Every season breakout stars emerge.
Sometimes those names are right under our nose.
In the case of the Iowa Hawkeyes, ESPN projects that to be the case in the 2024 season. The name that ESPN chose as its sleeper pick for the Hawkeyes won’t sound like much of a sleeper pick to Iowa fans.
ESPN tabbed junior wide receiver Seth Anderson as its sleeper pick for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa desperately needs help in the passing game for quarterback Cade McNamara. Wide receiver play has dropped off dramatically in recent years, but Anderson showed some promise in his first season with the Hawkeyes. He had a 36-yard touchdown catch against Utah State and a 30-yard run against Western Michigan. Although Anderson was limited by midseason, he had a catch in four of Iowa’s final five regular-season games. – Adam Rittenberg, ESPN.
After transferring in from Charleston Southern, Anderson caught 11 passes for 150 yards with one touchdown last season. Anderson’s 150 receiving yards ranked third among Iowa receivers last season.
Iowa is hopeful for much more in 2024 from the 6-foot, 180 pound junior out of Suwanee, Ga.
“He’s fast and he’s fluid. He got injured a little bit last year. He wasn’t confident. He’s operating at a different tempo right now. Again, we don’t have demonstrated production in that room, so everybody’s got an opportunity,” Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz told ESPN.
Anderson will be expected to be one of the Hawkeyes’ top pass catchers this season alongside fellow junior receiver Kaleb Brown. Brown is Iowa’s leading returning receiver with 22 catches for 215 yards in 2023.
Other names to keep an eye on at receiver include Northwestern transfer and junior Jacob Gill, redshirt freshmen Jarriett Buie, Dayton Howard and Alex Mota and freshmen receivers Reece Vander Zee and KJ Parker.
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