Blake Dowson
The Hawkeyes have the quarterback. The stable of running backs is full. The offensive line returns five guys with starting experience.
It seems like the one big question mark on the offensive side of the ball is who will step up at the receiver position, a spot on the depth chart that will look decidedly different from a year ago.
Tevaun Smith turned into a very reliable weapon for C.J. Beathard last season, and the coaching staff lauded Jacob Hillyer for his ability to block out in space.
Obviously, neither of those two will show up on an Iowa depth chart this season, making for a new-look receiving corps, something that isn’t happening at many positions for Iowa.
Whereas we didn’t have the luxury to look at an updated two-deep while writing most of these position previews, a new one was released on Aug. 26, with a mild surprise at wide receiver.
Sophomore Jerminic Smith, who showed flashes of his talent as a true freshman last year (most notably with his 118-yard performance against Illinois), was listed as sophomore Jay Scheel’s backup. Scheel has been on the media’s mind for the past two years but hasn’t played much at all as a Hawkeye.
Smith was seen by many as the deep ball threat heir-apparent, the spot left vacant by Tevaun Smith.
At this point, though, offensive coordinator Greg Davis said the depth chart isn’t all that important and definitely not set in stone.
“The depth chart is still very fluid, and we’ve got some time before we have to decide exactly what we have to do,” Davis said on Aug. 23.
Matt VandeBerg proved last season to be a solid possession receiver, and he will have a big impact on the team this year. His work between the hashes in 2015 resulted in a lot of first downs, but he won’t run past any Big Ten defensive backs as a deep threat this season.
That seems to be the glaring area of concern for the group this year, as fellow senior Riley McCarron won’t exactly blow the top off any defenses, either.
Scheel, a converted high-school quarterback, does have the speed to challenge a defense, it’s just the relative rawness he possesses at the position that has kept him from lining up wide for the Hawkeyes in the past.
Emmanuel Ogwo was a dark horse to have a breakout year as a deep ball threat, but he is no longer on the team. Ogwo was a high-school national champion in the 4×400 meter relay, and has elected to pursue track at Iowa instead of football.
With the number of experienced receivers thinned out from last season, there was no time to waste for the group in the off-season. Different roles needed to be filled, and the group acknowledged that.
“Nobody is polished here. Everybody is working to get better,” VandeBerg said in the spring. “Chemistry with C.J. is big, so he knows where we’re going to be on any given route. But everybody needs to attack each day wanting to get better. That’s the goal for each day. Maybe today it’s releases, tomorrow it’s footwork, the next day it’s coming in and out of your cut quicker. Each day you have to make sure you’re getting better at one thing.”