Matt VandeBerg gets to keep doing what he cherishes
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Upon hearing that Matt VandeBerg’s medical hardship waiver had been approved by the Big Ten, I immediately thought about a conversation I had with the Iowa receiver almost a year ago.
We both were traveling from Los Angeles just hours after the Iowa football team had been pounded by Stanford 45-16 in the Rose Bowl.
I didn’t want to bother VandeBerg so soon after a loss, but he noticed me in the airport and was polite and receptive like always.
I was heading back to Iowa City, while VandeBerg was traveling to Florida to visit his girlfriend, who is now his fiance.
We talked for about 20 minutes, mostly just small talk that he might not even remember. I didn’t want to dwell on the Rose Bowl loss because why fester in somebody’s misery?
VandeBerg talked mostly about his respect for Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz and about how proud he was to be a Hawkeye football player. His devotion to the Hawkeyes really made an impression.
There was no sense of entitlement with anything that VandeBerg said that day. He considers it a privilege to be an Iowa football player and now he gets to keep living his dream for another year.
It was almost a foregone conclusion that VandeBerg would be approved for a medical hardship because he met all the qualifications after playing in just four games this season, all of which came in the first half of the season.
But now it’s official.
Iowa has its best receiver returning for the 2017 season, which would be significant under any circumstance, but especially with senior quarterback C.J. Beathard using up his eligibility this season.
One of the best ways to help a new starting quarterback is to surround him with proven talent. Iowa returns four starters on the offensive line, a 900-yard rusher in Akrum Wadley and now VandeBerg.
That is reason for hope and optimism.
VandeBerg’s influence goes beyond his impact on the field. He is also a respected teammate and leader. He’s one of those guys that makes the whole better than the parts because with VandeBerg, the whole is all the matters.
VandeBerg led Iowa with 65 catches during the 2015 season. To put that in perspective, Tim Dwight never caught more than 51 passes in a season as a Hawkeye.
VandeBerg was leading Iowa after four games this season with 19 catches for 284 yards when he suffered a broken foot in practice on Sept. 26, two days after the Big Ten opener at Rutgers.
The passing attack has sputtered since then without VandeBerg.
Iowa relied more on its rushing attack down the stretch as the 8-4 Hawkeyes won their final three games to secure a spot in the Outback Bowl against Florida on Jan. 2 in Tampa.
VandeBerg won’t play in the bowl game, but he will be there to provide leadership and inspiration.
The South Dakota native has one more offseason to prepare for his last stand as a Hawkeye. VandeBerg will cherish these moments because I know after talking to him in the airport how much being an Iowa football player and a University of Iowa student-athlete means to him.
He came to Iowa after being lightly recruited in high school and immediately showed that he could play at this level despite originally being a gray shirt recruit.
VandeBerg is what Ferentz likes to call a story, somebody who defies the odds to thrive as an Iowa football player.
It’s just nice that VandeBerg’s story isn’t over yet.