Sam LaPorta on Mackey Watch List

Iowa Senior Named Among Players in Running for Tight End Award

Iowa's Sam LaPorta talks on the BTN set at Big Ten Media Days on July 26, 2022 in Indianapolis. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- University of Iowa senior tight end Sam LaPorta has been named to the 2022 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List. The Highland, Illinois, native was also named to the preseason watch list in 2020 and 2021.

Presented annually by the Friends of John Mackey, the award goes to the nation’s most outstanding tight end.

LaPorta (6-4, 249 pounds) was voted second-team All-Big Ten by Phil Steele and third-team by league coaches in 2021. As a junior, LaPorta led the Hawkeyes in catches and yards, hauling in 53 receptions for 670 yards and three touchdowns. The Hawkeye tight end has been named to the Athlon Sports 2022 preseason All-Big Ten First Team, and third team on Phil Steele’s preseason All-America Team.

T.J. Hockenson won the 2018 John Mackey award, becoming the second Hawkeye (Dallas Clark, 2002) to do so. Noah Fant was a semifinalist in 2018, joining Allen Reisner (2010) and Tony Moeaki (2009) as semifinalists.

The Hawkeyes open the season with three straight nonconference home games, each featuring a different start time. The season-opener, Sept. 3, against South Dakota State is slated for an 11 a.m. (CT) kickoff. The annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series game against Iowa State will follow on Sept. 10, with a 3 p.m. start time. Iowa’s final nonconference contest is an evening contest against Nevada beginning at 6:30 p.m.