Preseason depth, talent at wide receiver inspires ‘The Crew’
Iowa City, Ia. — They already have a nickname.
Within the walls of Iowa’s football fortress, Marvin McNutt and his fellow receivers are being hailed as “The Crew.”
It’s a unifying moniker inspired by lofty expectations.
“We don’t mind it,” McNutt said, “because we want the pressure on our shoulders.”
Marvin McNutt is one of the Iowa football team's main targets in a talent-rich group. Christopher Gannon/The Des Moines Register
The Hawkeyes enter today’s 11 a.m. season opener against Eastern Illinois with a pass-catching corps capable of ripping through the record books — or at least, drawing comparisons to Iowa’s aerial escapades of the 1980s.
“It looks like they have a group that could potentially be really explosive,” said Quinn Early, a Hawkeye receiver from 1984-87. “You can double team one good receiver, but if you have two it’s hard to cover everybody. And then, if you have three, it’s almost impossible to stop.”
Roll call for “The Crew” runs at least five deep:
McNutt, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound junior, led Iowa last season with an average of 19.8 yards per catch.
“He’s big. He’s physical,” Early said. “When I watched him play, I was really impressed with his knowledge of the game and how he moved.”
Derrell Johnson-Koulianos is only 401 receiving yards away from becoming the Hawkeyes’ all-time leader. He would eclipse Tim Dwight’s mark of 2,271 set in 1997.
“It’s great to have another guy over there,” McNutt said, “who has just as much ability as you do.”
Colin Sandeman returns after making two starts last season. He also averaged 9 yards per punt return, which ranked second in the Big Ten Conference. Christopher Gannon/The Des Moines Register
Colin Sandeman started twice as a receiver last fall and was second among Big Ten Conference puntreturners, averaging 9 yards per attempt.
Paul Chaney Jr., mainly a return specialist in his first three seasons, averaged 20.1 yards on eight kickoff returns before being sidelined for the rest of the season with a knee injury in the Hawkeyes’ win against Michigan.
Allen Reisner, with a 13.9-yard average on 27 career catches, has a chance to become the eighth Iowa tight end to land in the NFL since 2000.
The list also includes understudies such as Keenan Davis, a former Cedar Rapids Washington star who was one of three true freshmen to play in 2009, Don Nordmann, Jordan Cotton and C.J. Fiedorowicz.
“We compete every day in practice, so we know how they are,” defensive back Micah Hyde said. “I feel bad for the corners who have to play them every Saturday, because they’re really going to be good.”
How good?
McNutt and Johnson-Koulianos were the ringleaders of a Hawkeye offense that totaled 2,887 passing/receiving yards last season.
This season, the unit could reach the 3,000-yard plateau for just the eighth time since Iowa officials began keeping records in 1935.
“I think we have a chance to be better in the passing game,” coach Kirk Ferentz said. “I think the receivers have practiced well and I include the tight ends with that group.”
Early was a sophomore in 1985, when the Hawkeyes averaged more than 300 passing yards for the only time in school history.
As a senior in ‘87, Early accounted for 1,004 of an Iowa-record 3,796 total receiving yards.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Early said. “Because Marv Cook was so good, and we had Travis Watkins and we had different players, it was hard for people just to focus on me, which allowed me to have more catches, more yards and more touchdowns.”
McNutt and Johnson-Koulianos are capable of producing 1,000-yard seasons, and Ferentz seems to be picking up the pace.
Under former coach Hayden Fry, the Hawkeyes averaged roughly 35 attempts per game in ’85 and ’87.
With Ferentz in charge, the number of passes increased from 24.6 in 2008 to 30.2 a year ago.
Those numbers could be skewed this afternoon if Iowa finds early success rushing against an outmanned Eastern Illinois.
“Our goal is to be balanced,” Ferentz said. “And hopefully, we’ll get good production in the passing game.”
Category: Iowa Hawkeyes Football
Early and Co. had less talent and he knows it… but there was no need to say it. These guys are stacked with experience and talent and this tight brotherhood knows exactly what it takes.
Report this comment