By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Picked in the fifth round by the New Orleans Saints in 2000, Austin Wheatley has the distinction of being the first player selected in the NFL Draft under Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz.

The fact that Wheatley played tight end at Iowa from 1996 to 1999 probably has nothing to do with the incredible story that is currently unfolding at that position in season No. 20 under Ferentz, or maybe it does.

Maybe it took all of the previous tight ends under Kirk Ferentz to create the current circumstances where one of the greatest one-two punches at that position in the history of college football is forming right before our eyes.

Before you accuse of me of being a prisoner of the moment, consider that Fant is on pace to finish the regular season with 596 receiving yards and 12 touchdown receptions, while Hockenson is on pace for 788 receiving yards and six touchdowns.

Those totals add up to 1,384 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns from a position where blocking is also a major requirement.

Those totals are astonishing, the kind of thing you wouldn’t believe without seeing it unfold right before your eyes.

At this rate, Hockenson will be Fant’s biggest competition for national postseason honors and vice versa.

They both were named co-winners this week of the weekly John Mackey Award, marking the first time that teammates have shared the honor.

Hockenson and Fant made it impossible to pick just one of them because they both finished with over 100 receiving yards during last Saturday’s 42-16 victory over Indiana, and they combined for three of Nate Stanley’s six touchdown passes, including two by Hockenson.

Fant already was a star heading into the season after having caught 11 touchdown passes last season, while Hockenson had shown signs in 2017 of being a star-in-the-making, finishing with 24 catches for 320 yards and three touchdowns.

Fant and Hockenson figured to be key weapons this season, but nobody could’ve expected this level of productivity.

And for Iowa tight end recruit Logan Lee, the way in which his future team uses its tight ends is part of the appeal.

“I love that they are using their tight ends so much,” said Lee, a three-star recruit from Orion, Ill. “It is truly fun to watch the two of them do so well. This gets me pretty fired up for the future and I’m just excited to how they will develop me as a player.”

Lee picked Iowa over scholarship offers from schools that include Michigan, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Northwestern, Minnesota and Missouri among others.

His decision was heavily influenced by the role of the tight end in the Iowa offense.

“It was a really big factor,” Lee said. “I have always loved how they are able to produce a tight end year in and year out. I knew that they were the best place for me.”

Lee suffered a lacerated spleen and will miss the remainder of his senior season. But he is expected to make a full recovery in time for college.

Lee is one of two tight ends in Iowa’s 2019 recruiting class, the other being fellow Illinois native Josiah Miamen.

They will obviously compete for playing time, but Iowa is showing with Fant and Hockenson that Brian Ferentz’s offense can support two stars at tight end.

The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Hockenson is emerging from Fant’s vast shadow with performances like the one this past Saturday against Indiana when he caught four passes for 107 yards, highlighted by a 54-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter in which Hockenson showed that he had an extra gear from a speed standpoint.

The offense as a whole is also emerging, considering that Stanley has passed for at least 300 yards in three of the last four games after having done it just once last season.

Hockenson was asked on Tuesday what has changed too make the offense more productive and more explosive.

“I don’t think really anything has changed,” Hockenson said. “I think we’re doing the same thing. It’s just starting to come together a little bit better. I think everyone is starting to push forward.

“We were doing this the whole year in practice, and we’ve been doing this the whole year in the offseason. And it’s just been time for it come out.”

And come out it has in spectacular fashion.

Iowa’s two-headed monster at tight end is one of the best stories in college football right now because it’s so unusual to have two tight ends producing at this level.

It’s kind of like having Marv Cook and Dallas Clark on the same Iowa team.

Throw in former Iowa tight end George Kittle’s emergence as a star with the San Francisco 49ers and the popularity of the Iowa tight end continues to soar.

Kittle is among nine tight ends from Iowa who have been selected in the NFL Draft under Ferentz. That is an average of almost one every other season.

There was speculation heading into the season that Fant would skip his senior year to enter the 2019 NFL Draft, and nothing has changed in that regard.

But what has changed is now some wonder if Hockenson might do the same thing as a third-year sophomore.

Instead of wondering, enjoy the ride.

Instead of complaining about snap counts, enjoy what Fant and Hockenson are doing together, and enjoy what Iowa has accomplished at the tight end position dating back to when Hayden Fry took over as head coach in 1979.

Fry helped make the tight end relevant in the Iowa offense. He turned it into a reliable pass-catching option, and he brought attention to the position by having his tight end stand up while on the line scrimmage, which was unheard of at the time.

Fry also expected his tight ends to block, and nothing has changed in that regard under Ferentz. Iowa relies heavily on a power rushing attack to achieve balance on offense, and the tight end figures prominently in that approach as a blocker.

Hockenson showed his blocking skills against Indiana by executing a pancake block in which he slammed his defender to the ground about five yards beyond the line of scrimmage.

“It wasn’t anything special,” Hockenson said. “It’s all fundamentals. We’ve watched the play and it was all fundamentals. It was no herculean effort.”

Baloney!

It was something special, but you also have to admire Hockenson for his humility.

He and Fant are in this together and what they’re doing will be remembered forever.

It’s a journey whose conclusion is uncertain, but the possibilities are endless.

 

Noah Fant

Height-weight-position: 6-5, 241, tight end

Hometown: Omaha, Neb.

2018 statistics: 23 catches, 298 yards, 13.0 avg., six touchdowns

T.J. Hockenson

Height-weight-position: 6-5, 250, tight end

Hometown: Chariton

2018 statistics: 22 catches, 394 yards, 17.9 avg., three touchdowns

Iowa tight ends selected in the NFL Draft under Kirk Ferentz

2000 – Austin Wheatley, Rd. 5, New Orleans

2003 – Dallas Clark, Rd. 1, Indianapolis

2004 – Erik Jensen, Rd. 7, St. louis

2005 – Tony Jackson, Rd. 6, Seattle

2007 – Scott Chandler, Rd. 4, San Diego

2009 – Brandon Myers, Rd. 6, Oakland

2010 – Tony Moeaki, Rd. 3, Kansas City

2014 – C.J. Fiedorowicz, Rd. 3, Houston

2017 – George Kittle, Rd. 5, San Francisco