I asked questions of Iowa's offensive line a few days ago and today's focus is on the receivers. Iowa has a very young receiving corps this year made up largely of juniors and freshman. Only one starter from 2008 returns (DJK), but guys like Trey Stross, Colin Sandeman, and Paul Chaney Jr. bring some experience to the table. Converted QB Marvin McNutt will also be in the mix as well as incoming freshmen Keenan Davis and Jordan Cotton. That said, the group is on the whole unproven and many questions are yet to be answered.

What's up with DJK?
I'm sure most of you, like me, are just as tired of hearing about DJK "demotion" as DJK himself. However, we still do not have any real answers and the question was met with equivocal responses at media day. Here's what we know:
  1. DJK was the leading receiver on the team the past 2 years, is the most experience receiver on the roster, and is on track to break numerous Iowa receiving records.
  2. DJK insists he is working hard and that he hasn't had a conversation with coaches about his work ethic.
  3. Kirk Ferentz said that DJK has "played a lot and played well," and has played the we're evaluating every one every practice card.
  4. DJK is listed co-second string on the depth chart coming into fall practice behind McNutt who has 1 career catch (not to knock McNutt because I think he'll be good).
So, it does seem pretty strange that DJK is not the listed starter. The most popular answer to the question, and the one I agree with, is that this is a motivational technique…just a little reminder to let him know he needs to step up his game a bit. It sounds like the message has been received and I'm guessing he'll be the starter come September 5th. And, hopefully this will be the last we hear of it.

Will Stross, Sandeman, or Chaney step up?
All three have been the program for a while now, but none have made a substantial impact. Stross has been injured intermittently, Sandeman has played some without many balls thrown his way, and Chaney started off strong his freshman year then faded away.

Trey Stross - Stross is the most likely of the bunch to step up his game this year. He is finally healthy for his senior season and is listed as the first team wide receiver. He's been in the position before. After spring ball in both 2007 and 2008 Stross found himself at the top of the depth chart only to miss large chunks of those seasons due to injury. When we was healthy, thought, he certainly played well on the field. He had 6 catches against Indiana in 2006, had 91 yards and a touchdown against Northwestern in 2007, and score the first touchdown on 2009 (not just for Iowa, but the first touchdown in the nation).

Colin Sandeman - Sandeman has been rather quite thus far in his Hawkeye career. He only has 10 career catches, but did have a 2 touchdown game versus Florida International last year. He's also been okay as a punt returner. Currently he's listed tied with DJK as second team split end. I haven't really heard too much on his progress and it sounds like he may have tweaked something in practice over the weekend (not too sure about this though), so I'm assuming he'll stay second team.

Paul Chaney Jr. - Chaney is one of the fastest guys on the team. He runs track for Iowa at some of the shorter distances (100m, 200m, etc...). His freshman year he came in a showed that his speed was an asset to the team. He catch 19 catches and returned some kickoffs and punts. However, in 2008 something happened (nobody really knows) and he fell into disliking with the coaches. He ended up barely seeing the field, not even traveling to all the away games, and only hauled in 2 passes for a measly 19 yards. However, recently Kirk Ferentz has been talking about Chaney more and more. In the spring he mentioned that Chaney "has been getting better" and at media day Ferentz said, "I was really encouraged to see Paul Chaney’s improvement in track, the success he had there this year. He’s always been a good track athlete but he stepped it up a level there. I think we saw a little of that on the football field." So, I for one am encouraged about the possiblity of Chaney playing well this year. We’ve already seen he can run by defenders, now it's time to just adjust to the ball in flight and catch it. I don't see him moving up the depth chart, but I think he'll have an impact this year.

Will any true freshmen see playing time?
The answer is definitely "yes" so that's probably not the right question. Keenan Davis will definitely play this year. Maybe it's a better to ask how many freshmen will see playing time. My thought, is that it will only be Davis. Jordan Cotton looked pretty good to me in the Shrine Bowl, but I don't think he'll be ready this year. I don't know a whole lot about Josh Brown or JoJo Pregont (he's sharing a number with Sash) and haven't heard the coaches mention them recently, so I don't think they have much of a shot for playing time either.

Davis on the other hand, has been getting rave reviews. Early this year I had heard he was a little undersized, but it sounds like Coach Doyle got a hold of him in summer conditioning (he's now somewhere between 200 and 205). In just a couple days of practice players and coaches are taking notice. Jon Miller reported on KXNO yesterday that Davis is making a real impression and may be the best receiver on the team. I also heard he was already second string wide receiver, so he's moving up quickly. I can't imagine that he has memorized all the plays and has picked up all the blocking already, but it sounds like he will be good.

Just how good is Marvin McNutt?
It is incredible to me that a player can transfer from quarterback to wide receiver and move all the way to the top of the depth chart in a matter of months. Yes, it has something to do with the DJK issue as discussed above, but still it's impressive what McNutt has accomplished. Just looking at pictures from practices, he look very athletic and tall. While I don't think he'll ultimately be a starter, look for him to contribute often.