Iowa Football: Matt VandeBerg is Hawkeyes’ secret star for 2017

After missing most of the 2016 season, Matt VandeBerg is back to be Iowa football’s secret star for 2017.

Two seasons ago, Matt VandeBerg was one of the stars of an Iowa football team that went 12-0 during the regular season, making it to the Big Ten Championship. However, the Hawkeyes fell to Michigan State on a last-minute touchdown run by LJ Scott and followed that up with an embarrassing performance in the Rose Bowl against Stanford.

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VandeBerg caught a career-best 65 passes for 703 yards and four touchdowns, though. He shattered his numbers from his freshman season and became the go-to guy for C.J. Beathard.

The two began the 2016 season on the same note, connecting 19 times for 284 yards and three touchdowns through the first four games. It looked like he’d be on his way to another career-year for the Hawkeyes, but an injury cut his season short in the fourth week during practice.

Iowa was forced to move forward without its top receiver and the Hawkeyes went from 3-1 to 8-5 by the end of the year. If they had a viable No. 1 option at the position, they likely would have squeaked out wins against Northwestern and Wisconsin, finishing with 10 wins.

Missing the final nine games of the season may have caused the rest of the Big Ten to forget about VandeBerg. However, the Hawkeyes won’t fail to use him as a secret weapon.

As a senior, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound wide out has the potential to be the conference’s Receiver of the Year in 2017, especially if he can stay healthy. He will be a reliable target for first-year starting quarterback Nathan Stanley.

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Kirk Ferentz has to feel good about the return of his senior receiver as the rest of the conference might be overlooking the Hawkeyes.