By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Kirk Ferentz has one simple goal that doesn’t change regardless of any circumstance.

His team could be undefeated and nationally ranked or mired in a losing streak, but the goal is always to be better today than yesterday.

Every coach has that goal, but Ferentz mentions it frequently when answering questions from the media during the course of a season. Saying you just want to get better is a safe and reasonable way to respond to success or adversity.

But for a team to get better, the players on it must do the same. And that’s the focus of this column, highlighting the five players on the Outback Bowl-bound Iowa football team who improved the most during the 2016 regular season.

You won’t see star players like Josey Jewell, Desmond King or running backs LeShun Daniels and Akrum Wadley on the list because they already had set the bar high before the season even started.

All-Big Ten senior defensive tackle Jaleel Johnson was considered because he did take his performance to another level this season. But Johnson also started all 14 games last season and only had nine fewer tackles during the regular season than this season.

You also won’t see senior punter/kicker Ron Coluzzi on the list because he has been a force since the season opener.

Freshman cornerback Matt Rugamba is similar to Coluzzi in that he also has been effective since the start of the season. Likewise for freshman defensive end Anthony Nelson, who had three sacks and two tackles for loss in the season opener against Miami of Ohio.

The five players on this list have gone from either struggling at some point this season or from being role players to now key performers. The first two players on the list came to Iowa as walk-ons.

1. Riley McCarron, 5-9, 186, Sr., receiver – The Dubuque native has helped the current team much like Ramon Ochoa provided a spark in 2003, both as undersized and seldom-used receivers who had breakout senior seasons. Ochoa ended his career by helping Iowa defeat Florida 37-17 in the 2004 Outback Bowl.

McCarron will have the same opportunity with Iowa preparing to face Florida for the third time in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 2 in Tampa, Fla.

After catching only five passes last season, McCarron leads Iowa with 41 receptions for 501 yards and four touchdowns this season. Those numbers fall way short of all-conference consideration, but imagine Iowa's struggling passing attack without McCarron being quarterback C.J. Beathard’s security blanket.

Receiver Matt VandeBerg had that role until suffering a season-ending broken foot in practice on Sept. 26.

Tight end George Kittle also has been hobbled since the seventh game of the season with a foot injury, putting even more pressure on McCarron to make key receptions.

McCarron has caught at least four passes in seven games this season. He had a career-high eight receptions against Northwestern and a career-high 108 receiving yards against Nebraska in the season finale.

And like Ochoa 13 years ago, McCarron also has contributed as a punt returner, returning seven punts for 148 yards and one touchdown. His touchdown covered 55 yards against Illinois and gave Iowa a 7-0 lead on the road.

Not bad for a former walk-on.

2. Brandon Snyder, 6-1, 210, Soph., free safety – After a rough start in which he struggled to tackle in space, Snyder has improved in all parts of his game. The walk-on from Larchwood showed last season on special times that he could make bone-jarring hits, and has done the same this season, even early on.

His problem early in the season was finishing tackles. He sometimes would lower the boom without wrapping his arms. And that’s just asking for trouble at this level.

Snyder has become more fundamentally sound as the season progressed. His 80 tackles rank third on the team and he is one of three players who lead Iowa with two interceptions and two forced fumbles.

3. Faith Ekakitie, 6-3, 290, Sr., defensive tackle – For the past two seasons, Ekakitie has been the third player in Iowa’s three-man rotation at defensive tackles, behind Jaleel Johnson and Nathan Bazata.

Ekakitie has more than tripled his number of tackles from last season, finishing the regular season with 37 tackles after having only 11 tackles at this stage last season. The increase is partly due to Bazata being slowed by an injury, but Ekakitie has clearly been more effective than last season, saving his best for last.

He also has been the consummate teammate, accepting whatever role given to him. A native of Brampton, Ontario, Ekakitie came to Iowa as a coveted 4-star recruit, but he played sparingly until his junior season.

4. Noah Fant, 6-5, 220, Fr., tight end – The Omaha native was pressed into duty after Kittle injured his foot against Purdue in the seventh game and has flashed at times.

Fant only had two catches after six games and didn’t see any action against North Dakota State or Rutgers in games three and four.

But he combined for four catches in the last two games, including three grabs for 25 yards during the 28-0 victory at Illinois.

Fant has shown the ability to stretch the field and would seem to be the likely replacement for Kittle as Iowa’s featured tight end next season. Fant also has improved as a blocker, but still needs to get stronger to help in that regard.

5. Keegan Render, 6-4, 308, Soph., offensive lineman – His time to shine came earlier than expected because of multiple injuries on the offensive line.

Render started the third game of the season at right guard and the last six games at left guard. The Indianola native helped Iowa win the Joe Moore Award, which goes to the nation’s top collegiate offensive line. Render also helped Daniels rush for over 1,000 yards and Wadley for over 900 yards during the regular season.

Render epitomizes Iowa’s next-man-in philosophy. He has stepped in when needed and improved with each performance.