We sure do suck at recruiting & evaluating players. 
Sam LaPorta: "How did they find this guy?"
- Thread starter Franisdaman
- Start date
tight ends find iowa, not the other way around
We're pretty much awesome and I like it very much.
LaPorta is Hockenson 2.0. I immediately thought that watching his high school film. LaPorta still has a ways to go when it comes to being a blocker but he made a few nice, key blocks against USC. I actually expected LaPorta to be a contributor earlier than what it actually took. You won’t see him drop many passes and I expect to see him make several difficult catches we saw Hockenson make.
He has been outstanding. He and Goodson are the two reasons Iowa's offense started to function the last few games.
Hockenson iis more athletic and appears to be faster. I'd liken LaPorta to Marv Cook only he will be better.
Small town out of Highland , IL. Looking at his bio he appeared to be an athletic freak at his high school but that alone won’t get you attention from the big boys but Iowa will take a close look if the kid appears to be a man among little boys in high school sports. And I believe that is what they did and found they he has good character with a solid family and foundation.
Both Hockenson and La Porta set receiving records in their states. Maybe the secret sauce is finding a good sized TE who has great production even though it may be at a smaller school. In recruits and the NFL draft I've always valued guys who are exceptional at just catching the dang ball. Most guys are 6'4'' and 240 lbs who are TE but can they go across the middle and come down with that 3rd and long catch to extend the drive more times than not like Laporta did?
He should be a good one!
He should be a good one!
It goes deeper than just finding TE prospects... think about it
Robert Gallery - recruited as a 2 star TE
Scott Chandler - lightly recruited as a bean pole WR, converted to TE
Dallas Clark - started college career as LB, I think he played QB in high school?
Crap... I know there are others and am now drawing a blank. Theres AJ Derby who has a pro career as a TE after leaving Iowa to try QB, but that doesn’t really count....
Robert Gallery - recruited as a 2 star TE
Scott Chandler - lightly recruited as a bean pole WR, converted to TE
Dallas Clark - started college career as LB, I think he played QB in high school?
Crap... I know there are others and am now drawing a blank. Theres AJ Derby who has a pro career as a TE after leaving Iowa to try QB, but that doesn’t really count....
Was he actually a TE in high school or a WR? I thought he was a receiver who maybe fit better as a TE in college which explains why the few offers and what Iowa was thinking.
I think Yelverton is a WR transitioning to TE with Iowa, iirc.
I don't see the issue here. He's made a few nice plays after the catch. Look at his reception vs Northwestern for example.
He's also caught several in traffic.
YAC are usually a product of where the QB gets the ball to a TE.
That is a big statement!
Yeah, and it's hard to turn up field when the QB throws low bullets. It'll be interesting to see how LaPorta and co work with Petras.
As a receiving threat maybe, but he's not a generational blocker like TJ. Big difference.
Yes i know people want to make comparisons but will people be disappointed if he's not TJ Hockenson? LaPorta has all the makings of a very solid TE. I don't see the athletic fluidity that Hockenson had, nor the ferocity in blocking. Can people just allow guys to be what they are?
I can't wait to see what the title on this thread will be tomorrow.
Was going to add to this one, too. Marv Cook was a sensational College football player, who helped
Iowa end a long winless streak against Columbus. And yes, Marv did make at least one Pro Bowl.
It would be OK to be as good as Marv Cook, as a Football player and athlete to put it mildly.
Strongly disagree. While that's true for WRs, TE catches are usually underneath and YAC depends
on their ability to break tackles. That was a Hock strength. We've had a couple otherwise good TEs who virtually
could'nt break a tackle in their entire careers. Maybe you didn't notice, but that weakness was painfully obvious.
LaPorta already blocks much better that Fant. I think he will be little faster than Hock in the 40 at the combine.
I hope LaPorta can be as good as we thought Duzey was going to be. Also, to replace TJ, you have to be one of the best TE’s in Big 10 history because TJ was one of the best TE’s to ever play Big 10 ball. If LaPorta can be the next Meyers or Chandler, I’ll be happy.
Iowa uses the bootleg pass to the TE a lot and it's typically open. Hock made a lot of those receptions.
PFF showed that LaPorta broke 4 tackles in 15 catches. That's a very high rate. His receptions were almost all in traffic.
I agree that Hock and LaPorta are both good YAC guys. But that wasn't the discussion. The discussion was "is ball placement or breaking tackles the biggest key to TE YAC" My position is that breaking tackles is what has separated Hock and LaPorta from other good TEs, not ball placement.
Then your newfound point is not consistent to what I was initially responding to, i.e. the argument that LaPorta needs to increase his YAC, because it's lacking.
LaPorta didn't have a high YAC as you're indicating now. My explanation was that most of his receptions were in tight coverage. See the USC game, which was 1/3rd of his receptions.
You're either modifying your point now that I've provided PFF data that debunks it, or you didn't understand the initial argument you quoted me with.
Enjoy him this season & next season because I think he will be drafted in April 2022.
From Saturday's practice:
From Saturday's practice:
Maybe we should let the kid play more then five or six games before we say what he can or can't become. He's already 245lbs and if he puts in the work don't see why he'll be limited in his ceiling. Hell when George Kittle got to Iowa he didn't block a lick, and had little interest in it. Now he's revered in the NFL for his blocking skills as much as for the way he runs away from and through DB's.
I think many Hawk fans upon watching his film were shocked he didn't have more offers. I know I was. His HS film was pretty darn good. I think that he is a guy that certainly didn't get the stars on his profile, but his film said much more about him as a player.
A more appropriate question might be “how do they develop a guy like this” rather than “how do they find a guy like this”.
