Why Kentucky's Wan'Dale Robinson has extra motivation for Iowa in the Citrus Bowl

CELEBRATION, Fla. — Kentucky players felt comfortable taking it easy on their first full day in Florida ahead of Saturday’s Citrus Bowl against Iowa. After about a one-hour light practice — no contact, no pads — at Celebration High School, the Wildcats were happy to call it a day.

As they see it, 10-3 Iowa will be one of the most physical opponents it sees this season. They want to keep their bodies fresh for what’s ahead.

“You’ve got to out-physical Iowa. You know they’re going to run the ball,” inside linebacker DeAndre Square said. “You know what they’re going to try to do.”

Square knows the drill here. He was a freshman in 2018, when the Wildcats defeated Penn State, 27-24, in the 2019 Citrus Bowl to cap the program’s first 10-win season since 1977. Now the 9-3 Wildcats are gunning for their second 10-win season in the last 44 years, with Iowa standing in its way.

Here are a few more tidbits from Kentucky’s camp on Monday. (Iowa held a closed practice on Monday; coach Kirk Ferentz and some players will meet the media on Tuesday from West Orange High School.)

Wan’Dale Robinson has extra motivation.

And maybe some extra fans in Big Ten country. Robinson, as you might recall, was a multi-dimensional player for two seasons under Scott Frost at Nebraska before transferring to his home state of Kentucky.

Robinson is motivated to change his 0-2 record against Iowa. He was injured and played sparingly in a 27-24 loss in Lincoln in 2019, then had a more pronounced role in last season’s 26-20 loss in Iowa City. Robinson had nine receptions for 75 yards and six rushes for 42 yards in that game.

“I still have some friends out there in Nebraska,” Robinson said. “I know they’ll feel a little bit of this one, especially if we come out with the win.”

Robinson is the poster-child for the good side of the NCAA transfer portal. He was able to get out of a struggling program at Nebraska and come home to Kentucky. He encouraged anyone thinking of entering the transfer portal is to go in with a plan.

“If you’re going to go in, you need to know the spots you can fit at, and get into contact with those coaches to make sure they want you on their football team,” Robinson said. “And at the end of the day, you’ve got to make it right yourself.”

For Iowa fans looking for a comparison, Robinson’s skill set is similar to that of former Purdue receiver Rondale Moore. Robinson (5-foot-11, 184 pounds) has been sensational for Kentucky this season. He has 94 receptions for 1,164 yards and seven touchdowns. By comparison, Iowa’s top four wide receivers — Nico Ragaini, Charlie Jones, Arland Bruce IV and Keagan Johnson — have a total of 86 catches for 1,191 yards and seven touchdowns this season.

Robinson is averaging 9½ catches in Kentucky’s last six games and has five 100-yard receiving games this season and a sixth with 97 yards. He said he was excited to go against Iowa’s Riley Moss, the Big Ten defensive back of the of year. He also had this to say about conference bragging rights.

“Coming from the Big Ten, I definitely think the SEC is a little better,” Robinson said with a chuckle. “But that’s just my opinion. We’ll see on Saturday.”

No COVID-19 concerns in the Kentucky camp.

Given the growing list of cancellations across all sports — including in bowl games — due to the latest surge in COVID-19 cases, Kentucky coach Mark Stoops was optimistic that Saturday’s Noon CT Citrus Bowl would be played as scheduled at Camping World Stadium.

“We are (good), knock on wood, at this point in time,” Stoops said Monday. “But you never know. We’re doing the best we can to adhere to the protocols that we have in place and trying to live with it the best we can.”

Likewise, Ferentz said late last week that Iowa has had more issues with the flu (earlier this season) than COVID-19. Both teams seem to be relishing the opportunity to play this game; Kentucky hasn’t had any opt-outs. Iowa has had only one in running back Tyler Goodson.

More:How to watch Iowa football vs. Kentucky in the 2022 Citrus Bowl game

It was nice to see a familiar face in Kentucky blue.

Ahmad Wagner, the former Iowa basketball player, is now a graduate-assistant coach for the Kentucky football program. Wagner spent three years playing hoops for Iowa coach Fran McCaffery and scored 297 career points in 96 games (from 2015-16 through the 2017-18 seasons) before transitioning to a college football career.

Wagner would transfer to Kentucky and play for two seasons; the Ohio native registered 15 catches for 254 yards and two TDs in 2019 as a wide receiver and got picked up as an undrafted free agent by the Chicago Bears in the NFL for a short time. Now, he’s coaching on the offensive side of the ball for Kentucky as he begins his post-playing career.

I caught up with him for a short conversation as the Wildcats left the practice field. He fondly recalled his time at Iowa and said it was a little strange to be going against the black and gold as a coach.

Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has covered sports for 27 years with The Des Moines Register, USA TODAY and Iowa City Press-Citizen. Follow @ChadLeistikow on Twitter.