The buzz and anticipation around the wide receivers on the Iowa Hawkeyes' roster is growing during spring practice. Iowa went to the portal to add some talent to a room that sees returning talent getting healthy, which could breed a more talented group than Iowa has seen in past years.
To continue opening up Tim Lester's offensive playbook, he needs strong wide receiver play to attack downfield, open up things in the run game, and keep defenses honest. When speaking to the media, he elaborated on what Tony Diaz and Evan James, two newcomers via the transfer portal, have shown.
"It's one of the number one answers we needed to find, right? You bring these guys in that have had success at other places, and how do they fit into what we do? How well can they pick up the schemes and the routes, and can they make plays? That's the bottom line. You put a ball up between two human beings, and some guys just have a knack for come down with it.
"Tony, he can come down with the ball. I wish he was more protective of his body. He goes for it now. He might land on his head, but he'll end up with the ball at the end.
"It's been fun watching him in his first eight or nine. He wants to practice. We're trying to hold him out just because there's no need to at this point. He's just getting healthy. I think if there was a game, he might be able to go these last two because he's a super competitive kid and aggressive.
"The one thing I think with Evan and Tony that they've done that's really helped the whole group is they're running routes at a certain speed. I mean, they roll. That's something that we've been looking for, and we were looking for when we hit the portal is speed. I really think it's kind of elevated the room a little bit.
"Obviously DJ plays at a pretty high speed, and Reece was out maybe first week of spring, but then he came back. It was great to get him back. It was fun when we had a lot of the pieces healthy.
"Obviously in spring it's up and down because it's really physical. Practice is three times a week, but hopefully we can find ways to get to those guys and use their talents. The big thing for me was figuring out what they could do. I've been very happy with both of them really.
"Got to get them healthy and with Rai down in the weight room. I think they came here for a month, and they rolled right into spring ball, which is tough. I'm sure that they had great strength places that they came from, but I think Rai is the best of the best. So getting may, June, and July with him for all the new guys, but especially those two, should be huge coming into the fall," Tim Lester said about Iowa's new receivers making an impact early.
Diaz and James are going to be paired with Reece Vander Zee, Iowa's downfield threat who has shown an innate talent to go up and get the ball, excelling in contested catch moments.
Getting output from this group would be monstrous for the Hawkeyes, who have struggled to receive consistent receiver play for quite some time, allowing the offense to test teams downfield and not be put in as many predictable down and distance situations.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire : Iowa football transfer portal wide receivers making large impact early