Luke Lachey, Erick All hope to ‘complement each other,’ elevate Hawkeyes offense together

Iowa’s tight ends were as productive as the entire staff, fanbase and players could’ve asked for in 2022. Sam LaPorta won Big Ten tight end of the year honors, amassing 657 yards in his senior season. Luke Lachey caught a team-high four touchdown receptions and set himself up for a breakout junior season.

They were so good that they led the team in receiving yards last season, which is likely a condemnation of the receiving core’s output (or lack thereof).

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said at Big Ten Media Days that skill matters more than position when it comes to pass catchers.

“If we had four receivers at that level, we’d have them out there,” Ferentz said. “You want to get your best guys on the field.”

“Even when we’ve lost guys early to the National Football League, the guys that have been in that class behind him have been able to step up and join the party,” Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz added.

Well, no need to check for fake IDs at this party. Erick All was an all-conference player at Michigan, notching 437 yards receiving and two touchdowns in 2021. And Lachey proved to be a star when he got his chance to play.

“He’s a beast,” All said of Lachey. “We rub off on each other and he’s just a positive guy all the time and when you’re around someone like that it’s contagious.”

“I think we add a lot of great things to the field,” Lachey said. “Whoever’s out there on the field, we’ll complement each other well and hopefully we’ll open up some of the other receivers as well.”

And that’s exactly what Kirk Ferentz hopes will happen.

“The other guys don’t have to be at that same caliber with what they’re supposed to do — that’s offensive football,” Kirk Ferentz said. “You’ve got to have x number of guys that make it tough to defend.”

With question marks at offensive line and an unproven group of receivers, the Hawkeyes’ 2023 class of Tight End U provides stability on a unit looking to turn a corner. The overarching theme being the hope that the offense flips the script.

“I think we’ve had a lot of dudes playing at a really high level,” quarterback Cade McNamara said. “Whether that’s Diante Vines, Nico Ragaini, Luke Lachey or Seth Anderson. Everyone’s been trending in the right direction.”

“With Luke and Erick, we have two guys that I think people are going to have to be aware of if they’re on the field,” Kirk Ferentz added. “We’ve got to stay healthy and we have to improve on our team for us to be where we want to be.”

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