Iowa football: Five things we learned from Hawkeyes media day

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TAMPA, FL – JANUARY 01: Ihmir Smith-Marsette #6 of the Iowa Hawkeyes makes a catch during the 2019 Outback Bowl against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Raymond James Stadium on January 1, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

Cautious optimism for passing attack

Most people watching the Iowa football team are interested to see how the passing attack develops without All-American tight ends Noah Fant and TJ Hockenson and leading receiver Nick Easley.

All three are in the NFL, but that doesn’t mean the cupboard is bare. The Iowa football team returns two experienced wide receivers in Brandon Smith and Ihmir Smith-Marsette. Smith is an interesting specimen that we haven’t seen much of. He has the ability to be one of the best jump-ball receivers in the league, he just needs his changes. Meanwhile, Smith-Marsette is one of the most explosive athletes in college football. He’s on the Paul Hornung Watch List for a reason.

And if Oliver Martin manages to receiver a transfer waiver from the NCAA, this position group could actually be stacked.

Add in the low expectations but high ceilings of tight ends Nate Wieting, Shaun Beyer, and Drew Cook, and Nate Stanley’s pass-catchers could be even better as a whole. Or at least, Kirk thinks so.

"I’m not saying we’re going to have first-round receivers, but we have guys I think that are capable of playing, and we have good tight ends right now, so hopefully the ball is going to get spread around a little bit more and people are going to have to defend us a little differently than they did last year."

I’m sure glad Kirk is confident because looking at this offense on paper, the aerial attack is one of the biggest question marks.

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