IOWA CITY, Iowa — Reece Vander Zee hails from a county so far from Iowa’s campus that his school district hugs the Iowa-Minnesota border and people drive south to go into South Dakota.
His parents operate a small ice cream business near Rock Rapids, Iowa, located 350 miles northwest from Iowa City, and they make deliveries throughout Lyon County. Vander Zee, a true freshman receiver, made plans to celebrate with them on Saturday night. After his performance at Kinnick Stadium, perhaps that comes with two scoops and a cherry on top.
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“I’m sure somebody will give him some ice cream,” Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins said. “What did he have, two touchdowns?”
His quiet demeanor aside, Vander Zee’s raucous college football debut was more Vanilla Ice than vanilla ice cream. He became the first Iowa true freshman to start the season opener since Kirk Ferentz became head coach in 1999, and he finished with five catches for 66 yards and two scores in the No. 25 Hawkeyes’ 40-0 win against Illinois State. And on a day when all eyes were on the offense, Vander Zee became the first Iowa receiver with two touchdowns in one game since 2020.
Vander Zee helped the Iowa offense move beyond the college football laughingstock status it earned last year. The Hawkeyes finished with 492 yards, the program’s most since 2019 against Middle Tennessee (644 yards). For new offensive coordinator Tim Lester, the production was by far the most for an Iowa OC’s first game. The previous high, 389 yards, came in Bill Snyder’s first game under Hayden Fry in 1979.
GO DEEPERIs Wisconsin better than last year? Opening win provided no clarityIowa receivers caught three touchdowns on Saturday, tying the unit’s total for the entire 2023 season. The Hawkeyes more than doubled their FBS-worst average of 234.6 yards per game, which was the lowest for a Big Ten program since 1984. And they did it without Ferentz, who was serving a school-imposed one-game suspension for impermissible contact while recruiting McNamara in late fall 2022.
Happiness was the requisite emotion in every corner, especially on offense. Quarterback Cade McNamara completed 21 of 31 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns in his first game back since tearing his ACL last September. Tight end Luke Lachey caught six passes for 63 yards in his return from a broken leg that ended his 2023 season in Week 3. And running back Kaleb Johnson, who was benched for the first half for violating team rules, rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns after halftime.
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“It felt really good, just super excited to be able to feel that way, because to gain confidence, you got to work together,” Lachey said. “I feel like we did a really good job. And just continuing to do that, week after week, we build that confidence.”
The defense recorded its fourth shutout in the last 26 games and held Illinois State to 189 total yards. Defensive tackle Aaron Graves had three sacks in his first career start, and the Hawkeyes won the turnover battle 3-0.
“I’m very proud of our team, our players specifically,” said assistant head coach Seth Wallace, who was Iowa’s acting head coach on Saturday. “What they did today under the circ*mstances was really pretty cool.”
Despite the final numbers, Lester’s much-anticipated debut in place of former OC Brian Ferentz began inauspiciously. Multiple penalties cost the Hawkeyes big plays in the first two quarters. At halftime, McNamara was 8 of 17 passing, Iowa had rushed for only 74 yards and the Hawkeyes led just 6-0. Things flipped in the third quarter. The Hawkeyes stormed 75 yards in seven plays on their first drive, capped off by McNamara’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Vander Zee.
On Iowa’s next possession, McNamara connected with Northwestern transfer Jacob Gill for a 31-yard touchdown. Two series later, McNamara completed his second touchdown pass to Vander Zee. In all, the Hawkeyes scored touchdowns on five of their six second-half possessions.
“When stuff wasn’t going our way at the beginning, our tempo wasn’t very good,” McNamara said. “I think once we were able to gain some momentum and gain some tempo, that set us up really good for the second half.”
McNamara completed 13 of 14 passes after halftime, and the only incompletion was a drop.
GO DEEPERCollege Football Playoff 2024 projections: Our 12-team bracket with Week 1 underwayVander Zee’s unusual path to the field began with a spring injury in track. Rather than risk further issues, he opted out of his high school baseball season, which takes place in the summer for Iowa high schools. For a top-flight pitcher who posted a 1.58 ERA last summer with 109 strikeouts and only 18 walks, that was a big deal. Vander Zee chose to enroll at Iowa in June to get into summer workouts and rehab.
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At 6 foot 4 and 207 pounds, Vander Zee boasts the perfect size for an X-receiver. A four-sport performer at Central Lyon High School, Vander Zee ran the 100-meter dash in 10.99 seconds and averaged 24.6 points per game in basketball. In football, he was a dual-threat quarterback, throwing for 1,288 yards and rushing for 1,767 yards and 24 touchdowns last fall. Before Saturday, Vander Zee hadn’t played receiver in a game since his junior year of high school.
“It was rough for the first week or so,” Vander Zee said. “But I got back into it, just trusting my technique, and at the end of the day, you just got to go be an athlete and have fun with it.”
Early in training camp, Vander Zee worked outside of the depth chart. After a handful of days, he showed up on the second team. Over the last week, he has worked with the first team.
“From the second that he jumped in there, he hasn’t looked like a 17- or 18 year-old,” Wallace said. “He hasn’t looked like he just came to us on a yellow bus. It’s been pretty obvious he can go out there and compete. We’re fortunate his frame, his size, it’s not like we’re looking at this two years down the road trying to build this body.”
Vander Zee displayed his athletic prowess on his second touchdown reception. With pass rushers in his face, McNamara threw a high-arcing pass off his back foot toward both Vander Zee and Lachey. Vander Zee jumped among three defenders to snag the ball at the 1-yard line and strolled into the end zone.
“The clock was winding down,” Vander Zee said. “(McNamara) was actually going to switch it to a different play, and that’s what I heard. And then he kind of just said, ‘All right, we don’t got time. We’ve got to keep the play on.’ I saw the ball hanging up there. I was like, ‘All right, I’ll go get it.’ I didn’t even know Luke was there, but I was just going up and get it and do my thing.”
It’s far too early to envision this offensive explosion as a harbinger of things to come. This was one performance against an outmatched FCS opponent. Next week’s meeting with rival Iowa State will be Iowa’s first major test; the Cyclones allowed just three points against North Dakota on Saturday. But for one day, it was enjoyable enough for the offense to soak it in.
“I know you don’t have the 24-hour rule, but I do,” Lachey said. “I’m really just trying to enjoy this one.”
(Photo: Jeffrey Becker / USA Today)
Scott Dochterman is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Iowa Hawkeyes. He previously covered Iowa athletics for the Cedar Rapids Gazette and Land of 10. Scott also worked as an adjunct professor teaching sports journalism at the University of Iowa.
