Matt VandeBerg - WR

[HawkeyeWalker]

KMM has been good. Hinkle was an all time great (at least imo)

MV's story is yet to fully materialize, but I love the route running.

 

[racerhawk]

I think one of the big problems we make in society is pretending that race does not exist, or pretending you do not notice certain trends in racial differences (such as the fact that a large majority of skill position players at the highest level of football happen to be of African-American descent). However, when you choose to make broad generalizations about an individual based upon his race, that is the very definition of racism. I suppose you could argue that your evaluation does not hinge upon his skin color, but it was notable that you included that as one of the characteristics indicating he is not worthy of Power5 playing time.

VandeBerg is certainly not big, but he is a good athlete. With regards to top-end speed, he is just so-so (4.5 40m, not great, not bad; 11.42 FAT 100m in high school). But he has great acceleration and short-area power. He is a 45 foot triple-jumper, and a 22.5 foot long jumper, which is a great indication of his overall athleticism. We have seen that on the field as well; he has displayed good quickness in route-running, in his punt/kick returns, and with the ball in his hands. The smoke route that Beathard almost skipped to him on the last drive vs. NW should have gone for a loss, but he turned it into 4 yards by making the first guy miss.

So while no one is arguing he is a dominant receiver, and Iowa is certainly not "hitching its wagon" to him (i.e. building their passing game around him), he seems to be a valuable player with some strengths and weaknesses. It would be interesting to hear from a professional such as HawkeyeGameFilm regarding his ability and his place at a BigTen school.

In the same vein, it is frustrating when analysts seem to believe that only white players can be smart, hard-working guys. Someone earlier in this thread, when writing about hard-working Hawkeyes, mentioned 5 or 6 white players; I was nice to see someone respond with the names of other players on the team who also display those characteristics, while having a different skin color.

Sorry, this comes off as very "high-horseish", but just a pet-peave of mine that I wanted to air.

So, a bunch of middle aged white guys on message boards are being racist towards a white receiver? Actually, I'm not sure that is the definition or racism.

VandeBerg is doing really well. That's great. I'm happy for him. Maybe people should leave Willies (we don't really know a lot about him, really) out of this. Willies had serious athletic gifts, but he's gone. I saw a lot of assumptions about Willies' character, so if you want to discuss race and assumptions, start there.

 

[BEATHARDTEAMS]

So, a bunch of middle aged white guys on message boards are being racist towards a white receiver? Actually, I'm not sure that is the definition or racism.

VandeBerg is doing really well. That's great. I'm happy for him. Maybe people should leave Willies (we don't really know a lot about him, really) out of this. Willies had serious athletic gifts, but he's gone. I saw a lot of assumptions about Willies' character, so if you want to discuss race and assumptions, start there.

C'mon now...We all know that it is socially acceptable to be racist towards and belittle white men. whats new lol? its an on going joke

 

[CP87]

So, a bunch of middle aged white guys on message boards are being racist towards a white receiver? Actually, I'm not sure that is the definition or racism.

VandeBerg is doing really well. That's great. I'm happy for him. Maybe people should leave Willies (we don't really know a lot about him, really) out of this. Willies had serious athletic gifts, but he's gone. I saw a lot of assumptions about Willies' character, so if you want to discuss race and assumptions, start there.

The "plight of the white receiver" certainly is not one of the biggest racial injustices we have to tackle as a society. By the fact remains that if you judge a person's ability or worth based upon the color of his skin, that is racism. I think your point about Willies is astute.

 

[LASBUR]

The "plight of the white receiver" certainly is not one of the biggest racial injustices we have to tackle as a society. By the fact remains that if you judge a person's ability or worth based upon the color of his skin, that is racism. I think your point about Willies is astute.

I get that and I agree. But when 12% of the population is Black and the NBA is I don't know but at least 50% Black is it wrong to assume Black people got it goin on when it comes to BB ?

 

[DDStretch]

I think one of the big problems we make in society is pretending that race does not exist, or pretending you do not notice certain trends in racial differences (such as the fact that a large majority of skill position players at the highest level of football happen to be of African-American descent). However, when you choose to make broad generalizations about an individual based upon his race, that is the very definition of racism.

Please. Do you really want to get into a discussion about which race is better at sports?

African-Americans are better at sports than white people. That's not a fact I care to take the time to prove, but I think every person in the world can use their eyes and their brains to deduce that this is as close to fact as you can get. It's not racism, it's realism.

And, my generalization isn't about Matt Vandeberg per se. He just happens to be the subject of this thread, and he fits the bill. Vandeberg was recruited mainly by USD and SDSU. Not much interest from FBS schools. He may have a scholly now, but he was originally announced as a walk-on (grayshirt) at Iowa. He's barely 6-feet, he's skinnier than a rail, he's not overly fast or athletic. However, he's getting reps as a freshman and he's in position to be Iowa's No. 2 WR next year! If everybody wants Iowa to be a contender, is this type of recruit/player that we should be getting excited about? Or is this the type of player we should look at and say, yeah, we're failing when it comes to recruiting and finding playmakers. I can understand these hardworking, gritty types who most Hawkeye fans seem to love getting playing time when they're juniors and seniors, but we're talking about him playing as a freshman and potentially having to be an impact player as a sophomore.

I suppose you could argue that your evaluation does not hinge upon his skin color

If you're trying to in any way, shape or form accuse me of racism, yes, I would wholeheartedly argue that.

So while no one is arguing he is a dominant receiver

And therein lies the rub. Not dominant. Doesn't have top-end speed. Not big (which could potentially make him a solid red zone target). But, he's getting PT as a freshman and in line to be our No. 2 next year.

It would be interesting to hear from a professional such as HawkeyeGameFilm regarding his ability and his place at a BigTen school.

Forget the Big Ten. Look at the Top 25. That's where all of us Hawkeye fans want to be, right? Go find a Top 25 team that has a walk-on freshman who was recruited mainly by lower level FCS teams, who is small, skinny and not overly fast getting any meaningful playing time.

I mean, really, Damond Powell (who we all know is electric) only has 5 more catches than him? He and McCarron are returning punts over KMM (proven success), Powell and Parker. Really?

 

[CP87]

Please. Do you really want to get into a discussion about which race is better at sports?

You have missed the entire point. In my post I stated that African Americans in general have had much greater success playing the skill positions in FB at the highest levels, so why would you assume that I would want to argue otherwise?

My point is that even though this may be true on a population level, it is not fair to look at a given white player and assume he is automatically less athletic than a given black player. Any player deserves to be judged objectively without race being considered. While you make some valid points about VandeBerg's weaknesses (he is listed at 175, and we was a grayshirt recruit), I think you are letting his skin color cloud your judgement of his athleticism. I would wager he is at least as fast as KMM or Hilyer (other players in the WR rotation), and the eye-test says that he is very quick.

And it is not like Iowa is trotting him out there 70 snaps per game and force-feeding him the ball. He is at the back end of the rotation, and he has been reasonably productive when he sees the field. Hopefully he will continue to have success for the team, and the same goes for the other players in the WR rotation.

 

[DDStretch]

You have missed the entire point.

So have you.

We're in a thread where a player like this is being lauded as some sort of great impact player that Iowa is really fortunate to have going forward. My point is, if he makes an impact as a third or fourth WR as an upperclassman, fine, but should we really be super excited about the fact that a walk-on who doesn't stand out with his speed, his size or his athleticism is cracking our rotation and returning punts as a freshman.

My point is that even though this may be true on a population level, it is not fair to look at a given white player and assume he is automatically less athletic than a given black player. Any player deserves to be judged objectively without race being considered.

I'm not judging him based on race. I'm using my eyes and my brain to conclude that it worries me if Iowa is putting players like this on the field when he's only a freshman. If it were De'Anthony Thomas or Tim Dwight, OK, I could understand them playing as freshmen, but a player who doesn't stand out simply makes me say, "Really, we don't have anything better than this above him. We didn't recruit and retain 5 WR better than him in the three classes before him."

I think you are letting his skin color cloud your judgement of his athleticism.

No. I'm not. My judgement is on the money. You know how I know this? Because I know for a fact that a player like this wouldn't sniff the field for the Top 25 teams in the country and nobody has popped in to try to prove that wrong yet. He wouldn't. It's a fact whether you like it or not. He plays and is sometimes a go-to WR on third downs. He returns punts. Those are failures on the part of the Iowa Hawkeyes. We should strive for better.

the eye-test says that he is very quick.

The eye test says he would probably turn into a pretty good WR at USD or SDSU or Drake or maybe even UNI and NDSU. But, players like this shouldn't have the chance to break into the lineup as freshmen at the University of Iowa. The Hawkeyes should be better than that. We're a major conference football team for crying out loud. And, one whose fans want the team to be a perennial contender.