The WRs that Got Away

[sober_teacher]

Did Brecht come to Iowa on a football scholarship or baseball scholarship? Football you say? Hmmm. And he took up 2 years of limited scholarship space as a WR (i.e. more than Wetjen & Drew Stevens)? It's irrelevant to whether he panned out in football that he's good at baseball. The fact remains he came to Iowa as a highly rated scholarship WR and didn't pan out. That shouldn't be difficult to understand.

He was a 3* recruit, rated 5.7 by rivals out of high school. Far from a blue chip prospect.

And per ncaa rules, as a dual sport athlete he counted against football not baseball. Same thing happened with kueter for football/wrestling.

 

[jonesy5960]

Did Brecht come to Iowa on a football scholarship or baseball scholarship? Football you say? Hmmm. And he took up 2 years of limited scholarship space as a WR (i.e. more than Wetjen & Drew Stevens)? It's irrelevant to whether he panned out in football that he's good at baseball. The fact remains he came to Iowa as a highly rated scholarship WR and didn't pan out. That shouldn't be difficult to understand.

Not highly rated no matter how much you insist otherwise. He was the 111th rated wide receiver in his class and he showed why when he couldn't track a football. He was the 14th ranked prospect in the state of Iowa for Pete's sake.

 

[hawkeyeinmo]

Did Brecht come to Iowa on a football scholarship or baseball scholarship? Football you say? Hmmm. And he took up 2 years of limited scholarship space as a WR (i.e. more than Wetjen & Drew Stevens)? It's irrelevant to whether he panned out in football that he's good at baseball. The fact remains he came to Iowa as a highly rated scholarship WR and didn't pan out. That shouldn't be difficult to understand.

Someone needs to sit you down and explain how the scholarship system works when athletes play multiple sports. You should know the answer what sport is REQUIRED to be responsible for Brecht’s scholarship. Football of course. Pretty obvious why this would be the case.

 

[IowasLaw]

Not highly rated now matter how much you insist otherwise. He was the 111th rated wide receiver in his class and he showed why when he couldn't track a football. He was the 14th ranked prospect in the state of Iowa for Pete's sake.

Wait, let me get this straight...Brecht was "not highly rated no matter what," yet also managed to have offers to play WR from Nebraska, Iowa State, Kansas State, Kansas, etc. Remind me, which WRs from the current team had those kind of offers? None. So it was wrong for fans to have high hopes for Brecht?

And clearly Brecht taking a WR scholarship doesn't count because, per hawkeyeinmo, it's "required." Got it.

The irrelevant mental jujutzu some clowns will go through in arguing with themselves cracks me up. Is your point that Brecht was NOT a WR that got away, per the thread title? If not, what are you talking about?

 

[jonesy5960]

Wait, let me get this straight...Brecht was "not highly rated no matter what," had offers to play WR from Nebraska, Iowa State, Kansas State, Kansas, etc. Remind me, which WRs from the current team had those kind of offers? None?

Ummm... He was a mediocre to bad football player. The only reason he saw the field as a freshman was because Iowa had one of the worst WR rooms in the country.

Alex Mota had a better offer list than Brecht. He's tearing it up too so far.

 

[sober_teacher]

Wait, let me get this straight...Brecht was "not highly rated no matter what," yet also managed to have offers to play WR from Nebraska, Iowa State, Kansas State, Kansas, etc. Remind me, which WRs from the current team had those kind of offers? None. So it was wrong for fans to have high hopes for Brecht?

And clearly Brecht taking a WR scholarship doesn't count because, per hawkeyeinmo, it's "required." Got it.

The irrelevant mental jujutzu some clowns will go through in arguing with themselves cracks me up. Is your point that Brecht was NOT a WR that got away, per the thread title? If not, what are you talking about?

Yes he had a solid offer list and was an above averagely rated recruit.

You’re trying to paint this as some sort of terrible screwup by the coaches when it really wasn’t. It was widely known that he was 1) playing both football and baseball - per ncaa rules that meant he counted towards football scholarship wise, but 2) it was was pretty much expected he was going to end up switching full time to baseball eventually as his pro prospects were simply MUCH better on the diamond than the gridiron.

 

[sober_teacher]

Ummm... He was a mediocre to bad football player. The only reason he saw the field as a freshman was because Iowa had one of the worst WR rooms in the country.

Alex Mota had a better offer list than Brecht. He's tearing it up too so far.

Just to add on, Brody redshirted his first year as well.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

Wait, let me get this straight...Brecht was "not highly rated no matter what," yet also managed to have offers to play WR from Nebraska, Iowa State, Kansas State, Kansas, etc. Remind me, which WRs from the current team had those kind of offers? None. So it was wrong for fans to have high hopes for Brecht?

And clearly Brecht taking a WR scholarship doesn't count because, per hawkeyeinmo, it's "required." Got it.

The irrelevant mental jujutzu some clowns will go through in arguing with themselves cracks me up. Is your point that Brecht was NOT a WR that got away, per the thread title? If not, what are you talking about?

Iowa > your opinion of Iowa

 

[BurgHawk87]

The irrelevant mental jujutzu some clowns will go through in arguing with themselves cracks me up. Is your point that Brecht was NOT a WR that got away, per the thread title? If not, what are you talking about?

The only correct point you've made is that none of the listed wide receivers have done anything football related since leaving. So no, none of them got away. Congrats on being right for once.

 

[IowasLaw]

It's de ja vu all over again. The Hawkeye WR room has been a national laughing stock for more than 5 years now. While players and coaches have come and gone, the lack of talent at the WR position remains

Bostick. When hyped but unproven WR Jacob Bostick announced he was leaving Iowa and transferring to talent rich Texas A&M after receiving big $, fans were left scratching their heads. Did A&M see something in the guy that Ferentz never did? After all, the guy had high expectations going into last season, yet finished the year with ZERO receptions. It turns out, after six games in the SEC, Bostick has a grand total of...ONE catch for 14 yards. It came at the end of a blowout win against an FCS school. Bostick likely would have had his union card at Iowa by now and been starting this year.

Vines. What about Iowa's other WR to jump ship after last season, Diante Vines? Vines played way more than he should have last year with mixed results. He had 12 catches for the Hawks and something like 14 drops. Like Deacon Hill, Vines realized he had no business playing Big 10 football and ultimately transferred down a level to Old Dominion. This year, Vines has 20 catches for 190 yards. He too would likely be starting for the Hawks this year.

Kasper. Then there's Kyler Kasper. The 4 star legacy recruit had Iowa in his final 2 schools out of high school. He ultimately chased the $ and the high powered offense and picked Oregon. Unfortunately for him, lots of 4 star WRs go to Oregon and Kasper wasn't utilized at all during his first two years. Iowa was desperate for talent at WR those years, so during this past offseason, there were rumors Kasper was thinking about transferring to Iowa for playing time. He ultimately stayed put at Oregon. So how is he doing in his 3rd year with the Ducks? He is 9th on their WR depth chart and has a grand total of...1 catch. He too would likely be starting at Iowa.

Brecht. Brecht was a 4 star guy who never lived up to his football potential. Rather than endure another year with Brian Ferentz calling plays last year, he opted to focus on baseball. In this, his senior year, Brecht likely would have been the team's primary WR. While Brecht was drafted by the Colorado Rockies organization, he does not have any pro stats yet.

Johnson. Believe it or not, Kaegan Johnson, who started at WR for Iowa way back in 2021, is still playing college ball. Oddly, it appears he peaked his freshmen year at Iowa, where he had 18 catches for 350 yards. In six games this year as a senior at Kansas State, Johnson has 14 catches for 161 yards. He's their team's second leading receiver.

Bruce. Arland Bruce should still be a senior in still in college. He too started for the Hawks as a freshmen in 2021, where his career peaked with 25 catches for 209 yards. He had a sophomore slump, left the program to get away from the Brian Ferentz offense, then was embroiled in the gambling scandal.

Not all WR recruits turn out to be stars. But it's mystifying just how bad Iowa's eye for talent & retention is at this position. Unfortunately, with the Cade McNamera 100 yrd per game passing attack, and Iowa's worst coach/recruiter Budmeyer responsible for recruiting and coaching all new WR talent, the future is anything but bright.

And the final stats are in. Let's see how the WRs who got away ended up the 2024 season:

Bostick - rather than starting at Iowa, he chased a bunch of $$$ and transferred to Texas A&M. His stats for the season: 1 catch for 14 yards. Not much return on investment for good ol' A&M and their bloated payroll after going 8-4 just like low budget Iowa.

Vines - he struggled catching the ball and getting separation after starting in the Big 10 and transferred down a level to Old Dominion. Probably a good move, as he tripled his production this year, snagging 12 catches at Iowa last year and increasing to 36 catches for 400 yards at ODU.

Kasper - the highly rated 6'6 star chased the $$$ and spurned his dad's school, where he'd be starting, for Oregon. He finished the season, his 3rd, with 1 catch for 21 yards in mop up duty in a blow out win against Idaho. He's getting paid and he's going to the playoffs. I'd say he's ok with his decision. He's got 2 yrs of eligibility remaining, so we'll see what happens.

Johnson - Johnson correctly became disillusioned with the offensive coaching at Iowa and left for K-State. In 2021, he finished with 352 yards receiving for the Hawks. In 2024, after 3 additional years of experience and playing for a better coach, he finished with 359 yards. Lateral move, at best, and it doesn't look to have paid off like he had hoped. He still has 1 year of eligibility remaining, so he could still live up to his potential after all.

 

[sober_teacher]

And the final stats are in. Let's see how the WRs who got away ended up the 2024 season:

Bostick - rather than starting at Iowa, he chased a bunch of $$$ and transferred to Texas A&M. His stats for the season: 1 catch for 14 yards. Not much return on investment for good ol' A&M and their bloated payroll after going 8-4 just like low budget Iowa.

Vines - he struggled catching the ball and getting separation after starting in the Big 10 and transferred down a level to Old Dominion. Probably a good move, as he tripled his production this year, snagging 12 catches at Iowa last year and increasing to 36 catches for 400 yards at ODU.

Kasper - the highly rated 6'6 star chased the $$$ and spurned his dad's school, where he'd be starting, for Oregon. He finished the season, his 3rd, with 1 catch for 21 yards in mop up duty in a blow out win against Idaho. He's getting paid and he's going to the playoffs. I'd say he's ok with his decision. He's got 2 yrs of eligibility remaining, so we'll see what happens.

Johnson - Johnson correctly became disillusioned with the offensive coaching at Iowa and left for K-State. In 2021, he finished with 352 yards receiving for the Hawks. In 2024, after 3 additional years of experience and playing for a better coach, he finished with 359 yards. Lateral move, at best, and it doesn't look to have paid off like he had hoped. He still has 1 year of eligibility remaining, so he could still live up to his potential after all.

Why did you include Kasper, who never played here and never even committed to Iowa.

 

[IChawkeye45]

All we need to say is that Brian Ferentz coached a first team All American at wide receiver, a starting NFL running back, and an all pro tight end all on the same team in 2021. Brian just produces talent for other programs and teams to enjoy!

 

[DarkThunder#61]

It's de ja vu all over again. The Hawkeye WR room has been a national laughing stock for more than 5 years now. While players and coaches have come and gone, the lack of talent at the WR position remains

Bostick. When hyped but unproven WR Jacob Bostick announced he was leaving Iowa and transferring to talent rich Texas A&M after receiving big $, fans were left scratching their heads. Did A&M see something in the guy that Ferentz never did? After all, the guy had high expectations going into last season, yet finished the year with ZERO receptions. It turns out, after six games in the SEC, Bostick has a grand total of...ONE catch for 14 yards. It came at the end of a blowout win against an FCS school. Bostick likely would have had his union card at Iowa by now and been starting this year.

Vines. What about Iowa's other WR to jump ship after last season, Diante Vines? Vines played way more than he should have last year with mixed results. He had 12 catches for the Hawks and something like 14 drops. Like Deacon Hill, Vines realized he had no business playing Big 10 football and ultimately transferred down a level to Old Dominion. This year, Vines has 20 catches for 190 yards. He too would likely be starting for the Hawks this year.

Kasper. Then there's Kyler Kasper. The 4 star legacy recruit had Iowa in his final 2 schools out of high school. He ultimately chased the $ and the high powered offense and picked Oregon. Unfortunately for him, lots of 4 star WRs go to Oregon and Kasper wasn't utilized at all during his first two years. Iowa was desperate for talent at WR those years, so during this past offseason, there were rumors Kasper was thinking about transferring to Iowa for playing time. He ultimately stayed put at Oregon. So how is he doing in his 3rd year with the Ducks? He is 9th on their WR depth chart and has a grand total of...1 catch. He too would likely be starting at Iowa.

Brecht. Brecht was a 4 star guy who never lived up to his football potential. Rather than endure another year with Brian Ferentz calling plays last year, he opted to focus on baseball. In this, his senior year, Brecht likely would have been the team's primary WR. While Brecht was drafted by the Colorado Rockies organization, he does not have any pro stats yet.

Johnson. Believe it or not, Kaegan Johnson, who started at WR for Iowa way back in 2021, is still playing college ball. Oddly, it appears he peaked his freshmen year at Iowa, where he had 18 catches for 350 yards. In six games this year as a senior at Kansas State, Johnson has 14 catches for 161 yards. He's their team's second leading receiver.

Bruce. Arland Bruce should still be a senior in still in college. He too started for the Hawks as a freshmen in 2021, where his career peaked with 25 catches for 209 yards. He had a sophomore slump, left the program to get away from the Brian Ferentz offense, then was embroiled in the gambling scandal.

Not all WR recruits turn out to be stars. But it's mystifying just how bad Iowa's eye for talent & retention is at this position. Unfortunately, with the Cade McNamera 100 yrd per game passing attack, and Iowa's worst coach/recruiter Budmeyer responsible for recruiting and coaching all new WR talent, the future is anything but bright.

Holy shit, you're still alive?