Issue link: https://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1068002
13 I t was near the end of December 2016, just a few days before the University of Iowa football team was to play Florida in the Outback Bowl. Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz was sitting in room 1232 of Tampa's Westin Harbour Island hotel, cell phone in hand. Nick Easley was celebrating Christmas at his grandmother's house in Iowa City, Iowa. At the time, Ferentz was hunting for wide receiver depth. On the other end of the conversation was Easley, a wide receiver who was looking for a two- year home. eir conversation was productive. "e first time I talked to Nick I was in the same room I slept in the last six nights," Ferentz said Jan. 1. "I had never met Nick, didn't know much about him. I asked if he was interested in being a Hawkeye. Sometimes dumb luck is a good thing in recruiting." It's interesting how things work out in life and sports. Ferentz opened the door and gave Easley every opportunity to prove himself inside the Richard O. Jacobson Football Operations Building. On Jan. 1, Easley, a native Iowan turned junior college star turned Hawkeye walk-on, was named Most Valuable Player of the 33rd annual Outback Bowl. In a game featuring dominate defenses from Iowa and Mississippi State, the 5-foot-11, 205-pound senior wide receiver from Newton, Iowa, was an offensive star. Easley caught eight passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns — his 100th career reception as a Hawkeye gave Iowa an insurmountable 24-19 lead in the third quarter. e Hawkeyes went on to knock off No. 18 Mississippi State, 27-22, in front of 40,518 in