CEDAR FALLS - In many college football programs, Victor Williams would catch 70 footballs a season and pile up 1,000-plus yards and double-digit touchdowns.

At Northern Iowa, he's just one of an impressive gang of playmaking wideouts the Panthers have at their disposal as they head into a challenging 2008 campaign.

It's a group that starts with players familiar to UNI fans.

There's Johnny Gray, the small but explosive package of dynamite who did grab 70 passes for 910 yards and five touchdowns a year ago while also keeping defenses honest with his elusiveness on the reverse play.

There's Williams, who adds a physical dimension with his 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame and ability to take the ball away from defenders in a crowd. He caught 40 passes for 520 yards and five TDs last season.

There's Montari Leonard, a deep threat the likes of which Panther fans haven't seen since Dedric Ward. As a true freshman in 2007, the Florida native finished with just nine receptions but averaged 19.6 yards per catch with three scores.

It's a group that also includes another half-dozen players ready to burst onto the downfield scene.

D.J. Hord, a junior from Lee's Summit, Mo., transferred from Notre Dame, where he played as a true freshman before missing 2006 with an Achilles injury. He's 6-1, 197 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds. As a prep at Rockhurst High in Kansas City, Hord was Missouri's Gatorade Player of the Year and was ranked by Rivals.com as the 11th-best wide receiver in the country behind stars like Patrick Turner (USC), Mohamed Massaquoi (Georgia), Mario Manningham (Oklahoma) and Malcolm Kelly (Oklahoma, Washington Redskins).

Sure-handed sophomore Maurice Turner of Shoreview, Minn., has played his way into the picture, and UNI's coaching staff has been impressed by redshirt freshman Josh Collins of Sioux City.

Others may emerge, as well, from a group of talented incoming recruits and 2007 redshirts who add size and speed to the mix.

"It's a talented group … as good as any we've had here," said head coach Mark Farley.

"There are seven or eight guys who have a chance to play," added offensive coordinator Bill Salmon, who also serves as receivers coach.

"They've kind of got to set their egos aside this year and all work together like that group did in '05 when we played six guys all the time. Last year, Johnny caught 70-some balls. I don't know if that will happen again, but he's going to help in other ways."

Leonard had an up-and-down rookie season, but Salmon has seen a more mature player in this camp. Gone are the long dreadlocks and uncertainty from inside his helmet.

"He had a great spring," said Salmon. "He knows what's going on now."

Players like Gray and Williams are doing their part to make sure all the young players get quickly up to speed.

"It's my senior year, and a big part of it is being a leader and showing some character," said Williams. "When I first got here, it was the same way for me. Now I'm trying to help them learn the system and showing them the right way to go."

Of course, all of those options in the passing game will be only as effective as UNI's rebuilt offensive line and new quarterback Patrick Grace.

"Pat's got a gun for an arm," said Salmon, himself a former quarterback. "The unknown is just how Pat's going to do when he gets out on the field. I don't have any concerns, but it's still an unknown deal."

One thing the receivers can do to help is make sure they are exactly where Grace expects them to be, whether that's a pre-determined route or making a sight adjustment at the line of scrimmage or on the fly.

"There's always time to get better at learning defenses and reading defenses," said Gray. "We're working hard in practice."

When it all comes together, the passing game will be entertaining and difficult to defend.

"We should be able to do pretty much whatever we want," said Williams. "We've got the speed to go deep. We've got the size to go get the ball. We can do the reverses with Johnny. And I can throw the ball deep."

Williams showed that in 2006 when he unloaded a 57-yard TD bomb to Gray that Panther fans still talk about. He's itching for another opportunity or two.

So who can throw it farther - Grace or Williams?

"I can," Williams said with a smile.

Contact Doug Newhoff at (319) 291-1467 or doug.newhoff@wcfcourier.com