For Ohio natives Luke Lachey and Kaleb Johnson, beating Ohio State is more about team than personal
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Luke Lachey apparently holds on to a football much better than a grudge.
Because instead of being bitter and resentful for not having received a scholarship offer from his home state Ohio State Buckeyes, Lachey would prefer to appreciate what he has gained from being a tight end on the Iowa football team.
Of course, he grew up dreaming of being a Buckeye as most kids do in Ohio.
Lachey’s father, Jim Lachey, was a star offensive lineman for the Buckeyes, and a former NFL All-Pro.
Jim Lachey is also a color commentator on the Buckeyes’ radio broadcast.
So, it was almost pre-determined that Luke Lachey as the son of a former Buckeye would be a Buckeye fan growing up in Ohio, and part of being a young fan is to dream big.
Luke Lachey will realize a dream on Saturday when for the second and last time he will play at the legendary Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio.
“Certainly, everyone’s dream is being able to play in the Horseshoe growing up,” Luke Lachey said. “But I have the unique opportunity with my teammates here at Iowa, so I’m super excited for it.”
Whatever disappointment that Luke Lachey felt about Ohio State not offering him a scholarship has long since faded.
His decision to play for Kirk Ferentz at Iowa has become a lot more than just a nice consolation prize.
“I’m so fortunate to have ended up being an Iowa Hawkeye,” Luke Lachey said. “In the moment it was where I wanted to be. And whether or not Ohio State had offered, when I was really coming down to it, I wanted to be an Iowa Hawkeye because it was the best place for me.
“They do a great job of developing, and obviously, coming out of high school, I was nowhere near a finished product. So, I thought it was best place for me.”
Luke Lachey as a three-year starter will leave Iowa as the latest in a long line of standout tight ends.
He probably wouldn’t even be a Hawkeye right now because he seemed destined to enter the 2024 NFL Draft until suffering a season-ending lower leg injury in the third game of last season.
As hard as it was for Luke Lachey to deal with being injured, he can look on the bright side, which is he gets to be a Hawkeye for another year, and he gets one more chance to play in the Horseshoe.
Luke Lachey wants nothing more than to win on Saturday, but he seems motivated more by team goals than anything personal.
“I’m glad where I ended up,” Luke Lachey said. “They went in another director and I’m good with that. So, there’s no hard feelings there.”
Meanwhile, Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson also grew up in Ohio and was a high school football star just like Luke Lachey.
The Buckeyes also took a pass on Johnson, which some might find hard to believe given how well Johnson has played so far this season.
Johnson has rushed for 685 yards and scored nine touchdowns in 3 ½ games this season.
The Hamilton, Ohio native was previously committed to Cal-Berkeley before switching to Iowa.
Johnson looks forward to facing Ohio State, but not necessarily because he has a personal vendetta to settle, but more so because he thrives on competition and wants to face the best.
The fact that Ohio State is favored in Saturday’s game by 20.5 points just helps to fuel Johnson’s fire.
“People look at us to lose, I look at it as motivation,” Johnson said. “So, if I do well, and my team does well, we’re going to win.”
And while a scholarship from Ohio State never was offered to Luke Lachey or to Kaleb Johnson, the Buckeyes practically rolled out the red carpet for Iowa junior strong safety and Southeast Polk graduate Xavier Nwankpa, who was ranked among the top recruits in the 2022 senior class.
“That was one of my top schools,” Nwankpa said of Ohio State.
Asked how badly Ohio State wanted him, Nwankpa said:
“I guess pretty badly. I don’t know how to answer that. They recruited me pretty heavily throughout high school and it ultimately came down to the wire for me.”
Nwankpa said Ohio State finished either second or third on his list.
“It was kind of a toss-up,” he said.
Nwankpa has started 16 games for Iowa at strong safety and played in 30 games overall.
He is the highest ranked recruit to sign with Iowa during the Kirk Ferentz era.
Luke Lachey, on the other hand, was sort of a typical Iowa recruit in that he had talent and potential, but it needed to be developed over time and with patience and persistence.
The 6-foot-6, 247-pound son of Buckeye now ranks among the best tights end in the Big Ten.
He is also a team captain and has represented Iowa at Big Ten Media Day in each of the at two seasons.
Kirk Ferentz has enjoyed coaching Luke Lachey and getting to know his parents along the way.
“It’s been great having Luke in the program,” Kirk Ferentz said. “He’s just a stellar young people, been a team captain every week, and my guess is that’ll continue. He’s a great leader.
“That’s really the fun part about all this stuff is getting to know the individuals and then the players’ families on top of it and all the good things that come with that. So yeah, they’ve been great parents.”
Iowa (3-1) vs. Ohio State (4-0)
When: Saturday, 2:30 p.m.
Where: Columbus, Ohio, Ohio Stadium (102,780)
TV: CBS
Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network
Series record: Ohio State leads, 48-15-3
Last meeting: Ohio State won 54-10 on Oct. 22, 2022 in Columbus.