Iowa Earns Major Recognition For Elite NFL Talent At This Position

The Iowa Hawkeyes have been incredible at producing elite NFL talent at this specific position.

Oct 14, 2023; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; General view of Iowa Hawkeyes helmets prior to the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The Iowa Hawkeyes are not exactly the Alabama Crimson Tide or the Ohio State Buckeyes when it comes to prestige on the college football circuit. However, there is no doubting that Iowa has produced some fantastic NFL talent.

More particularly, the Hawkeyes have developed some incredible players at one very specific position: tight end.

Bleacher Report's David Kenyon has recognized the program as the best producer of tight ends in the country.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz has done an incredible job churning out elite tight end prospects since taking over in 1999, and the talent has gotten better and better over the years.

For example, since 2017, the Hawkeyes have produced George Kittle, T.J. Hockenson, Noah Fant and Sam LaPorta. Three of those four have made Pro Bowls, and while Fant isn't a star, he is at least serviceable on the NFL level.

Going back a bit further, Dallas Clark (2003) and C.J. Fiedorowicz (2014) have also come out of Iowa City.

Clearly, Ferentz has a phenomenal eye for talent at the tight end position, and this past year, another Hawkeyes tight end entered the professional ranks: Erick All, who was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round of the draft.

You would think that given how good Iowa is at identifying top players at tight end, the program would be much better at fielding impressive offenses overall.

Nevertheless, the Hawkeyes have become largely known for elite defenses and sputtering offenses, especially over the last several years.

Iowa is trying to bounce back from a brutal loss to the Iowa State Cyclones when it faces Troy on Saturday afternoon.