By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Noah Fant continues to go where no Iowa tight end has gone before.

And that’s saying a lot if you know anything about Iowa’s proud tradition at tight end.

Fant is coming off a sophomore season in which he led the Big Ten with 11 touchdown catches.

The Omaha, Neb., native also set the single-season record for most touchdown catches by an Iowa tight end, and he needed just 30 receptions to do it.

Fant then achieved another milestone with his vertical jump of 42.1 inches that occurred during Iowa’s offseason testing period. His mark not only broke the record for Iowa tight ends, it also would have tied for third best in the history of the NFL Combine.

“It was fun,” Fant said of breaking the record in the vertical jump. “I don’t know how to describe it. That day I was juiced up. It was a super-cool experience. People were shocked. Obviously, I want to beat that again.”

Fant was among a select number of Iowa players who met with the media on Tuesday to update the progress being made this summer.

Junior quarterback Nate Stanley also met with reporters on Tuesday and was present when Fant broke the record in the vertical jump.

“We were all doing our verticals at the same time, but when you hear a coach say forty-two, your jaw just kind of drops a little bit,” said Stanley. “It’s pretty special to be able to do that.”

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The 6-foot-5, 241-pound Fant is pretty special to already have accomplished what he has as a Hawkeye.

He enters his junior season poised for stardom after compiling 494 receiving yards last season, but also as a marked man to opposing defenses.

“I expect defenses to try and play hard with our tight ends,” Fant said.

Fant has the luxury playing alongside fellow tight end T.J. Hockenson, who had 24 catches for 320 yards and three touchdowns last season as a redshirt freshman.

“I’m sure defenses are going to focus on our tight ends,” Fant said. “The history of our program, we use our tight ends a lot.

"Even towards the end of (last) season, people were starting to do that. But that will give room for a lot of different people.”

Iowa’s history of using its tight ends helped convince Fant to be a Hawkeye. He was under pressure to stay home and attend Nebraska, but Iowa just felt like a better fit, on and off the field.

“When it comes down to it, I decided it was the best fit for me and it has fit pretty well,” Fant said of being a Hawkeye. “I feel like people understand that and I don’t have any hard feelings towards Nebraska. They’re a great program in itself, but this is the best fit for me as a person and as a player.”

It’s hard to argue with the results, considering Fant is now ranked among the top tight ends nationally heading into his junior season.

His stock has risen so much that there is speculation Fant will skip his senior season to enter the 2019 NFL Draft.

Iowa lost junior cornerback Josh Jackson and junior center James Daniels to the 2018 NFL Draft, but neither of them were as decorated as Fant is now.

Fant downplayed the NFL talk on Tuesday, as you would hope and expect because that is putting the cart way in front of the horse at this stage.

"My only concern right now is just getting better each day," Fant said.

Fant picked Iowa because he liked how the tight ends were utilized and felt that he could reach his potential as a Hawkeye.

Halfway through his college career, he seems to have made the right choice.

"That was a big part for me," Fant said of Iowa's reputation for using its tight ends. "Obviously, I don't want to go to a school where they don't use their tight ends very much.

"So coming to Iowa was obviously a no-brainer for me with how much they do use their tight ends."