By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The way in which junior tight end Noah Fant is being used, or not being used on offense, is one of the strangest things I’ve seen in nearly 30 years of covering the Iowa football team.

One of the most physically gifted and established tight ends in the history of the Iowa program for some reason has been reduced to a role player.

It’s hard to even call the 6-foot-5, 241-pound Fant a decoy, because in order to be a decoy, a player has to be on the field.

There were many times during Saturday’s 14-10 loss to Northwestern at Kinnick Stadium when Fant wasn’t even on the field. He only played eight snaps in the second half and finished with one catch for zero yards and was targeted just three times in a game in which Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley attempted 41 passes.

Iowa faced a third-and-11 from the Northwestern 20 in the third quarter and chose to throw a fade to receiver Max Cooper, who barely stands six feet tall. Needless to say, the play didn't work.

Fant, despite having a 42-inch vertical jump and a knack for making touchdown catches, wasn't even on the field for that play.

That doesn't make sense if your goal is to always have the best players on the field who give you best chance to win as it should be.

Leaving Fant on the bench for third-down passing situations would be similar to not having Iowa point guard Jordan Bohannon, and his near 90-percent accuracy from the free throw line, on the court when the opponent is trying to erase a deficit by fouling late in a game.

The inability, or the refusal, to get Fant more involved in the offense has been an issue throughout the season. There just seems to be a disconnect between Fant and the Iowa coaches because how else do you explain such a weird situation that nobody could have envisioned before the season?

Fant began this season as arguably the most celebrated tight end in college football after he caught 11 touchdown passes last season.

The Omaha, Neb., native possesses a rare blend of size and speed for a tight end and it was assumed that Fant would be a primary weapon this season.

Fant does lead Iowa with six touchdown catches, but the amount of time he has spent on the bench is odd to say the least.

It makes you wonder if there is more to the story because how do you explain a proven star spending so much time on the bench?

How do you explain not using one of your most explosive weapons in an offense that lacks explosiveness?

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz tried to explain it after Saturday’s loss, which lowered Iowa’s record to 6-4 overall and 3-4 in the Big Ten.

Ferentz reminded reporters that Iowa has two quality tight ends with sophomore T.J. Hockenson being the other.

And right now, it seems obvious that the Iowa coaches, or at least Kirk Ferentz, feel that Hockenson has the edge over Fant despite Fant being a preseason All-America selection.

“We’re playing the guys out there that we feel are best in the situations that’s given to them,” Ferentz said.

Fant's accomplishments from last season, and the preseason honors that came with it, shouldn't give him a free pass to play at all times. But it should have some influence because Fant already has shown over the course of an entire season that he can be special.

And he has shown it at times this season, but in a limited capacity.

Fant addressed his situation after the game, and oddly enough, he was upbeat compared to his teammates. He laughed with reporters and avoided saying anything that would have been a distraction.    

It would make sense to use Hockenson more than Fant on running plays because Hockenson is a superior blocker.

But what doesn’t make sense is all the third-down passing plays, or plays in the red zone, with Fant on the bench. There have been numerous plays this season when Iowa desperately needed somebody in the passing game to make a big play, but Fant was standing on the sideline.

Fant’s older brother voiced his frustration about Noah’s lack of playing on Twitter earlier in the season, and Noah told the media that his brother was entitled to his opinion.

It almost seemed like Noah was glad that his brother spoke out because Noah isn’t in a position to do so.

The fact that Iowa has lost three games in a row has made Fant’s situation more frustrating to fans because they can’t figure out why a marquee player is being targeted so infrequently.

Fant has shown a knack for making big plays and for scoring touchdowns, and yet, his role seems to be diminishing for reasons that don’t make sense.

"I think I’m capable to be out there," Fant said after Saturday's loss. "Our coaching staff, they thought to put those guys out there, you know, those guys can perform just as well as anyone else. Overall, we go with the coaches’ decision and it comes down to the point where we go out there and play as hard as we can with what we’re given and I feel like our guys did a good job today."

Fant deserves credit for saying the right things under difficult circumstances. He is clearly frustrated and confused with his limited role, but he continues to put the team first, at least publicly. 

I would never accuse Kirk Ferentz of playing favorites or of trying to hold a player back. But the way in which his son, Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, is using Fant seems counter-productive.

Brian Ferentz also coaches the tight ends, which adds another twist to the controversy.

Multiple tight ends have thrived at Iowa during Kirk Ferentz's 20-year reign as head coach before going on to play in the NFL, a list that includes Dallas Clark, Brandon Myers, C.J. Fiedorowicz and George Kittle among others.

So that just makes Fant's situation even more peculiar because Kirk Ferentz's staff has a long and distinguished tradition of developing star tight ends, and Fant was on course to be one, if not the best of all of them, heading into the season.

There was speculation heading into the season that Fant would skip his senior season to enter the 2019 NFL Draft. However, that speculation was based on the assumption that Fant would play a key role this season.

He has at times played a key role, but nothing like what was expected.

I now fully expect Fant to skip his senior season, and maybe even the bowl game, to enter the NFL Draft because what incentive does he have to return under the current circumstances?

He widely projects as a first-round pick, but games like the one on Saturday certainly don't help that cause.