Tag: Diante Vines

Iowa WR Diante Vines enters NCAA transfer portal

Iowa Hawkeyes wide receiver Diante Vines has entered the NCAA transfer portal.

One of Iowa’s top wide receivers over the past two seasons, redshirt junior Diante Vines revealed his decision to enter the NCAA’s transfer portal.

247Sports’ HawkeyeInsider was first to report the news on Monday. The 6-foot, 198 pound receiver arrived in Iowa City out of Danbury, Conn., as a three-star signee and as the nation’s No. 132 receiver per 247Sports.

Vines registered 12 catches for 134 receiving yards with one score in 2023. His receiving yards ranked fourth among Hawkeye receivers and sixth overall.

Vines finishes his Hawkeye career with 22 receptions for 228 yards with one  receiving touchdown, a three-yard score against Western Michigan in Week 3 of this season. He appeared in 22 career games and started 13.

Injuries derailed the start of his 2022 season when he was expected to be a key contributor. Though he played in seven and started five games during the 2022 season, Vines didn’t appear until Iowa’s Oct. 22 loss at Ohio State as he rehabbed from a wrist injury.

“Thank you Iowa nation! It was a blessing to be able to wear that black and gold for so many years! Forever a hawk and forever thankful for my journey at Iowa,” Vines wrote on X.

Vines has already reported an offer from Pittsburgh.

With sixth-year receiver Nico Ragaini out of eligibility following this season’s end, that leaves the Hawkeyes replacing two of its top receivers.

Iowa is set to return Seth Anderson and Kaleb Brown as its apparent top receivers entering 2024. Anderson will be a redshirt junior and Brown will be a junior.

Beyond that, Iowa will turn to names such as sophomore Alec Wick, redshirt freshmen Jacob Bostick and Reese Osgood and freshmen Alex Mota, Dayton Howard and Jarriett Buie.

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Iowa’s Diante Vines, Steven Stilianos share strong words of encouragement for Luke Lachey

Luke Lachey is right at the heart of the Iowa Hawkeyes. After his injury, teammates offered strong words of encouragement for him.

When Luke Lachey went down last Saturday, all of the Iowa Hawkeyes, their fans, and supporters held their breath. A huge part of the heart and soul of the Hawkeyes, Lachey was off to a red-hot start to the 2023 season.

Unfortunately, that season is going to be cut short as Kirk Ferentz confirmed that Lachey is likely done for the entire season after surgery on his ankle. This is a loss for the Hawkeyes but has spurred on a few teammates to let Lachey know they are playing for him and are already rooting for his comeback.

Wide receiver Diante Vines stepped up and let Lachey know that the comeback is just now beginning and is one that will be special.

“You’re about to have the greatest comeback. It’ll be a legendary comeback that Iowa people will be talking about forever,” Vines texted Lachey.

Steven Stilianos, a tight end, shares a bond with Lachey as they share the same position and spend more time together than any other teammates. Stilianos was heartbroken for Lachey but is now ready to play for him.

“It’s tough. He’s literally my best friend here. So it breaks my heart a little bit,” Stilianos said when asked what losing Lachey for the season felt like.

“No one’s Luke Lachey. He’s a hell of a player. But we’re going to do our damn best to play for him,” Stilianos added when asked how Iowa replaces him.

Iowa now turns to the trio of Erick All, Steven Stilianos, and Addison Ostrenga to carry the weight for the tight end group. Luke Lachey is going to be there supporting the Hawkeyes and just as much a part of this team as he can.

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Iowa WR Diante Vines confident Hawkeyes’ offense is ‘really close’ to breakthrough

As gameday arrives versus Western Michigan, Hawkeye wide receiver Diante Vines feels the Iowa offense is “really close” to a breakthrough.

The end results for the Iowa offense haven’t been quite up to the standard set for the team two games into the season. That’s not a subjective opinion about Iowa’s offense either.

They have failed in both games against Utah State and Iowa State to reach that magic 25 points per game mark set in offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz’s contract for the season.

While the numbers aren’t quite there yet, that doesn’t mean there haven’t been improvements made this year. According to Iowa wide receiver Diante Vines, the offense is extremely close to making a breakthrough.

“Nothing that the defense has done has been able to actually stop us from doing what we want to do,” Vines claimed in a recent media availability. “It’s kind of just the little tweaks that we have to make for ourselves.”

While the stats may not be the prettiest on paper, Iowa currently averaging the 107th most points per game in the nation, there have been flashes. To start, the offense has improved from 17.7 points per game last year, to 22.0 points per game this year.

That’s despite playing a sound defensive squad on the road in Iowa State. There have been splash plays this year that were completely absent from the team last year. With a lot of new additions over the offseason, we could just be getting a glimpse at what the unit can do.

“You know, these first couple of games, you work on these things so that when you get later on in the season, all those things that you messed up and you missed at those times you’re capitalizing on now,” Vines said.

When asked if he thinks the offense is close to that breakthrough, Vines gave an unequivocal response.

“Everything we’re watching on film, we’re close on a lot of things. Close on a lot of deep balls, close on a lot of runs… We can say that we’re really close to actually making the plays that we want to,” Vines said.

Iowa will have their shot at showcasing the offense they want to run when they host Western Michigan this afternoon at 2:30 p.m. CT.

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Iowa Hawkeyes’ WR depth is night-and-day different entering 2023

Dealt a full hand, Iowa’s wide receiver depth is night-and-day different from where the Hawkeyes started off a season ago.

There were a number of reasons why the Iowa Hawkeyes‘ offense sunk to the depths it did last season.

Without rehashing all of them, suffice it to say that issues at wide receiver were a significant part of the problem. Iowa just wasn’t ever fully healthy in 2022.

Injuries to Keagan Johnson and Diante Vines threw the Hawkeyes a curveball to start last season and Iowa never really recovered. Nico Ragaini missed the opener versus South Dakota State, too.

Of course, the Hawkeye coaching staff has its fair share of blame for failing to create enough depth as well. Still, injuries and Charlie Jones’ transfer to Purdue really altered the best-laid plans for Iowa last season.

Then, after Johnson and Arland Bruce IV left the program and entered the transfer portal this offseason, Hawkeye fans’ frustrations with the offensive shortcomings at receiver were more pronounced than ever.

Iowa’s coaching staff responded, though. It went out and landed a pair of impact transfer receivers in Seth Anderson from Charleston Southern and Kaleb Brown from Ohio State. The room was boosted by a healthy return for Vines and the decision by Ragaini to spend one final season in Iowa City.

Asked about the difference of beginning last season with just one scholarship wide receiver available versus this season, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz said the wide receivers are right there alongside the Hawkeye offensive line as the team’s most improved units.

“Yeah, it’s like a neck-and-neck race with the offensive line and the receiver position. The problem last year is our lack of experience up front and maturity, physical maturity, and you can’t microwave that. I’ve said that many times.

“Then the receiver position, we were out of guys for injuries and transferring, all that. There’s not much you can do. You play with what you have and that’s how it goes. Sometimes the cards you get dealt are a little bit challenging. But the guys worked hard. I’m not knocking anybody’s effort last year, but that was the reality of it all,” Ferentz said.

Entering his 25th season, Ferentz knows Iowa is much better positioned with pass-catchers heading into 2023.

“I think we’re in a little better situation right now. You have a healthy Nico Ragaini. You have a healthy Diante Vines. Start with those two guys. Two pleasant surprises from the month of August are Seth Anderson, who we thought we liked when he got here, and we’ve liked him as a person. No knock, but we couldn’t evaluate him as a player because he wasn’t out there in the spring.

“So, now he’s had a good August, and boy, he’s a very impressive young guy. Then, Kaleb the same way. He wasn’t here last spring, so not much to say on that one. But I’m excited about him and the fact, too, that he’s only played receiver one year, so the growth potential is really (exciting). And Seth is a young guy. He’s not like a fifth-year or sixth-year guy.

“Both those guys have the potential to really improve and climb if they keep practicing like they have. Alec Wick got back. He’s back practicing, so that’s a positive. I’m leaving somebody else out. Anyway, we’re a lot further down the road than we were a year ago,” Ferentz said.

With four names it feels it can count on in Ragaini, Vines, Anderson and Brown, Iowa can feel confident that it has the horses to improve a passing attack that ranked among the nation’s worst a season ago.

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Iowa Hawkeyes 2023 Positional Breakdown: Scouting the wide receivers

Iowa football has a pretty exciting wide receiver group for the 2023 season. Here is a look at the Hawkeyes’ pass catchers.

Wide receiver is a boom or bust position for the Hawkeyes, and a lot of that result depends on the help around them.

There is talent in this wide receiver room. There was talent in the wide receiver room last year as well. Unfortunately, some outside factors really contributed to a disappointing season from the unit. The group couldn’t stay healthy, and you can’t really make plays if you’re never on the field.

They also didn’t get proper quarterback play either. It was not up to par, and neither was the offensive game plan by offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz. Add in some shaky offensive line play, and you have an underwhelming passing attack.

Iowa lost some of the young talent that figured to play a big role in the offense last year. Both Keagan Johnson and Arland Bruce left through the transfer portal. Iowa, however, also used the portal to their advantage to recruit some new exciting players at the position. They also return a few helpful veterans as well.

Here is a look at the wide receiver position for the Hawkeyes in 2023.

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247Sports tabs Iowa wide receivers as position group with most potential improvement

Iowa’s wide receiver room could experience a big breakout in 2023, but only if given the right play from quarterback Cade McNamara.

Out of all the positional groups to watch out for on the Iowa football team, the wide receivers room may be the one to keep an eye on.

After experiencing a ton of change over the offseason, Iowa has reloaded its pass-catching room with a bunch of young, up-and-coming talents. In Sean Bock’s superlatives for every position group ahead of fall camp for Hawkeye Insider of 247Sports, he listed wide receiver as the one with the “most potential improvement.”

Iowa used the transfer portal this offseason to fill missing pieces at wide receiver as it landed Charleston Southern transfer Seth Anderson and Ohio State transfer, Kaleb Brown.

Anderson was the Big South Offensive Player of the Year as a redshirt freshman while Brown was a former four-star recruit, and any wide receiver that is recruited heavily by Ohio State wide receivers coach Brian Hartline has the chance to be a game-changer in any offense.

Brown and Anderson were two missing pieces that Iowa needed. An X receiver would’ve been ideal, but Anderson and Brown both have big-time playmaking ability and that’s something Iowa needs. – Bock, Hawkeye Insider.

The wide receiver room is a good mix of these newly transferred in talents such as Seth Anderson and Kaleb Brown, and returning experience. The Hawkeyes bring back Nico Ragaini for his sixth year and will hope Diante Vines can stay healthy and make an impact.

As for returners, Nico Ragaini and Diante Vines will play big roles for the Hawkeyes. Ragaini is the team leader this fall, and could have a 2019-esque year with Cade McNamara under center. Vines has been hindered by injuries throughout his career, but he was one of the top performers in fall camp last year before going down with an injury. Jacob Bostick should also get a mention, too, but he needs to stay healthy. – Bock, Hawkeye Insider.

I think bringing up Cade McNamara is vital, because the quarterback plays a huge role in how effective the wide receivers are. There definitely was talent at the position last year, and I still think Keagan Johnson can be a breakout star for Kansas State this year.

It’s just really hard to show any of that talent when the quarterback cannot reliably make the throws. Combine that with injuries, and you have a wide receiver room that I think looked worse than what they really were. It’s no shock that Charlie Jones immediately became one of the best receivers in the nation the minute he left Iowa.

Iowa will undoubtably have talent at receiver again. We know Nico Ragaini is reliable, and Kaleb Brown has the potential to be the best receiver at Iowa since… ever. What they need is a quarterback who can get the job done, step up and make the throws, and not put a massive handicap on the offense.

If Cade McNamara can be that guy, then sure, this group of pass catchers could certainly make some noise in 2023.

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Iowa Hawkeyes 2023 Snapshot Profile: No. 0 Diante Vines

Can Diante Vines emerge as one of Cade McNamara’s top targets? A look at Vines’ 2023 snapshot profile entering this season.

It has been a frustrating career thus far for Diante Vines in Iowa City.

Vines has a lot of what you want in a receiver, especially for the Iowa football program. He has boatloads of talent and just seems to have the right attitude for success. Every time he is interviewed you can just see the work ethic, see the winning mentality. That sounds exactly like the type of player the Iowa Hawkeyes have needed over the past few seasons.

Unfortunately, Vines’ career has been stymied due to circumstances completely out of his control. It’s been untimely injury after injury for the Connecticut native. In camp last year, he looked to be Iowa’s breakout star at the position. He impressed coaches and onlookers alike with his play, and everything just seemed to be coming together.

Then, the injury bug once again bit.

Vines missed a good portion of the season due to a wrist injury. He wasn’t able to really find his groove in an offense that looked directionless, but it was great to see him back out on the field.

Vines’ breakout may have been postponed from last season, but he’s doing his best to ensure that it will not be canceled. One of only two receivers currently practicing due to injuries, Vines is getting valued practice reps with new starting quarterback Cade McNamara. That’s great because it just so happens that McNamara is going to need a new No. 1 receiver on his new team.

With the job wide open, why can’t it be Diante Vines? Here’s a look at this potential breakout receiver for the 2023 season.

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5 burning offensive questions for the Iowa Hawkeyes heading into spring football

It’s almost time for spring football in Iowa City. What are five burning questions about the Hawkeyes’ offense heading into spring football?

Slowly but surely we are escaping the pit that is the college football offseason. Full of transfers and coaching changes, the offseason can feel like a real slog to get through. This isn’t aided by the weather being bad either, just heightening our offseasonal depression.

It’s been a turbulent one for the Iowa Hawkeyes to say the least. Iowa brought in two big transfers from Michigan, but also saw multiple talented players depart as well. It is going to hurt to see Jestin Jacobs in an Oregon uniform next year, and I’m fully prepared for Keagan Johnson to be a star in the Big 12.

While Iowa managed to put together a good recruiting class, it all felt overshadowed by the guy they weren’t able to bring in. While many will try to criticize Proctor’s decision calling it short sighted, mind you Alabama also routinely sends linemen to the NFL, it’s really hard for me to envision anything but success for the young man. I truly do wish him the best, unless it’s in a national championship against Iowa to which I hope he gives up four sacks.

What else was there? Oh yeah, there was the entire “will they fire him” situation with offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz. If it were up to most of the fanbase, the coach’s son would’ve been out the door a long time ago. Even before Iowa’s offense put up horrendous numbers this past season. Iowa did issue him an “ultimatum” though: bring the offense to passable levels and you sir get a raise and a pat on the back.

It still does feel like a bad dream.

It’s felt like all offseason the fanbase has received just kick in the pants after kick in the pants. I’m not sure if the same feeling of optimism is there that I noticed last year. So, how do you fix that? Well, it’s easy folks.

Win.

Winning is the remedy to literally any problem in sports. All of the down moments of the offseason will seem like little blips on the radar if Iowa football gets back to doing what they do in winning.

Of course, the biggest factor in that is the offense. Anyone who is familiar with last year’s team can tell you just how bad it is, and looking back on some of the box scores it truly is the stuff of nightmares. It cannot go on that way. No more wasting Phil Parker’s fantastic defensive efforts and no more wasting the fans’ time!

With the offense in mind, here are five questions about Brian Ferentz’s unit that should be on the minds of every single Iowa football fan.

Addition of receiver Diante Vines to Iowa offense certainly can’t hurt

The addition of wide receiver Diante Vines adds a potential playmaker to an Iowa offense in desperate need of one.

It has been a rough start to the year for Iowa wide receiver Diante Vines.

After looking like a breakout contender at the receiver position all offseason, a wrist injury in fall camp postponed his 2022 debut. Vines was one of many Hawkeyes entering the season banged up and the lack of depth behind he and others has really showed up thus far this season.

Vines made his debut against No. 2 Ohio State this past Saturday, and while he only caught one pass for five yards, it was great to see him back on the field. Finally, his name can be monitored once again as a potential playmaker for Iowa.

Between multiple injuries and a lack of cohesion and talent throughout the offense, the Iowa passing game has been really, really bad this season. This is not any new information to any Iowa fan. The Hawkeyes rank 122nd nationally in passing offense, averaging just 145.9 passing yards per game.

Fortunately, the team is starting to get healthier again and multiple receivers are starting to return to the lineup. Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz sounded hopeful about Vines’ potential contributions in his recent press conference.

“We’ll see. I’m hopeful we’ll see some impact. He’s a good football player. We’ve known that for a couple of years. Let me rephrase that. We’ve suspected it and we got him out there especially last spring and this summer until he busted that bone,” Ferentz said of Vines.

“It has been encouraging. He came in, just he’s just had such a crazy, unfortunate path of just injuries and it’s nobody can predict that. But it’s funny, I caught myself thinking about that last week. And I’m thinking about him in the same way as Logan Jones. You’re excited about him, excited what you see them do in practice. You catch yourself. This guy hasn’t played a game yet as a Hawkeye and the same with Logan coming into the season.

“Hasn’t played a game as a center, but yet he gave you a lot to be excited about watching him in practice. I felt the same with Diante. Hopefully he can help over the next five weeks, getting him and Nico (Ragaini) back and that should help Arland out there a little bit and getting Brody (Brecht) back working. He’s getting better every week.”

In an interview with Hawkeye Insider’s David Eickholt, Vines stressed the importance of trying to provide a jolt for this Hawkeye offense.

“Wherever they put me on the field, I’m just trying to provide a spark. Whenever I get the ball, I’m trying to be like a big play kind of person. Throughout fall camp, I was making bigger plays. I like to record yards after catch and stuff like that. I feel like in that kind of game, if I get quick hits, I should be able to do something with the ball. I just need to put trust in the plays that we call, my quarterbacks and do my job and everything will happen the way it’s supposed to,” Vines said.

In an offense that is struggling badly to get out of the gates, a playmaker who can make some big plays after the catch can go a long way. The quarterback can focus more on the fundamental things, knowing he has a receiver he can trust to make a play happen. Someone like Vines, if he proves to be the player the coaching staff was seeing in the offseason, can also provide a breath of fresh air to the entire offense, and possibly wake up the rest of the team.

It will be interesting to see whether or not Vines can return from his injury and hit the ground running, but his addition to the offense certainly cannot hurt. Literally any addition should be viewed as a positive to one of the worst offensive units in the country.

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Kirk Ferentz updates Iowa Hawkeyes’ injury statuses heading to Ohio State Buckeyes

What does Iowa’s personnel look like before its trip to Ohio State? Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz updated injury statuses.

As Iowa (3-3, 1-2 Big Ten) heads to No. 2 Ohio State (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) looking to pull the national shocker, it’s truly the more the merrier for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz updated the injury statuses of several key Hawkeyes ahead of the difficult road test. He started by discussing the health statuses of wide receivers Diante Vines and Keagan Johnson.

“I think Diante has a chance. Keagan, when he’s ready, I’ll let you know. He’s still trying to get back,” Ferentz said.

Vines, a 6-foot, 198 pound redshirt sophomore from Danbury, Conn., hasn’t played a snap thus far this season. Meanwhile, Johnson led all Hawkeye receivers in 2021 with 18 grabs for 352 receiving yards, but, according to Pro Football Focus, he’s played just 15 total snaps this season against Nevada.

Naturally, adding back both could be a big lift for an Iowa unit that ranks dead last nationally in total offense and 120th in passing offense with just 156.5 passing yards per game.

Ferentz was also cautiously optimistic on a return for redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Yahya Black.

“Hopefully he’ll be back, but we’ll see. We’ll see. Hopefully he’ll be back. He’s closer than he was. Sure would help. All hands on deck,” Ferentz said.

Black is another player that Iowa had in its plans to start the season, but he’s only played in the Hawkeyes’ opener against South Dakota State where he logged 17 snaps per PFF.

Lastly, Ferentz touched on whether or not cornerback Terry Roberts would return against the Buckeyes.

“Probably not. Probably not, unfortunately. Still, yeah, he’s got a lower leg injury,” Ferentz said of Roberts.

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