I was just as surprised as anyone when Charlie Jones mysteriously transferred to Purdue.

The ex-Hawkeye wide receiver never put out a statement that he was leaving Iowa or joining Purdue’s program, and the reigning Big Ten Returner of the Year stayed quiet for most of the summer.

But everyone saw why Jones made the switch to the Boilermakers on Thursday night.

During the 2021 Iowa football season, Jones was mainly a return man for Iowa — and he was good at it. He gained 635 yards on kick returns, including a kick return touchdown against Illinois on Nov. 20, 2021.

But he couldn’t get reps in at wide receiver at Iowa, amassing just 323 yards on 21 total receptions.  

Jones told Iowa media following spring practice in April that he returned for a sixth year of college football because he wanted to get wide receiver tape for the NFL.

I don’t know if he knew it at the time, but he eventually figured out he wasn’t going to get what he wanted at Iowa. The Hawkeyes ranked 109th in passing offense in 2021, and Iowa’s top receiver was a tight end that had just 670 yards. 

So, Jones followed ex-Hawkeye Tyrone Tracy Jr’s lead — transfer to a team that not only emphasizes a passing offense, but was in desperate need of a veteran wide receiver.

And it looks like Jones has filled the shoes of former Boilermaker David Bell — who now plays for the NFL’s Cleveland Browns — nicely.

Jones had 153 yards and a touchdown on Thursday night, smashing any and every single-game career-highs he had at Iowa.

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As a Hawkeye, his career-high for catches in a single game was three. At Purdue, he had 12 receptions in his first game. In just one contest with the Boilermakers, he gained nearly half of the total yards he picked up in 2021.

Iowa vastly underused Jones last season, as most of his snaps came in the return game. He wants to be an NFL wide receiver, and his best chance to do that is at Purdue. Sorry, Brian Ferentz, maybe pass the ball a bit more often this year, and your wide receivers will stop leaving in droves.

Hawkeye fans were relieved when Bell left for the NFL following the 2021 season, thinking the three-year stretch of a Purdue wide receiver terrorizing the Iowa defense was over.

In 2019, Bell had 197 yards and a touchdown in a Purdue loss. In 2020, when the Boilermakers scratched by with a 24-20 victory, Bell found the end zone three times with 121 yards. Purdue won for the second-straight year in 2021 when Bell had 240 yards and a touchdown — handing then-No. 2 Iowa its first loss of the season.

But now, there’s something more terrifying coming for the Hawkeyes on Nov. 5 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana — two dynamic, explosive wide receivers that know the ins and outs of the Iowa defense.

Not much has changed between the 2021 and 2022 Hawkeye defense, and it’s likely that Jones and Tracy will break the secondary down as soon as Purdue takes its first offensive snap.

Buckle up, Hawkeye fans. This year’s Iowa-Purdue game will be a good one.