Iowa wide receiver Diante Vines announced that he has entered the transfer portal.
Scott Dochterman at The Athletic was first with the news.
Vines, at 6'0" and 189 pounds, is a fourth-year junior with two seasons of eligibility remaining. Vines made 13 starts in 22 career appearances for the Hawkeyes, catching a total of 22 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown in his Iowa career.
Vines' lone touchdown came against Western Michigan in Week 3, catching a dart from Cade McNamara in the back of the end zone:
Vines originally hails from Danbury, Connecticut, and battled through injuries during his Hawkeye career. He played sparingly as a redshirt freshman, then missed the first half of the 2022 season with a wrist injury; Vines was placed in the starting lineup by his second week back.
Vines also became known for his candor and charisma off the field, sharing details about cutting alcohol out of his life and talking about his uncle, who passed during the season prior to Vines' touchdown catch:
DEPTH CHART IMPACT
There's no good way to lose a starting wide receiver to the transfer portal. With the departure of sixth-year senior (and fellow Connecticut native) Nico Ragaini, Iowa will return only two wide receivers next season who caught a pass this season: Kaleb Brown and Seth Anderson (both 2022 transfers, incidentally). Walk-on Alec Wick caught one pass in 2022 as well.
Vines' departure also clears room for Iowa's younger wideout recruits to potentially step into a larger role. Redshirt freshman Jacob Bostick (6'2", 183) saw snaps in four games this season, and true freshmen Alex Mota (6'0", 180) and Jarrett Buie (6'1", 185) have the build and track-star speed to help replace the skills departing with Vines.
Fellow true freshman Dayton Howard (6'4", 195) is more of a taller receiver, but he should have an incrementally larger opportunity to step up with the shakeup ahead of him as well.
Go Iowa Awesome will keep this story and other portal entries updated as the week continues.
