[autotag]Arland Bruce IV[/autotag] ended his true freshman season as Iowa’s sixth-leading receiver, hauling in 25 receptions for 209 yards. He had one receiving touchdown against Illinois and a rushing touchdown against Kentucky in the Hawkeyes’ bowl game.
After an already impactful debut season, Bruce told reporters he’s more confident in what he’s doing now.
“I know exactly what you mean. I don’t know the word for it, but it definitely seems…I mean, you could say easier having a year under your belt. Just knowing what you’re doing and feeling confident that you know what you’re doing, what the defense is doing,” Bruce said.
At times last season, Bruce didn’t fully understand what he was seeing from defenses. Now, his understanding of defenses and coverages represents his biggest growth.
“I feel like reading a defense is really the biggest thing for me. Last year, I would really just run routes and not really know what the defense was doing, so now I can really read a defense before the ball is snapped and I feel like the top of my routes and I’ve definitely improved with speed I feel like, too,” Bruce said.
Physically, Bruce is further along, too.
“I’ve always been a shorter guy on the field, a smaller guy, but I feel like my frame has gotten a little bit bigger. I’ve always had an underdog mentality, so I don’t really let my size affect me at all, but just having that confidence of having a year under your belt,” Bruce said.
Bruce is also banking on the continuity of familiar faces at quarterback helping he and the offense deliver bigger results in 2022.
“I think that’s huge, man. The pass game is really about timing. And with timing, timing is everything. Getting the top of routes down and having the quarterbacks do their drop steps, so I think just having the same quarterback, same two quarterbacks really who are fighting for a spot and having young receivers come in and us being together for a year, I think that definitely helps,” Bruce said.
The Olathe, Kan., product said how last season ended has been motivating for he and his teammates.
“Obviously, having a team like Michigan on our schedule who we played in the Big Ten championship, you want to improve and you really want to prove that you can play with those guys and beat those guys. I think just worrying about improving and just going a step further than we did the previous year,” Bruce said.
The fact that the offense was a big part of the problem, especially against Michigan, left a sour taste as well.
“It’s definitely frustrating, man, but I think it’s just the little details. I feel like we’re right there and if we just hone in on those details like we have the beginning of this spring, then I think we’ll be pretty good,” Bruce said.
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