By Tyler Devine

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Ever since T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant were drafted eighth and 20th overall, respectively, in April's NFL Draft, the nickname "Tight End U" has been hovering around the Iowa football team.

That success was one of the principal factors in three-star Ohio tight end Luke Lachey announcing his commitment to Iowa on Wednesday.

Lachey is the 22nd player overall and joins Texas native Elijah Yelverton as the two tight ends in Iowa's 2020 recruiting class.

"That impacted my commitment a lot," Lachey said. "Just seeing how well they were utilized and how successful they were really made we want something like that."

The 6-foot-7, 220-pound Lachey also pointed to the honesty head coach Kirk Ferentz and his staff maintained throughout the recruiting process as something that stood out to him.

"Building relationships with players and commits (factored into the decision)," Lachey said. "And the fact that the coaches were honest throughout the whole process."

Even if Iowa had never garnered the "Tight End U" nickname after the NFL Draft, Lachey said he still would have been a Hawkeye.

"I feel like it's more of a relationship type deal than that," Lachey said. "I want to be a Hawkeye and they wanted me to be as well. I liked that a lot about them."

Lachey, a native of Grandview Heights, Ohio, also had scholarship offers from Akron, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Eastern Michigan, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Iowa State, Kentucky, Louisiana State, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Toledo, Tulane, Vanderbilt, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Iowa’s 2020 recruiting class

Gavin Williams, RB, 6-0, 195, West Des Moines, Iowa

Deuce Hogan, QB, 6-4, 191, Grapevine, Texas

Michael Lois, DE, 6-4, 260, Elkhorn, Wisc.

Isaiah Bruce, DE, 6-2, 247, Lena, Ill.

Logan Jones, DE, 6-3, 252, Council Bluffs, Iowa

Ethan Burkett, LB, 6-3, 230, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Josh Volk, OL, 6-4, 306, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Tyler Elsbury, OL, 6-5, 298, Byron, Ill.

Elijah Yelverton, TE, 6-5, 235, Dallas, Texas

Leshon Williams, RB, 5-10, 205, Oak Lawn, Ill.

Mason Richman, DE, 6-5, 259, Stilwell, Kan.

Yahya Black, DE, 6-5, 250, Marshall, Minn.

Quavon Matthews, WR, 6-0, 170, Largo, Fla.

Keylen Gulley, DB, 6-0, 167, Largo, Fla.

A.J. Lawson, DB, 6-2, 180, Decatur, Ill.

Brenden Deasfernandes, DB, 6-0, 161, Belleville, Mich.

Lukas Van Ness, DE, 6-5, 240, Barrington, Ill.

Jay Higgins, LB, 6-0, 209, Indianapolis, Ind.

Reggie Bracy, DB, 6-0, 190, Mobile, Ala.

Aaron Witt, DL, 6-5, 230, Winona, Minn.

Diante Vines, WR, 5-11, 189, Watertown, Conn.

Luke Lachey, TE, 6-7, 220, Grandview Heights, Ohio