By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Much like he does on many of his touchdown catches, Iowa tight end Noah Fant made a potentially difficult situation look easy on Tuesday.

The junior from Omaha, Neb., addressed for the first time publicly comments that his older brother made on Twitter recently that criticized Noah’s lack of playing time.

“From my brother’s side, that’s my brother, that’s his opinion,” Fant said. “I will never turn my back on my family or anything like that. From the coaches’ side, they handled it the way they thought to handle it.

“And from my perspective, it doesn’t really affect me. I just go in when I’m told to go in and that’s all I can really do about it. My brother, and my family, have their opinions, but that doesn’t really matter in that situation.”

Asked if he would’ve preferred that his brother not make the comments, Noah Fant said:

“That’s his right as my brother. That’s one of those things where he tweeted it and it happened. That’s my older brother, I’m not going to tell him, hey, take that down. That’s the guy I’ve been looking up to my whole life.

“So I don’t think he’s hurting me. I don’t think my family’s hurting me. They only want the best for me.”

Fant said he has spoken with his brother about his comments and has met with Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz and with offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz as a way it seems to sort of clear the air and move forward.

That was the impression Fant gave on Tuesday, that he just wants to put this behind him and move forward.

Fant respects both sides, but doesn’t feel stuck in the middle, or that his brother’s comments were a distraction.

“I don’t feel like it was a distraction for me or my teammates,” Fant said. “Continuing to talk about it would have made it a distraction.

“So honestly, I kind of figured those meetings (with the coaches) were going to happen and I’d got called in. But to me, I had already moved past it, and I’m just worried about being with my teammates and worried about playing with my team, and hopefully, getting on the field as much as I can.”

Fant’s situation was unique heading into the season with him having earned numerous preseason All-America honors, and deservedly so, based on what he accomplished last season, which included catching 11 touchdown passes.

That was the most touchdown catches in a season for an Iowa tight end, and it was assumed that the 6-foot-4, 241-pound Fant would pick up this season where he left off last season.

And he has in some ways, considering he leads Iowa with 26 receptions and with six touchdown catches heading into Saturday’s game at Penn State.

But Fant also has had to share the stage with fellow tight end T.J Hockenson, who leads the team with 424 receiving yards on 25 catches.

Fant and Hockenson could prove to be each other’s biggest competition for postseason awards, which is a great situation to have from an offensive firepower standpoint, but also a potentially awkward and delicate situation.

Hockenson is used more than Fant as a blocker, because frankly, the 6-5, 250-pound Hockenson is a better blocker. So there are times when Hockenson is on the field when Fant isn’t. And that hasn't gone unnoticed.

Some Iowa fans were complaining about Fant's snap count before his brother unleashed on Twitter.

Fant almost specializes in making big plays with his speed and quickness. He sometimes lines up as a receiver, whereas Hockenson is more of a traditional tight end.

Having two star players at the same position could create a rift between those two players, but Fant dismissed that talk on Tuesday.

“My bond with T.J. is really (strong),” Fant said. “He’s a great guy and a good dude. We dron’t want to peg guys against each other, especially on our own team.”

“T.J. does things that he does. I do things that I do. And we both open each other up at different points in time. So I think it’s definitely a tandem thing. One is not as good without the other.”

Fant confirmed on Tuesday that he suffered a concussion against Minnesota on Oct. 6 and was in concussion protocol until the following Friday. He showed no effects from the concussion the next day against Indiana, catching four passes for 102 yards and one touchdown during a 42-16 victory on Oct. 13 in Bloomington, Ind.

Hockenson also had over 100 receiving yards and caught two touchdown passes against the Hoosiers.

Kirk Ferentz joked about snap counts with the media following the Indiana game, which he was able to do because Fant and Hockenson both had performed well during a victory. It’s highly unlikely that Ferentz would’ve said anything about snap counts if Fant had struggled, or if Iowa had lost.

The fact that Ferentz even brought it up to the media shows that the comments made by Fant’s brother didn’t go unnoticed by the Iowa coaches.

Fant addressed the situation on Tuesday without offending or betraying his family and without saying anything controversial about his coaches.

He said all the right things and catered to both sides, as he should have.

Fant loves and respects his older brother and appreciates his support, even if it comes in the form of a controversial post on Twitter.

Fant knows that his older brother wants what is best for him because blood is the thickest of all the bonds.

In some ways, Noah Fant is auditioning for a career in the NFL and his family knows that.

Football could change the course of Noah’s life, and his family wants to make sure that nothing will stand in the way of that.

The Iowa coaches also want what is best for Noah Fant as a player, but the team still comes first, as it should.

I’m in no position to tell any member of Noah Fant’s family how to respond to what happens on the field.

His brother has every right to speak out if he feels Noah isn’t being used properly. Especially if Noah doesn’t have a problem with it.

But what did it accomplish besides Noah having to meet with the Iowa coaches and with the media to address the comments?

Even if it were a distraction, Noah Fant probably wouldn’t acknowledge it to the media because that could be seen as going against his brother.

There are two sides in this case and both sides mean a great deal to Noah Fant, but nothing comes before his family.

At least, that was my take from Tuesday’s interview.