By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa freshman receiver Keagan Johnson showed up for Tuesday’s media session wearing two earrings on each ear as sort of a tribute to his mother.

“My mom likes them and I just figured maybe I’d be different,” Johnson said to reporters.

Johnson seems to have a knack for standing out, whether it be his appearance or his performance on the football field.

His earrings show a sense of style, while his performance on the field shows the kind of big-play capability that is stylish in its own way, and is exactly what Iowa needs to become more explosive on offense.

A former four-star recruit from Bellevue, Nebraska, Johnson came to Iowa with plenty of hype and now he’s showing why.

He only has four catches heading into Saturday’s game against Purdue, but they’ve produced 137 yards and one touchdown from 49 yards against Colorado State.

Johnson also had a 43-yard reception in last Saturday’s 23-20 victory over then-fourth ranked Penn State in which he eluded several defenders, turning what looked to be a short gain into one of the biggest plays in the game.

“The adrenaline that’s going through your body and being a young guy that’s able to do something like that and have the guys excited for you, it really is indescribable just the feeling that you experience,’ Johnson said Tuesday. “It doesn’t feel real, something I probably would have dreamed of last year. But it’s here now.”

Story continues below

Johnson has emerged as a deep threat for an Iowa offense that has struggled at times to stretch the field. He and fellow true freshman Arland Bruce have been a part of second-ranked Iowa’s receiver rotation throughout the season.

And with each week, they seem to get better, and more involved in the offense.

Bruce operates more in the slot, while the 6-foot-1, 197-pound Johnson has a gift for slipping past defenders down field.

Both are now key components for an Iowa team that is 6-0 and ranked second in the Associated Press poll.

“At this time last year, I was in high school playing on Friday nights and now I’m competing on the number two team in the nation,” Johnson said. I’m blessed.”

Johnson has a simple approach to every game.

He always puts the team first and embraces whatever role is asked of him.

“It feels great doing whatever I can do to help the team,” Johnson said. “I don’t know what that consists of every game. But just being able to provide a spark is what I go into every game thinking what I want to do.”

Johnson made his first career start against Colorado State in the fourth game, becoming just the sixth true freshmen receiver to start in 23 seasons under Kirk Ferentz.

The significance of that accomplishment isn’t lost on Johnson.

“There’s a lot of freshmen that want to be on the field right now and I’m blessed to be able to be on the field,” Johnson said. “I just want to help out the team anyway I can.

“Sometimes, that might be blocking. But sometimes it might be they depend on me to get catches and make something happen.”

Johnson is the son of former Nebraska football player Clester Johnson.

And with him having grown up in Nebraska, the decision to play for a Big Ten border rival was big news.

Johnson was ranked as a four-star recruit by Rivals and he had an offer from Nebraska, and from Iowa State and Kansas State among others.

He and Bruce and offensive lineman Connor Colby were among a handful of freshmen who enrolled at Iowa last January.

The additional practice time is now paying off this season.

“It gives them a little bit of a head start, there’s no question about that,” Kirk Ferentz said of enrolling early.

Ferentz never has tried to pressure incoming recruits to enroll early. He wants it to be their decision, and for the right reasons.

“In a perfect world first-year guys wouldn’t play,” Ferentz said. “I think that would be the best thing, if we’re talking about what really is best for enrolling players, for the majority. I know there’s exceptions and these two guys are both exceptions, as is Connor. But I think to be more specific it’s not that I’m against it, we don’t encourage it.

“So if a guy really wants to do it and he’s ready to do it, I think it’s great, I just don’t want a guy doing it because he feels like that’s the thing to do or he has to do it. In the case of really all the guys that came last year, they came in and they handled everything really well. Including the transition to school, which is the biggest part.”

Johnson and Bruce both showed right away that they could contribute at this level. They performed well in spring practice and it has carried to the season.

“You look at the big picture it’s not that big a deal, but as far as those guys playing right now there’s no question it helped them, but the other part that helped them is they have an uncanny ability to just go out their on the practice field and rise to the level of competition,” Kirk Ferentz said of his two freshmen receivers. “They have done a pretty good job of that, not every day but for the most part they have been able to do that. So it’s a good thing.”

Johnson is feeling more comfortable with competing at this level.

“Every week I notice stuff starting to slow down a little bit,” he said. And hopefully, that means me able to play better.”

Part of earning playing time is earning the trust of your teammates and coaches.

“Just knowing they can trust me that I’m going to do the right thing when I go out there helps,” Johnson said.

Johnson said he isn’t surprised by his recent success as a playmaker. He has worked hard to reach this point and he has high expectations for himself.

“I’m not surprised because I knew I had that ability to do that,” he said. “whenever I’m called upon to do that, I just feel I can get it done. That’s another dynamic I feel I can bring to this offense.”

In addition to being a playmaker, Johnson is also a good decoy as he showed on Nico Ragaini’s game-winning touchdown catch against Penn State. He helped clear space for Ragaini by drawing two defenders away from the play.

“On that play I’m sort of the decoy and I’ve got to sell like I’m getting the ball,” Johnson said. “I wanted to make sure that I got him into the end zone and so I took off like I was going to get the ball. You’ve got to run a route like you are the main target and I was forunte enough to being a man out off there.

“Man, that was crazy. I’m so happy for Nico.”

Johnson showed confidence while addressing the media on Tuesday, but he also acknowledge that he and the team still have plenty of room for improvement.

“We haven’t played a perfect game yet and we’re able to be 6-0, and I feel like that keeps us going and keeps us grounded,” Johnson said. “Just to know that we’ve won all the games, but still have a long way to go. I feel like the sky’s the limit for this team.”

Johnson made one of his few mistakes this season by committing a blocking penalty against Maryland that erased a touchdown by tight end Sam LaPorta. Iowa still would go on to win 51-14, so Johnson’s penalty had little impact on the outcome.

“Other than that, I feel I do a pretty good job blocking,” Johnson said.

Johnson felt bad for LaPorta and let him know it over and over.

“He probably heard an apology from me about six or seven times,” Johnson said. “It took a touchdown off the board, but luckily, that touchdown didn’t cost us much.

“But he knows I was just being aggressive and all the guys are supportive.”