Wieting Seeing More Of The Big Picture

Iowa tight end had a career-high four catches in last Saturday's game.

Nate Wieting is a tight end, but one of the things he has been taught is to look at the defense as if he was the quarterback.

All about the big picture, he said.

Iowa has had versatility in its tight ends — T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant played that into being first-round NFL draft picks back in the spring — and Wieting, a fifth-year senior, has learned that.

Wieting had the best statistical game of his career in last Saturday’s 17-12 loss to Penn State. He had four catches for 54 yards, but it was when those receptions came that was so important.

Iowa’s lone touchdown drive in the fourth quarter featured a 13-yard pass from quarterback Nate Stanley to Wieting on a third-and-8 play from the Hawkeyes’ 15-yard line.

Wieting later had a 5-yard reception on third-and-10 from the Iowa 43, setting up a fourth-down conversion that kept the drive going.

Wieting also had catches for 25 and 11 yards on Iowa’s final possession of the first half, a drive that led to Keith Duncan’s second field goal of the game.

“I thought I did well,” Wieting said. “I did what I could to make some plays, give us a chance to win. All you can ask for is to have a chance at the end to win. I thought we had that.”

Iowa’s tight ends haven’t had the production like last year. Wieting has six catches for 64 yards in six games. Shaun Beyer has played in six games, but has just four catches for 57 yards.

Wieting thinks he is growing into the position.

“There’s some stuff in that game I can obviously do better,” he said. “In the red zone, I can do better. On first down, I can maybe see what the defense is giving me a little more.

“I think it’s really seeing the big picture. Week 1, Week 2, I was trying to get my feet under me. Just tried to focus on my assignment, my alignment, my job on that particular play.”

Wieting came into the season with just three catches for 68 yards. He had just one reception in 2017, but that was a 17-yard catch against Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl, getting the ball to the 1-yard line to set up the game-winning touchdown.

Wieting had two catches last season — one for 30 yards in a win over Northern Illinois and one for 21 yards in a loss to Purdue.

“He’s worked extremely hard from the day he stepped on campus,” Stanley said. “He’s a year ahead of me, a year older than me.

“But from the day I met him, he’s been the guy that’s, ‘Hey, do you want to get some extra work in.’ ‘Can you throw me some more balls?’ Things like that. His work ethic behind the scenes has really put himself in a position to be successful out on the field.”

If anything, Wieting said, it’s been about something offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz taught him.

“What I’ve challenged myself to do is look at the big picture,” he said. “Come up to the line, look at safeties, see what the defense is trying to do, seeing what Nate Stanley is looking at, seeing what he sees in the defense.

“Coach Brian always says if you can see the coverage through the quarterback’s eyes, what he’s trying to do, then you can help in the concept that way. That’s what I’ve challenged myself to do, and I think I’ve done a better job of it in the last couple of weeks.”