Iowa football: Best/worst case scenarios for Hawkeyes in 2019

The Iowa football receiving group will have to find a way to replace Hockenson and Fant in 2019.

As previously noted, the Iowa football team will be breaking in two new starting tight ends this season. On the early 2019 depth chart, those guys figure to be Shaun Beyer and Drew Cook. As for the receivers, the team will be without the services of Nick Easley but return both juniors in Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Brandon Smith.

Brandon Smith made a decent leap from his freshman to his sophomore year last season catching 28 passes for 361 yards but had just two touchdowns. Ihmir Smith-Marsette improved marginally from 2017, catching 23 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns in 2018.

The team figures to have a pair of redshirt freshman see quite a bit of the field this season in both Nico Ragaini and Tyrone Tracy. The latter was a big get for the 2018 recruiting class as Tracy was ranked as the fifth-best wide receiver in the state of Indiana. He stands at 6′-0″ and 187 pounds. Both he and Ragaini are the same size and it’s still unclear which one of them will play the slot receiver role, but one thing is for sure–both guys are fast.

Best Case Scenario

Both Brandon Smith and Ihmir Smith-Marsette take a big leap in year three of this offense. They both contribute in big ways, hauling in critical passes from Nate Stanley. Tight ends Shaun Beyer and Drew Cook become reliable receivers and block well on the offensive line. Nico Ragaini becomes a matchup nightmare for opposing linebackers and safeties in the slot position. Tyrone Tracy becomes a solid number four wide receiver in this offense.

Worst Case Scenario

Smith and Smith-Marsette do not progress and neither do the tight ends. The offense becomes stagnant and hard to watch at times. Nate Wieting ends up becoming the starting tight end midway through the season.