BV Lynx: Where Are They Now?

By: 
Bob Logan/For the Journal

Brandon Valley’s football coaching staff (from left) coaches Chad Garrow, Matt Christensen, Bill Freking and Dylan Briest are pictured with Iowa’s #89 Matt VandeBerg. Submitted photo
As I sit down to write my first article about a former BV student-athlete, I ask myself, who will be first? But as I examine the current roster competing at the next level, my choice becomes somewhat easy. Matt VandeBerg excelled in two sports at BVHS. He was a great track and field athlete. winning multiple events at the state track meet. He was probably better known for his football career as a Lynx. If Matt was receiving a kickoff, a punt or running a pass pattern, he was very difficult to track down and tackle. When competing in high school, I remember Matt’s competitive spirt and his positive demeanor in whatever sport he was competing in. 
I was a bit disappointed when I heard that Matt was heading to be a Hawkeye, I just figured that he would look great in blue and gold as he ran as fast as a Jackrabbit! My son told me throughout his senior football season that Matt could play somewhere big. Over the course of a few weeks, Matt went from a grayshirt to likely a redshirt candidate to playing in 11 games a as true freshman. His ability to run razor-like routes and to catch almost every pass that came his way caught the attention of the Iowa coaching staff. 
His freshman year he had two starts compiling eight receptions for 59 yards. In the 2014 season as a sophomore, he was an Academic All-Big Ten, playing in 12 games and recording 14 receptions for 256 yards and one touchdown. In 2015, Matt won the Hawkeye Team Hustle Award for the offensive unit. He was also named to the Academic All-Big Ten and Honorable Mention All-Big Ten by the league coaches. Matt played in all 14 games with 11 starts. He recorded 65 receptions for 703 yards and four touchdowns.  In 2016, Matt was named preseason third team All-Big Ten by Athlon Sports. He was listed as the Hawkeye first team wide receiver for the spring practice. 
In his senior season, Matt started against Iowa State and had a career high of 129 receiving yards on seven receptions with a 12-yard scoring reception and one rushing attempt for 25 yards. He injured his foot in practice after the Rutgers game and missed the remainder of the 2016 campaign. Fortunately, he was granted a medical redshirt and will be playing his final year in 2017.  
I asked Coach Chad Garrow, head coach of the BV Lynx football team, how Matt became such a great football player. Garrow stated, “Matt is very blessed with speed and athletic ability but on top of that he crafted his skills into a great football player. He spent the off-seasons not only running routes with Chase Marso throwing to him, but also working his route running at academies and working with some very skilled instructors.”  
When doing some research on Matt, I went to his Facebook page. I was thinking I would see his cover photo with him in his Hawkeye uniform in Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. But his cover photo was a picture of him, Chase and some other student-athletes at the BVHS field during a workout in the summer months. What I got out of this picture is Matt is still very connected with BV, former teammates and coaches.
Go #89 Iowa Hawkeye Matt VandeBerg! The Hawkeyes’ first game is Sept. 2 against Wyoming in Iowa City, slated for an 11 a.m. start on the Big Ten Network.  
 
BV Lynx: Where Are They Now? is sponsored by George Boom Funeral Boom, Brandon.

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