In the 10 years of Kirk Ferentz’s tenure as the head coach of Iowa Football, 6 of the 33 players drafted to the NFL have been tight ends. The Hawkeyes have constantly had strong TEs and the starter from each year has gone on to be been drafted since 1999.

YearStarterDraft
1999 Austin Wheatley 2000 round 5
2000 Robert Gallery* 2004 round 1
2001-2002 Dallas Clark2003 round 1
2003 Erik Jensen2004 round 7
2004 Tony Jackson2005 round 6
2004-2006Scott Chandler2007 round 4
2007-2008 Brandon Myers2009 round 6
*This is kind of a cop out…Robert Gallery started at TE for a few games in 2000 but was ultimately moved and drafted as an offensive lineman

Tight ends play a prominent role in the Iowa offense, both as a receiver and a blocker. Iowa TEs have racked up some impressive stats. In 5 of the past 10 years, a TE has gone for at least 400 yards receiving, including Dallas Clark’s 742 yards with 4 touchdowns in 2002 and Scott Chandler’s 591 yards with 6 touchdowns in 2006.

Brandon Myers continued the tradition of drafted TEs this Sunday when he was picked by the Oakland Raiders in the 6th round. In 2008 Myers had 34 receptions for 441 yards and caught 4 touchdown passes. He was often to go-to-guy for QB Ricky Stanzi on third down and made a huge impact in Iowa's upset victory over Penn State catching 2 passes for first downs on the game-winning drive.

Looking forward Iowa has two tight ends with plenty of experience headed into 2009. Brandon Myers may not have had the success he did if it were not for multiple injuries that plagued Tony Moeaki that allowed Myers to step in as the starter. In 2005 Moeaki was rated the number 1 tight end out of high school. In the upcoming season he will resume his starting role and we will get a chance to see if he lives up to his potential…and see if that potential translates to a draft pick. Backing up Moeaki will be Allen Reisner, who had a successful sophomore year with 11 catches for 200 yards.