‘Our wideouts are very talented’: How the Hawkeyes are redefining the wide receiver position

Last season, no Hawkeye receiver reached 300 yards. But in Tim Lester’s pro-style offense, they’ll be a critical chess piece. Lester is utilizing pre-snap motion, giving the offense an advantage and moving the eyes of the defense.

“The alignments, formations, the pre-snap consternation that you’re trying to present — that’s been different. That’s been something they’ve had to learn and study,” wide receivers coach Jon Budmayr said.

Last year, Iowa’s sent a player in motion just 6% of their plays. That is now a major point of emphasis — as well as running different players out of similar formations.

“I think every offensive coordinator is trying to do that,” Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester said. “You can’t have too many plays; you’re trying to get your kids good at executing certain plays over and over again.”

“Our wideouts are very talented, they’re just young. They’re getting better every single time we’re out there.”

The unit itself is unproven. They have a combined 52 catches in Big Ten play, but a schematic change has everybody excited.

“A lot of different players get to play at a lot of different positions and run a lot of different routes,” Kaleb Brown said.

“I think everybody has a higher standard this year,” Jarriett Buie said. “We’re not dropping balls, we’re not running bad routes.”

“It’s coming along really well, a lot of dudes getting open a lot of dudes making plays and we’re out there competing right now for fall camp,” Seth Anderson said.

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