By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – They just kept showing up, one Iowa wide receiver after another, led by redshirt freshman KJ Parker.

And by the time this past Wednesday’s press event had ended, five Iowa wide receivers had been interviewed, and you could argue six since Terrell Washington Jr. has played both receiver and running back since becoming a Hawkeye.

Senior receivers Jacob Gill, Kaden Wetjen and Seth Anderson also met with the media last Wednesday, along with sophomore Reece Vander Zee.

That’s a lot of wide receivers without sophomores Dayton Howard and Jarriet Buie and Chattanooga transfer Sam Phillips even being mentioned.

Iowa also signed a talented wide receiver to its 2025 recruiting class named Terrence Smith, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound native of Aurora, Illinois.

This isn’t to say that wide receiver is on the verge of suddenly becoming a strength for the Iowa football team, but the days of it being a weakness appear to be over.

Of course, we won’t know for sure until the games start being played, but this is as deep as the position has been for quite some time.

There isn’t a duo as dynamic as Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Brandon Smith were as Hawkeyes receivers from 2018 to 2020, at least not at this point.

But from an overall depth standpoint, Iowa looks to be in good shape with multiple options at wide receiver.

“We’ve got six, seven, eight receivers that are going to be competing for the starting spots and that just adds another level of competition to camp and everyone is going to be playing that much better and everyone wants it, too,” said Mark Gronowski, Iowa’s new starting quarterback. “Everyone is hungry for those spots, so it’s going to be a real fun camp and just throwing to those guys is going to be a lot of fun.”

Now if the quarterback position could start carrying its weight again, then Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester might have the balance on offense that he and his boss, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz, both so desperately want.

Desperate might be too strong a word until you consider how aggressively Iowa pursued Gronowski in the transfer portal, and then paid enough to get him.

Iowa showed last season that it could be a threat on offense by mostly just running the ball as Kaleb Johnson led the Big Ten in rushing with 1,537 yards and set a UI single-season record with 21 rushing touchdowns.

Iowa’s passing attack, on the other hand, left so much to be desired as Jacob Gill was the only Iowa wide receiver to finish the 2024 season with more than 30 catches and with more than 200 receiving yards.

Gill led Iowa in both categories with 35 catches and 411 receiving yards.

Vander Zee was second amongst the Hawkeye wide receivers with just 14 catches for 176 yards, though he did score three touchdowns while only playing in nine games due to injuries.

The reason for hope and optimism comes from having seven wide receivers that had at least three catches for Iowa last season. They all showed flashes despite the problems at quarterback.

After transferring from Northwestern last summer, Gill quickly climbed the depth and by the end of the season, he was Iowa’s top wide receiver. He showed a knack for making tough catches in traffic, and he excelled as a blocker.

With a year as a Hawkeye under his belt, Gill now looks to build off what he accomplished last season.

“Being a year in the offense helps a lot,” Gill said. “Just getting in and watching more film and being out there more with the guys, just getting more reps with the offense has just been tremendous.”

And speaking of the guys, Gill likes what he sees in his fellow receivers. He barely has been a Hawkeye for one year, but Gill has seen the position evolve and replenish.

Jon Budmayr also has year under his belt as the Iowa receivers coach, helping to provide more stability.

“We’ve got a lot of maturity now,” Gill said. “Last year, we were a little young. Now we’ve got a lot of guys that are mature and looking to improve and compete. And that all just breeds a great receiver room.

“So I’m excited for us and for the potential that we can help with the team going forward.”

Gill is right to say potential because that’s all it is right now in July.

Especially in the case of Kaden Wetjen, who is determined to play a bigger role as a receiver this season.

Wetjen is already a star return specialist as he won the Jet Award last season, which goes to the nation’s top kick returner.

But now the former walk-on from Williamsburg wants to show that he can make an impact as a receiver.

“I’m just super excited. Wetjen said. “I wish we could play next week.”

The challenge for Wetjen and the other wide receivers will be to turn potential in consistent performance.

Gronowski also will have to do his part because there is only so much a receiver can do on any given route if the ball isn’t thrown accurately or on time.

Iowa has a veteran offensive line, quality depth at running back, even without Kaleb Johnson, a new starting quarterback who was dominant at the FCS level and arguably its best group of receivers in quite a while.

The offense, which performed at historically low levels in 2022 and 2023, costing Brian Ferentz his job as offensive coordinator, is now at least moving in the right direction under Tim Lester.

If the wide receivers succeed in turning potential into performance, Kirk Ferentz’s 27th season as head coach could be memorable.

But yes, right now, that’s a big if, but not as big as a year ago.