By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – At least for two games, Iowa football players Tony Diaz and Cam Buffington have been as good as advertised, or maybe even better.

Since this past spring, Diaz, a third-year wide receiver from San Marcos, Texas, and Buffington, a third-year linebacker from Winfield, have probably received more hype than any players on the team, including the quarterbacks, and including All-Big Ten offensive linemen Kade Pieper and Trevor Lauck.

While the quarterback competition between Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski has been the main storyline since the spring, the hype and expectations surrounding both Diaz and Buffington has been an encouraging sidebar.

And now after two games, hype is turning into high-level performance as both Diaz and Buffington have clearly stood out as playmakers.

Unlike Pieper and Lauck, who both made third-team All-Big Ten last season, Diaz and Buffington had yet to prove themselves as every-down players at this level.

So it made sense to have a wait-and-see attitude about both players.

But now fans are starting to see in games what Diaz and Buffington have reportedly been doing in practice on a regular basis.

Instead of caving to the hype and expectations, Diaz and Buffington both have embraced the challenge.

Diaz led Iowa with eight catches and 95 receiving yards in Saturday’s 16-13 victory over Iowa State at Kinnick Stadium, while Buffington led the Iowa defense with a career-high 15 tackles, including nine solo stops, in just his second career start.

No other player for Iowa had more than five tackles in the win over Iowa State.

In two games, Diaz has 15 receptions for 179 receiving yards and one touchdown.

He has shown the ability to make difficult catches in traffic while also creating separation and making defenders miss in space.

Kirk Ferentz has been impressed with Diaz from the moment Diaz arrived on campus this past winter after spending his first two seasons at Texas Rio Grande Valley where he was redshirted in 2024.

Ferentz likes how Diaz conducts himself, on and off the field, how he’s always positive and eager to work hard and get better.

“He’s just got a good demeanor,” Ferentz said. “We were talking about him this morning, too. I was saying to somebody, he just really enjoys playing football. I mean, there’s a youthful exuberance.

“He’s aggressive to the football. He has been since he’s shown up, which is a really good trait for a receiver. It sounds kind of silly you would say that, but he is really aggressive to catching footballs and sometimes puts himself in a little bit of risk. But, boy, that’s a great temperament. It’s fun.

“Then he can run pretty well too, so he’s a really delightful young guy. He’s been a really good teammate, and we’re really glad he’s here with us.”

Buffington, who played eight-man football in high school, has a team-leading 21 tackles in two games as Iowa’s 6-foot-3, 239-pound starting middle linebacker.

“He’s played on special teams, but he hasn’t played at the middle linebacker spot,” Kirk Ferentz said of Buffington after win over Iowa State. “But he sees things fast, and then he gets there fast. So, that’s kind of a good combination if you get that.

“And for as little as he’s played, he’s done some things that really catch your attention and eye. And he’s got a great attitude. So, I’m not worried about him. He’s just going to keep getting better and building on that. He is a good young player.”

Buffington has been catching the eyes of onlookers ever since he joined the team in 2024, but the praise reached a new level this past spring and now continues to soar after two games.

His physical talent and toughness, coupled with his understanding of how the position should be played, makes Buffington an ideal fit at middle linebacker.

Of course, he has only started two games, after playing mostly on special teams last season.

But two games is also enough to appreciate Buffington’s enormous potential.

With the offense struggling to score points against Iowa State, it was imperative that the Iowa defense live up to its high standard, and that’s what happened, thanks to Buffington and his cohorts holding the Cyclones to just 255 yards, and to just three points in the second half.

Pieper and Lauck are two of Iowa’s most decorated players from a preseason awards standpoint.

But that also sort of makes them easy to take for granted, while Diaz and Buffington represent the next wave of star players and they both also play what could be considered glamour positions, adding to the hype and intrigue.

Buffington is among eight new starters on defense for Iowa, and while there will undoubtedly be some growing pains along the way, the defense has more than held its own after two games.

Iowa will look to finish the nonconference portion of its schedule undefeated when it faces Northern Iowa on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

Buffington appreciates the responsibility and the privilege that comes with being Iowa’s starting middle linebacker. He wants to make his predecessors, including Jack Campbell and Jay Higgins, proud by upholding the high standard they have helped to set.

“It definitely means a lot,” Buffington of being the starting middle linebacker. “There’s a role and a standard that I’ve got to live up to.”

So far, mission accomplished.

As for Diaz, defenses will start to take notice of Iowa’s new 5-10, 184-pound playmaker.

Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester continues to draw up plays for Diaz as both a receiver and as a runner.

Diaz had multiple options after his breakout season at Texas Rio Grande Valley last season, which included 11 touchdown catches, but he chose Iowa, which isn’t known for its passing offense.

Diaz had faith in Lester, and in Kirk Ferentz, that they would put him in position to make plays.

Diaz made one of the biggest plays in the win over Iowa State when he caught a 56-yard pass from Hank Brown, which helped to set up Iowa’s only touchdown of the game in the second quarter.

Diaz slipped past his defender on a post route before making the catch.

Following the game, first-year Iowa State he coach Jimmy Rogers praised Diaz and also apologized for mistakenly calling him Nate Diaz earlier in the week.

“That kid’s good,” Rogers said. “I apologize. I called him by the wrong first name last week. Great player. They were trying to find him. They found him on a deep route, out-ran our corner.”

Diaz addressed being called by the wrong first name with the media afterwards.

“It’s definitely a great team win,” Diaz said. “They’re a great team, don’t get me wrong. I just hope he knows my name now; Tony Diaz, not Nate Diaz.”