IOWA CITY, Iowa - Iowa may finally have the kind of perimeter playmakers that can make the offense feel a little less cramped.
Tony Diaz made a loud first impression in his debut, giving Hawkeye fans exactly the sort of receiver they’ve been waiting to see for years. The 5-foot-11 transfer led Iowa with seven catches for 84 yards and a touchdown, and he looked dangerous whenever the ball found him. He was open often, and with slightly better throws, he could have added a couple more big plays to the line.
That kind of performance changes how defenses have to think. Diaz’s route running and aggressive hands give Iowa a receiver who can stress the field in a way the program has not had often enough. Just as important, he already has the confidence of Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski.
"He's aggressive to the football. He has been since he's shown up, which is a really good trait for a receiver," Ferentz said of Diaz on Tuesday.
"It sounds kind of silly you would say that, but he is really aggressive to catching footballs and sometimes puts himself in a little bit of risk. But, boy, that's a great temperament.
It's fun. Then he can run pretty well too, so he's a really delightful young guy.
He's been a really good teammate, and we're really glad he's here with us."
Diaz knows that kind of debut won’t sneak up on anyone for long. Iowa State head coach Jimmy Rogers already called him "dynamic," and Diaz said he’s comfortable with whatever extra attention comes his way.
"Coach Lester's able to move the players that they're targeting to get open," Diaz said. "So even if they do put two on me, I mean, we've got Reece on the outside and we've got DJ (Vonnahme), we've got Kamari (Moulton) to run the ball.
We've got other weapons. So, if they want to do that, that's just an advantage to our other players."
Moulton is the other piece that could help Iowa keep things from becoming one-dimensional. With LJ Phillips out this week, he’ll be leaned on in the backfield, and he’s coming off the best game of his career.
Against Northern Illinois, his acceleration and his willingness to be decisive stood out, and he looked like a back playing with real confidence. Put that behind one of the best offensive lines in the Big Ten, and the fit is obvious.
Ferentz said he has seen the change up close.
"That's as good as we've seen him. It's funny, Jay and I were talking about that in the locker room after practice today.
As much as anything, it's just confidence and experience. You've heard me say it a million times: You can't hand experience to anybody."
"He's more confident, seeing things better. That's the beauty of experience and playing.
I thought he was as fast, as quick, and decisive as we've seen him look. He's done good things prior, but I think that's just part of the process."
The bigger picture is encouraging for Iowa, even if the offense is still being built piece by piece. DJ Vonnahme is no longer flying under the radar and is expected to be used creatively in Lester’s system. Reece Vander Zee brings the size and skill to win against smaller defensive backs in one-on-one situations.
Before the season, Lester talked about having more freedom to take chances because of the personnel he had available. The quality of opponent matters, of course, but the talent on the perimeter has clearly risen over the past couple of years. Furman receiver Evan James also showed what he could do with his 77-yard punt return touchdown.
Ferentz said the program keeps pushing the same message: know what you are, but don’t let that become a limit.
"My encouragement to them is no self-imposed ceilings," Ferentz said of this year's team. "We acknowledge what we are and who we are, but don't put a limit on yourself because of that, because that's not the whole story.
Be aware of it, be cognizant, and then also know because of that there's areas we got to really make up for it in other areas. So far so good."
With Diaz joining a deeper group of skill players, Iowa has a better chance to create balance than it has in recent years. Quarterback play still matters, but there’s at least a real foundation here for optimism.
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