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Iowa football: Top five QB-WR duos in the Kirk Ferentz era

By Andrew Wade

LINCOLN, NE - NOVEMBER 25: Quarterback James Vandenberg #16 of the Iowa Hawkeyes runs from defensive end Cameron Meredith #34 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers during their game at Memorial Stadium November 25, 2011 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska defeated Iowa 20-7. (Photo by Eric Francis/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - NOVEMBER 25: Quarterback James Vandenberg #16 of the Iowa Hawkeyes runs from defensive end Cameron Meredith #34 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers during their game at Memorial Stadium November 25, 2011 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska defeated Iowa 20-7. (Photo by Eric Francis/Getty Images) /
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Iowa wide receiver Clinton Solomon grabs a pass against Florida in the 2006 Outback Bowl January 2 in Tampa. Florida defeated Iowa 31 – 24. (Photo by A. Messerschmidt/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
Iowa wide receiver Clinton Solomon grabs a pass against Florida in the 2006 Outback Bowl January 2 in Tampa. Florida defeated Iowa 31 – 24. (Photo by A. Messerschmidt/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /

Drew Tate/Clinton Solomon

There couldn’t be a list of top quarterback to wide receiver duos without including a duo from the Drew Tate era. Tate was a true Texas gunslinger who would have been perfectly happy chucking the ball 40 times a game and even given the constraints of the Iowa football team’s approach to passing, he was still able to air the ball out quite a bit.

His top target was Clinton Solomon. One could make a case for Ed Hinkel, but Solomon was the more explosive wide receiver who meshed real well with Tate.

Although Solomon didn’t catch a pass from Tate during his Big Ten Player of the Year season, the next two seasons more than made up for it. Solomon was second on the team in catches in both the 2004 and 2005 but finished first on the team in receiving yards.

During those two seasons, he accumulated 1,705 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns, which both accounted for 30% of Tate’s production.

Sure, Ed Hinkel led the team in catches one year and Scott Chandler led the team the other, but this is the duo that sticks out because it was the most exciting tandem at the time.

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