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Four NFL starters, 1 tight ends factory: Why Iowa excels at producing stars at the position

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Four NFL starters, 1 tight ends factory: Why Iowa excels at producing stars at the position


IOWA CITY, Iowa — As a 200-pound, short-haired wide receiver recruited to play tight end, George Kittle arrived at Iowa in 2012 discovering the first step of that transition does not include catching the football.

“I’ll never forget that a coach at my very first skills and drills, they’re like, ‘Hey, if you don’t learn how to run block, you can never play here,’” Kittle said. “‘And you’ll never be able to run block unless you put some weight on.’ I was like, ‘Well, I want to play, so let’s get it done.’”

After gaining 50 pounds of muscle, Kittle became a fifth-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 2017. Seven years and four Pro Bowls later and 10 pounds leaner, Kittle is one of the NFL’s premier tight ends and top personalities.

In 2016, Kittle’s final season at Iowa, Noah Fant and T.J. Hockenson joined him as freshmen in perhaps college football’s greatest single-season tight ends unit. A year after Fant and Hockenson became the only tight ends duo drafted in the first round, Sam LaPorta hit the Iowa practice fields. As a rookie for Detroit this fall, LaPorta already has become an impact NFL performer, much like Fant at Seattle and Hockenson at Minnesota.

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Four NFL starters, one NFL tight ends factory. In coach Kirk Ferentz’s 25 seasons, Iowa has built and maintained a reputation of graduating NFL tight ends. Dallas Clark, Scott Chandler, Tony Moeaki, Brandon Myers and C.J. Fiedorowicz all became multiyear starters, and for the better part of two decades, the Hawkeyes challenged Miami and Notre Dame for the “Tight End U” moniker. But spanning the past five seasons, there’s no doubt the crown resides in Iowa City.

“Iowa is head and shoulders above everybody right now around the country,” said Dan Shonka, general manager and national scout for Ourlads Scouting Services. “The emphasis on it, what they’re asked to do because there’s no surprises. What you see is what you get. They’ve got really good hands. Kittle, all the tight ends that come out of Iowa.”


Seattle’s Noah Fant is part of Iowa’s proud line of NFL starting tight ends. (Nic Antaya / Getty Images)

There are plenty of reasons Iowa develops tight ends. The scheme is built around the position group. The Hawkeyes employ a run-first offense that emphasizes both zone and man blocking. They place a priority on the tight end’s defeating a defensive end or linebacker in a one-on-one situation.

Along with blocking, Iowa tight ends are primary targets in the pass game. The team’s top two receptions leaders this year are tight ends — and both are out with season-ending injuries. In five of the past six years, Iowa’s leading receiver was a tight end. In all but two seasons from 2013 onward, a tight end led the Hawkeyes in touchdown catches.

“It’s really cool to have that standard set for you before you even walk in the building,” LaPorta said. “That we’re going to compete at the highest level and this is what we demand from our tight ends.”

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Unique skills

All four of Iowa’s NFL starters boast freakish athletic skills, which almost is a surprise considering how unheralded they were as recruits.

Ferentz called Kittle on signing day to offer him a scholarship. Kittle’s father, Bruce, played offensive line for Ferentz in 1981. According to the 247Sports Composite, Kittle ranked as the nation’s No. 1,519 prospect in 2012. His offers included Weber State and Air Force.

Hockenson’s stature wasn’t much higher. He was ranked as the No. 66 tight end and No. 1,464 player nationally in 2016. A wide receiver from a small-town high school, Hockenson chose Iowa over Iowa State.

Fant was rated as a defensive end, which is where Nebraska and Minnesota projected him, also in 2016. Fant wanted to play tight end, and Iowa gave him that opportunity. He was the highest-rated prospect among the quartet but still No. 532 overall.

Before the 2019 signing period, LaPorta posted incredible numbers from his central Illinois high school but had no Power 5 scholarship offers. LaPorta was ranked No. 1,170 overall and the nation’s No. 55 tight end. Iowa offered him late to make LaPorta the third tight end in the class.

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None of them had the profile to suggest they’d be anything more than potential starters at Iowa. Yet, they all top at least one NFL statistical category this year.

“The common denominator is what they do when they get there,” Ferentz said. “All we do is provide the opportunity and hopefully good resources for them. They’re still the guys doing the work, and that’s true of each and every one of those guys. And they’ve all been coachable, too. They want to get better, and they’re eager to get better.”

Each of them has different skills that have led them to collegiate and NFL success. Kittle is the best blocker and has electrifying speed. Fant is the best athlete, as shown by his record-setting NFL combine numbers. Hockenson has the best hands and finds ways to get open. LaPorta blends all of his predecessors’ talents and has a rare tenacity.

“I think I have a little bit of all of them,” LaPorta said. “I love my run after the catch. I try not to get tackled by the first guy. Kittle seems to be really good at that. Kittle seems to be really good at a lot of things. I guess that’s one aspect I try to compare myself to is run after the catch.”

Their combined pass-catching statistics the past five years are astounding. Since 2019, Iowa tight ends have caught 837 passes for 9,503 yards and 65 touchdowns in the NFL. The next two tight ends factories — Notre Dame and Miami — have 912 catches for 9,375 yards and 76 touchdowns combined. That number should continue to widen this year.

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Iowa TEs NFL production since 2019

Player Rec Yds TD

T.J. Hockenson

282

2,891

20

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George Kittle

282

3,578

27

Noah Fant

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231

2,560

14

Sam LaPorta

29

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325

3

Parker Hesse

9

89

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0

Dominique Dafney

4

60

1

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837

9,503

65

Hockenson, whom Minnesota gave the richest tight end deal in NFL history, is tied for the NFL lead for tight end receptions with 36. LaPorta ranks second in receiving yards among tight ends with 325. LaPorta and Kittle are tied for the most touchdowns among tight ends with three. Fant’s 15.4 yards per reception are by far the most of any tight end with at least 10 catches or 150 receiving yards.

“Coach Ferentz, you just know what kind of player that you’re getting,” Detroit general manager Brad Holmes said after selecting LaPorta in the second round. “They just happen to produce some really good football players.”

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Won’t block, won’t play

If there’s one mandate to Iowa’s developmental prowess, it’s blocking.

“The only way that a guy is truly a tight end in my mind is that he plays inline,” said Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, who coached tight ends with New England in 2011. “If he doesn’t play inline, then I don’t think he’s a tight end.”

Iowa junior Luke Lachey was an elite 6-foot-6 receiver whose high-flying high school dunks became social media gold. But when he opted for Iowa over a grayshirt opportunity from hometown Ohio State, Lachey’s father, Jim, immediately alerted him of what was in store.

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“I said, ‘You’re going to find out how to block,” the former Ohio State All-America offensive lineman and three-time NFL All-Pro told his son. “That’s easily the hardest thing to learn for a tight end. And he took it to heart.”

Lachey followed LaPorta’s lead during their three years together and honed his blocking skills to go along with his naturally gifted pass-catching ability. Before breaking his leg barely into his third game this year, Lachey had 10 receptions and had become a high-level blocker.

“I love Luke,” LaPorta said. “I keep mentioning him and referring to him as little bro, even though he’s bigger than me. And also Erick All. I think those two together are going to be a really good combination. They’re going to be the next great Iowa tight ends.”

They barely had to the chance to compete together, with All’s suffering a torn ACL in last week’s win against Wisconsin. But both acquired enough skills to help them when they reach the next level. Lachey defined and eventually embodied the key traits for an Iowa tight end as “hard-nosed … ready to block, unselfish.”


Iowa’s Luke Lachey hopes to continue the program’s line of NFL tight ends. (David K Purdy / Getty Images)

“It’s really an honor to be at the same school that these guys were,” Lachey said. “I really enjoy the opportunity to go out there and wear the same helmet that they put on and the same jersey. I’m just going to go out there and try to do my best every day and just do what I can to get to where they were.”

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All transferred to Iowa from Michigan in the spring. At first blush, one would think two programs built on the same physical tenets would have similar blocking techniques. However, to All, they’re nothing alike and the conditioning is more intense at Iowa.

“Blocking here, it’s more aggressive. We’re trying to bury guys every play,” All said. “We’re just trying to run through a guy, instead of keeping a base and having our feet in the ground and pulling them close. We pull them close here, too, but we’re having our feet running and driving through people, instead of keeping a base.

“Coach believes if you’re driving a guy, you don’t have to worry about being pushed-pulled, because the guy is on his heels, trying to brace our pressure on them, which is great. And I love it. I love every bit of it.”

Current Iowa starting tight end Steven Stilianos, a 2022 graduate transfer from Lafayette, also discovered the challenges of learning how to block the Iowa way. It includes three principles: staying square, keeping your knees under you for balance and staying on the defender’s chest without separation. A blocker’s eyes are focused on an aiming point with the first step for positioning and the second for power. There’s vertical leverage in keeping pads low and horizontal leverage with elbows in and hips down. Finally, the blocker’s backside knee is aimed at the opponent’s crotch for control.

“At Lafayette, they taught more like short, choppy steps,” said Stilianos, a first-team All-Patriot League tight end. “Here, they want you just to run your knees through guys.

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“It’s just important to be physical and impose your will on someone else and not just take it from the defender. That’s something I’ve always prided myself in, and coming here has helped me hone that skill even better.”

That blocking scheme has worked beyond Iowa. NFL all-decade tight end Rob Gronkowski credits Brian Ferentz for teaching him how to block when they worked together in New England.

“He taught me a lot of things that I never really knew in my career,” Gronkowski said. “He just taught me these little niches on how to block, how to keep the block going, on what to do, where to place your hands, keep running your feet, and I just loved him as a coach.

“He did a great job at explaining things and replicating it with the saying like, ‘Hey, when you’re going to push your car, how do you push a car? If you just push it with your upper body and you don’t run your feet, how far are you going to be able to push that car?’ Or if you’re pushing the car and you’re running your feet, that means you can keep on pushing the car and keep it moving.”

Positional spotlight

Iowa tight ends will command the spotlight in multiple ways this weekend. Monday night, Kittle and his 49ers will travel to Minnesota to face Hockenson. Early Sunday, LaPorta’s Lions play at Baltimore in a national viewing window. Fant and the Seahawks host Arizona on Sunday afternoon.

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But it’s more than just a spotlight for Iowa tight ends — it’s their weekend to shine. This Sunday marks the sixth anniversary of National Tight End Day, which Kittle started in 2018. Through Kittle’s personality, the day has grown from a quaint mention to a true phenomenon.

“The holiday is still one of the funniest things,” Kittle said. “It kind of started off as a joke between me, Garrett Celek and Jimmy (Garoppolo) and then the next year the NFL was like, ‘Hey, do you want to make this an actual holiday?’ I was like, ‘Sounds great, works for me,’ and it just kept gaining steam, and now it’s a pretty big production.”

Kittle has parlayed the holiday into an annual camp dubbed “Tight End U” at his Nashville-area residence. More than 60 tight ends signed up for it in June, with several quarterbacks and position coaches taking part. It also has attracted multiple sponsors, and in 2022, Tight End U donated around $800,000 to the Nashville Boys & Girls Clubs.

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“It’s good to have the tight ends back in the same room and just talk some ball and hang out and get to know each other,” Kittle said.

When Lachey and All are healthy, they are expected to join their predecessors in the NFL. Even former Iowa defensive end Parker Hesse has made the switch to tight end and has appeared in 18 games with nine receptions since 2019. Iowa’s NFL tight ends have become a brotherhood amid a fraternity. Their success makes them unparalleled.

“If you make it through three to five years in Iowa, your mentality is going to be in the right place,” Kittle said. “You’re going to be able to handle things, you’re going to be able to handle stress, you’re going to be able to handle ups and downs. They do a good job of teaching you that, which I wouldn’t say is the same for every college out there.”

 (Top photo of Iowa’s George Kittle in November 2016: Matthew Holst / Getty Images)





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MN dog missing for 2 years found in Iowa

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MN dog missing for 2 years found in Iowa


The holidays are much brighter for a Twin Cities couple who were recently reunited with their mini goldendoodle. Their dog ran away more than two years ago.

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Corduroy the dog goes missing

The backstory: Some of you may remember when Corduroy went missing two years ago. His owners searched everywhere but no dog.  Their search ended last month when Corduroy was found in Iowa.

“I went up to him, bent down, and had him smell me, and I said, Do you remember me?,” said Chris Hoefer, Corduroy’s dad.

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October 22, 2022 is a day the couple will never forget.

“A friend of ours was dog sitting room. Our friend was taking him on a walk, and he was actually attacked by another dog. He broke loose of his collar and ran away,” said Hoefer.

Finding a missing dog

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What We Know: It’s a moment Chris Hoefer and his husband have been waiting for since Corduroy went missing. They’re now embracing the love and joy of having him again.

“He’s so comfortable with us, and he’s still just such a sweet and gentle dog that you know, the same dog that he was two years ago,” said Christiaan Montgomery, Corduroy’s dad.

What followed was nearly 500 tips and two years of searching led nowhere.  That is, until this one voicemail:

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We had a stray dog come in and we scanned for microchips, and checking that chip, it came registered to you.

It was on November 10 by the Dubuque Iowa Humane Society.

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“I was in disbelief. And I couldn’t believe that it was in Dubuque, Iowa, which is almost 300 miles away from here,” said Montgomery.

The couple took the drive, and Corduroy was able to come home for the holidays because of his microchip.

“I’ve been keeping his chip active since he went missing, just in the hopes that one day he might show up at a location where they had a scanner,” said Montgomery.

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What’s next: Lindsay Koopmann with The Retrievers Volunteer Last Dog Team says if you find a stray dog, get it scanned. So, dogs like Corduroy can enjoy Christmas with their parents. 

“There’s no way he ever would have made his way home here and be reunited without being microchipped,” said Koopmann.

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How To Watch Pop Tarts Bowl: Iowa State vs. Miami, Bowl Game TV Schedule

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How To Watch Pop Tarts Bowl: Iowa State vs. Miami, Bowl Game TV Schedule


The Miami Hurricanes are back in action for the final time this season as they look to prove that they were one of the best teams in the league this season as they face the Iowa State Cyclones in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando.

What is better for the Canes is that most of their starting player from this previous season will be participating instead of opting out.

That means the No. 1 offense in the country will be on full display with Heisman finalist and the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award Winner Cam Ward taking the field with All-American Xavier Restrepo and the rest of the electric offense for the Hurricanes.

This will be the final game of a great, yet disappointing season for the Hurricanes but the morale is high as year three of the Mario Cristobal Era comes to a close.

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Who: Miami vs. Iowa State

When: 3:30 p.m. on ABC

Where: Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL

Series: First contest between the two teams.

Last time out, Miami: Miami came up short of reaching the ACC Championship Game after failing to stop the electric offense of the Syracuse Orange and losing 42-38 in the final game of the regular season.

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Last time out, Iowa State: The Cyclones got blown out in the Big 12 Championship game against winners Arizona State 45-19 as they struggled to find offense all game long.

Mon., Dec. 23

Myrtle Beach Bowl
Coastal Carolina vs. UTSA
11 a.m. on ESPN

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State
2:30 p.m. on ESPN

Tues., Dec. 24

Hawai’i Bowl
South Florida vs. San Jose State
8 p.m. on ESPN

Thurs., Dec. 26

GameAbove Sports Bowl
Pittsburgh vs. Toledo
2 p.m. on ESPN

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Rate Bowl
Rutgers vs. Kansas State
5:30 p.m. on ESPN

68 Ventures Bowl
Arkansas State vs. Bowling Green
9 p.m. on ESPN

Fri., Dec. 27

Armed Forces Bowl
Navy vs. Oklahoma
12 p.m. on ESPN

Birmingham Bowl
Vanderbilt vs. Georgia Tech
3:30 p.m. on ESPN

Liberty Bowl
Arkansas vs. Texas Tech
7 p.m. on ESPN

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Holiday Bowl
Syracuse vs. Washington State
8 p.m. on Fox

Las Vegas Bowl
Texas A&M vs. USC
10:30 p.m. on ESPN

Sat., Dec. 28

Fenway Bowl
North Carolina vs. UConn
11 a.m. on ESPN

Pinstripe Bowl
Nebraska vs. Boston College
12 p.m. on ABC

New Mexico Bowl
TCU vs. Louisiana
2:15 p.m. on ESPN

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Pop-Tarts Bowl
Miami vs. Iowa State
3:30 p.m. on ABC

Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl
Colorado State vs. Miami (OH)
4:30 p.m. on CW Network

Military Bowl
NC State vs. East Carolina
5:45 p.m. on ESPN

Alamo Bowl
Colorado vs. BYU
7:30 p.m. on ABC

Independence Bowl
Army vs. Louisiana Tech
9:15 p.m. on ESPN

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Mon., Dec. 30

Music City Bowl
Missouri vs. Iowa
2:30 p.m. on ESPN

Tues., Dec. 31

ReliaQuest Bowl
Alabama vs. Michigan
12 p.m. on ESPN

Sun Bowl
Louisville vs. Washington
2 p.m. on CBS

Citrus Bowl
South Carolina vs. Illinois
3 p.m. on ABC

Texas Bowl
LSU vs. Baylor
3:30 p.m. on ESPN

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Thurs., Jan. 2

Gator Bowl
Ole Miss vs. Duke
7:30 p.m. on ESPN

Fri., Jan. 3

First Responder Bowl
North Texas vs. Texas State
4 p.m. on ESPN

Duke’s Mayo Bowl
Minnesota vs. Virginia Tech
7:30 p.m. on ESPN

Sat., Jan. 4

Bahamas Bowl
Buffalo vs. Liberty
11 a.m. on ESPN2

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READ MORE FROM MIAMI HURRICANES ON SI:

2025 Miami Hurricanes Football Offseason Tracker: Coming and Going

Everything Miami Head Coach Mario Cristobal Said After Pop-Tart Bowl Announcement

Welcome to the ACC Bill Belichick, Mario Cristobal Time is Ticking: Just a Minute

Follow all social media platforms to stay up to date with everything Miami Hurricanes- TwitterFacebookInstagramYoutube, and BlueSky.





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Iowa Republicans set up a shell game to mask the costs of tax cuts | Opinion

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Iowa Republicans set up a shell game to mask the costs of tax cuts | Opinion



It is not “taxpayer relief” to use previously paid taxes to pay help pay for budget shortfalls caused by a “tax cut.”

This month, the state Revenue Estimating Conference reported new estimates showing Iowa revenue will drop by $602 million (6.2%) compared with fiscal year 2024. Further, state revenue is expected to drop by a further $428 million (4.7%) in fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1, 2025. Republicans attribute the fall in estimated revenue to the start of their 3.8% flat income tax rate next year. Republicans have promoted reducing the state income tax — which Sen. Jack Whitver derisively calls a “confiscation” — down to zero.

But Republicans have amassed a $2 billion budget surplus, $961 million in its reserve accounts, and $3.75 billion in the Taxpayer Relief Fund, which was supposed to be used to reduce taxes. All told, about $6.75 billion. One good question is: Why?

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Republicans enacted a long-term commitment to reduced revenues due to the flax tax at an extremely volatile time during and after the COVID-19 epidemic. The federal government’s $5.2 trillion infusion into states and their economies was the largest fiscal stimulus package ever. One-time federal financial supports reduced state costs and artificially bolstered revenues. Recently, Pew Charitable Trusts observed: “The combination of temporary funds propping up budgets and the adoption of new recurring expenditures or tax cuts has left many states in a precarious position. Policymakers now must grapple with the possibility that their states’ finances are structurally imbalanced and vulnerable to deficits as one-time funds dry up but new commitments remain.”

Not wanting to “waste a good crisis,” as they say, Republicans rushed to enact a flat tax during an extremely uncertain economic time when the level of likely future tax revenues was cloudy at best.

As the COVID economic booster begins to fade, several states have experienced significant decreases in tax revenue as compared to their 15-year trend. Iowa was among states experiencing a negative difference in the fourth quarter of 2023 — mind you, before the flat income tax kicked in. Iowa experienced a 6% decrease in revenue from its historical trend, the fourth-highest difference among states that went negative, according to Pew.

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Researchers explained: “State tax collections have been on a downward trajectory since their mid-2022 peak, reflecting, in large part, a decline from the unexpected highs of the pandemic revenue wave. … One question is whether states will be able to afford the budgetary commitments they made in the past three years — such as tax relief and pay raises for public employees — over the long term.”

Yet, Iowa Republicans want to enshrine their COVID-fueled tax cut into the Iowa Constitution. Last session, Republicans passed a constitutional amendment to require a two-thirds vote of both chambers of the state Legislature to pass a bill that would increase the individual or corporate income tax rate. They are expected to pass the legislation a second time this session, which would likely put it on the ballot for voters in November 2026. What a way to saddle future Iowans with a hasty tax cut enacted during a most abnormal period of artificially high revenue and reduced state expenses.

It is a sure thing Republicans will hoard Iowa’s surpluses and use it to cover predicted revenue gaps before the November 2026 vote on the constitutional amendment to mask from the voting public the true and lasting impacts of their opportunistic push for a flat tax.

In fact, Republicans and Gov. Kim Reynolds passed Senate File 2442 this year, which, among other things, changed the law regarding how the Taxpayer Relief Fund could be used. Tucked away in the second-to-last division of a 35-page bill is a section that provides that, if the actual net revenue is less than budgeted expenses “there is transferred from the taxpayer relief fund to the general fund of the state an amount equal to fifty percent of the difference or the remaining balance of the taxpayer relief fund, whichever is lower.” That is a preemptive coverup of the probable result of the Republican flat tax as conceded by Republicans, themselves.

Iowa Republicans are not using the Taxpayer Relief Fund as it was originally intended. It is not “taxpayer relief” to use previously paid taxes to pay help pay for budget shortfalls caused by a “tax cut.” Most would call that a shell game. It is like giving yourself a “raise” by moving a dollar from one pocket to another. Why not just give those “confiscated” funds back to Iowans directly via refunds? Ah, but that would spoil the game, wouldn’t it?

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Unmet needs and underfunded state accounts exist now. That will get worse.

Governor Reynolds states Republicans have a “commitment to shrinking the size and scope of government.” However, should not elected officials be committed first to ensuring that our government is the “right size,” before deciding it should be shrunk? That is, the right size to fully accomplish basic functions that individuals cannot meet themselves —no matter how much of their own money they have in their pockets — such as prevention and mitigation of natural disasters, ensuring safe bridges and roads, making sure promised pensions are not underfunded, cleaning up Iowa’s fouled waters, and helping public schools at least meet their costs of operation.

Tom Walton is an Iowa lawyer.



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