions for 256 yards and his first touchdown as a Hawkeye.

This season Iowa will be counting on VandeBerg to produce at a much higher level and the work load from the slot in particular, will increase quite a bit. VandeBerg is up to 185 pounds, so while he is still pretty thin, he has added 20 pounds to his frame while retaining his speed and quickness on the field.

Iowa is pretty thin at the receiver position, with really only Tevaun Smith and Jacob Hillyer, and VandeBerg as proven commodities at the position That's why he will have to step up his game to a much higher level. I like VandeBerg in the slot quite a bit. He's has good short space quickness and that means he can wiggle free in space near the line. He also has pretty sure hands and can make catches in traffic. Perhaps one underrated aspect of his game is his downfield speed. Iowa will be looking for a downfield threat to emerge this fall and he's what you might call sneaky fast in that he doesn't look quick and then in the next moment, he's by the defensive back and open down the field. If the Iowa offense is going to improve, then VandeBerg is going to have to be a big part of that equation.

NEXT UP: A big defensive tackle