Luke Lachey is healthy and should be highly motivated
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – As of right now, the only prediction I’ll make about the 2024 Iowa offense is that tight end Luke Lachey, barring injury, will be one of the best in the country at his position this coming season.
Some might say that is stating the obvious, because if you’re familiar with Hawkeye football, you don’t need to be reminded about Luke Lachey’s talent, or about his importance to the team.
Lachey was showing early signs of having a special season in 2023 when he suffered a season-ending leg injury against Western Michigan in the first quarter of the third game.
In slightly more than eight quarters last season, Lachey had 10 catches for 131 yards.
He was one of the few early bright spots for an Iowa offense whose performance left so much to be desired last season.
There was even talk that Lachey, despite the injury, might declare for the 2024 NFL Draft, but he squashed that talk in late December, saying that he wanted to leave a legacy and play with his brothers for another season.
But as the 2024 season approaches, Luke Lachey seems to have dropped off the national radar a little bit, nothing dramatic or egregious, but enough to notice.
Lachey was named preseason fourth-team All-Big Ten by Phil Steele, and my first reaction was that it seemed too low.
Perhaps I was showing my Hawkeye bias, considering the three tight ends ranked ahead of Lachey by Phil Steele – Colston Loveland from Michigan, Jack Velling from Michigan State and Tyler Warren from Penn State – are all top-notch tight ends.
Loveland finished last season with 649 receiving yards while Velling, a transfer from Oregon State, tied for the national lead amongst tight ends with eight receiving touchdowns last season. Velling was also eighth among Power Five tight ends with 13 catches that went for 15-plus yards in 2023.
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Velling followed head coach Jonathan Smith from Oregon State to Michigan State.
Warren finished last season with 34 catches for 422 yards and seven touchdowns, including two in a 31-0 trouncing of Iowa.
So, in no way am I suggesting that Loveland, Velling and Warran aren’t worthy of the preseason hype because they are deserving.
This is more a case of pointing out that Lachey should have plenty of fuel and motivation for his final season as a Hawkeye.
There are all sorts of position rankings on X, especially as the college football season draws closer, and Lachey has been ranked anywhere from sixth to 16th nationally at his position.
Again, maybe I’m showing my bias, but to even suggest that there are 15 college tight ends that are better than Luke Lachey is laughable.
It’s hard enough to believe there are three Big Ten tight ends better than Lachey.
What seems apparent is that Lachey’s injury, coupled with Iowa’s struggling offense, has made him sort of a victim of circumstance.
And while his body of work last season only included slightly more than two games, Lachey was on course to finish the season with about 60 catches and 700 yards over 12 games.
He also performed well as a sophomore in 2022, catching 28 passes for 398 yards and a team-high four touchdowns while playing second-fiddle to All-Big Ten tight end Sam LaPorta, who now plays for the Detroit Lions.
Athlon Sports seems more impressed than Phil Steele with Lachey’s entire body of work as it named him preseason second-team All- Big Ten.
Of course, these are just rankings that have no impact once the ball is snapped.
Tim Lester, as the new Iowa offensive coordinator, faces a daunting task in trying to rebuild an Iowa offense that has sunk to depths from a statistical standpoint that seemed almost unimaginable.
Lester would be wise to get the ball to the 6-foot-6, 253-pound Lachey as much as possible, because in addition to being arguably Iowa’s best offensive weapon, Lachey also should be on a mission after what happened last season.
He isn’t a forgotten player, but the injury, and Iowa’s offense, fair or not, have impacted how he is now being perceived.
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The talk this summer is that Lester has helped to reenergize the Iowa offense with his pre-snap motion and movement.
But there is always talk of being reenergized when a new coordinator takes over.
Time will tell.
The best way to reenergize the offense is to utilize the best players.
Luke Lachey is a special talent, who might even have a little chip on his shoulder.
He is also the son of former NFL All-Pro offensive lineman Jim Lachey, and even though Luke plays a different position, he wants to live up to the high standard set by his father.
Oddly enough, Luke Lachey was a better receiver than blocker when he came to Iowa because he was used more like a receiver in high school.
He has worked hard to improve as a blocker and is now the total package.
He’s also healthy, and we could assume highly motivated.
So, expect big things from Luke Lachey this fall.
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