Summer Preview: The Receivers

A new quarterback will have a dynamic group to throw to in 2020.

We don't know who Iowa's starting quarterback will be in 2020.

We do know that his wide receiver group is an impressive set of names and numbers.

The four top receivers from last season — Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Brandon Smith, Tyrone Tracy and Nico Ragaini — are back, as are tight ends Shaun Beyer and Sam LaPorta.

That's a strong group of targets for an inexperienced quarterback, and it's going to make his job easier.

Start with Smith-Marsette, who led the Hawkeyes with 722 receiving yards on 44 catches last season. He was impressive all season, but he saved his best game for last, when he had a receiving touchdown, a rushing touchdown, and a kickoff return for a score, in Iowa's win over USC in the Holiday Bowl. The senior has matured into a big-play machine.

Smith tied with Smith-Marsette with five touchdown receptions, and had 37 catches for 439 yards. All of those numbers came despite missing four full games and almost all of another game because of an ankle injury.

Smith's absence allowed Tracy, a redshirt freshman last season, to emerge, with 36 catches for 589 yards and three touchdowns. Tracy said his goal every game was to be "electric," and he was — his 75-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown at Wisconsin gave the Hawkeyes a chance to tie the game in the final minutes.

Ragaini led the team in receptions with 46. He had 439 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and solidified himself as the team's punt returner.

We didn't see much of Oliver Martin last season — the transfer from Michigan had a hard time cracking the depth chart at receiver. Martin had five catches for 28 yards.

The emergence of the wide receiver group took a lot of pressure off the tight ends, but Beyer and LaPorta had solid seasons. LaPorta, a true freshman, had 15 catches for 188 yards, all in the final six games of the season. Beyer had seven catches for 117 yards.