IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Iowa senior wide receiver Matt VandeBerg might have stumbled upon the best possible way to settle ones nerves before proposing marriage.Play, star in and win a game at home over your hated rivals.Wait five minutes -- and then pop the question.VandeBergs strategy worked like to perfection in the aftermath of last weekends 42-3 win over Iowa State.VandeBerg had arguably the best game of his life, catching seven passes for 129 yards and a touchdown. But all that was quickly forgotten once his girlfriend of just over a year, former Iowa student Laura Bulanda, accepted his proposal from the stands.Ive known shes the one for a while. Its just a matter of making sure she knows, VandeBerg said.In a way, it is ironic that VandeBergs iconic moment had very little to do with football.Like many of Iowas best players, past and present, VandeBerg had to put in years of work when few were looking just for a shot at real playing time.VandeBerg was lightly-recruited out of Brandon Valley High in South Dakota, largely because his frame was so light to begin with. Intrigued by the programs reputation for turning unheralded prospects into All-Big Ten type players, VandeBerg signed with the Hawkeyes as almost a footnote back in the winter of 2013.But VandeBerg, now 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, showed enough potential to play sparingly as a freshman and sophomore, catching 22 passes.If the coaches are willing to bring me here and put their trust in me, I need to put trust in myself that I can play at this level, VandeBerg said.With defenses keyed on Tevaun Smith and his relationship with new starting quarterback C.J. Beathard growing with every practice, VandeBerg emerged in 2015 as one of the unlikeliest standouts on perhaps the nations most surprisingly successful team.VandeBerg overcame his lack of size with an uncanny ability to get open, consistently finding the soft spot in the defense as a slot receiver.He finished with 65 receptions, the second-most ever by an Iowa player, and earned honorable-mention All-Big Ten honors.Hes one of the hardest workers on the team. He does it day in, day out, Beathard said. Everyone on the team has a ton of respect for him. Hes just a smart player. We know hes going to be where he needs to be at the right time. And hes a guy that, if he makes a mistake, nobody has to say anything to him because hes going to beat himself up over that more than anybody else will.With Smith now in the NFL, VandeBerg has taken over as Iowas No. 1 receiver.Through two games, hes on pace for one of the great seasons in school history. VandeBerg is averaging over 20 yards a catch in 2016, including a nifty 12-yard TD reception against the Cyclones.The guy is a ball of energy, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said.That VandeBerg was able to have the best performance as a Hawkeyes ahead the most important moment of his life is perhaps his biggest accomplishment yet.VandeBerg tried not to tell anyone what he had planned for Saturday, likely because such a moment wouldve been overshadowed had the Hawkeyes lost.But VandeBerg couldnt help himself, telling Beathard and a few others of his plan.Beathard, in turn, joked to VandeBerg that the only reasons he threw so many passes to him against Iowa State was to make sure Laura said yes.With news like that, youve got to tell some of your buddies, VandeBerg said.---Follow Luke Meredith on Twitter at www.twitter.com/LukeMeredithAP--Online: www.collegefootball.ap.org Adoree Jackson Jersey . Barcelona also left injured defenders Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba out of its squad for the trip to Glasgow. That means that Marc Bartra will probably start again in the centre of the defence alongside Gerard Pique. Jack Conklin Jersey .com) - The Calgary Flames aim to bounce back from their first regulation home loss of the campaign on Friday night when they host a Detroit Red Wings club that they swept in three meetings a season ago. http://www.titansauthenticofficialonline.com/ . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. Tajae Sharpe Jersey . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries. Jalston Fowler Jersey . -- The Missouri Tigers might not have a roster full of superstars. The field of sabermetrics has made a lot of strides in assessing performance and value, but one area where it remains difficult to peg whos good and who isnt is evaluating baseball managers. Every single one of them was hired for a reason, almost all of them will eventually be fired for other reasons. Some of them will go to the Hall of Fame, and others youll forget faster than you can say, John Felske. But what they do, who they play, what they ask players to do, how well they prepare them, matters. Everybody wants to improve and win, becausse flags fly forever.ddddddddddddThis isnt easy, though. Theres a big part of the job we cant describe well, if at all: Leadership or people skills, or whether or not a guy runs an effective management team with his coaches. Most of those things, all critically important to how good a manager might be, handling his players and working with his front office, are usually going to be opaque to reporters and analysts. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '
