Can Penn State stop Iowa’s two playmaking tight ends?

Amani Oruwariye didn’t need to watch the tape on Iowa for long to form a strong first impression on its nationally acclaimed tight ends.

“They’re big, physical tight ends,” Penn State’s cornerback said earlier this week. “Old school, Big Ten-type tight ends that they’re going to be keeping in a lot of the game. They can block. They’re physical and athletic to go out and catch the ball.”

Iowa tight ends Noah Fant and T.J. Hockenson might be the most unique pairing in all of college football. The two became the first set of teammates to ever share the Mackey Award’s weekly honor, after they combined for 209 receiving yards and four touchdowns against Indiana. It was believed to be the only time in the program’s 130-year history that two tight ends went over 100 yards in the same game.

The two share similar playing styles, but Fant — whom Oruwariye compared to Mike Gesicki — boasts a reputation as the nation’s best. NFL.com ranked him last month as the fifth-best overall prospect in the 2019 NFL draft, writing, “He fits the prototype that racks up catches in bunches in the NFL.” He’s 6-foot-5 and 241 pounds to Hockenson’s 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds.

Hockenson is an Iowa boy who leads the team with 424 receiving yards, nearly twice as many as the leading wideout (Nick Easley; 239). He’s just a sophomore but already has a future at the next level.

“They have two legit tight ends that are NFL guys that can run like receivers,” Nittany Lions assistant coach Terry Smith said. “Noah Fant running down the field, he’s a 6-5 or 6-6 guy running 4.5. So it creates a problem.”

Fant and Hockenson are two mismatches waiting to happen. Head coach James Franklin said Penn State could utilize its subpackages to help neutralize the pair, maybe putting four defensive ends in on passing downs or even filling the defensive line with tackles in certain situations. But Penn State doesn’t want to guess incorrectly.

Middle linebacker Jan Johnson knows what can happen if that’s the case.

“The tougher thing for them is they’re running the ball, running the ball, running the ball — and all of a sudden they’re going to boot out, they’re going to sneak a tight end on an over-route or something, or he’s going to do some type of screen,” Johnson said. “So it’s kind of like they’re in the back of your mind because you’re trying to stop the run, stop the run, stop the run and then they’re going to catch you when you’re not ready.”

Together, the pair of Hawkeyes have accounted for 45 percent of the passing offense. They’ve also scored nine of the team’s 16 passing touchdowns.

Fant has especially been an issue in the red zone. His six scores lead the nation among tight ends, and he’s fourth all-time in career TD catches for Iowa. (He needs just four more to pass Tim Dwight and Danan Hughes, who are tied for second.)

The numbers are impressive, but it’s their versatility that’s really drawn the attention of the Penn State defense.

“Their tight ends are capable of coming down and blocking you as well as catching passes, so they’re really versatile from that aspect,” safety Jonathan Sutherland said. “We just have been preparing for that all week.”

Franklin said after practice Wednesday night that he hasn’t seen an offense resembling Iowa’s since his first season coaching in the FBS, in 1998 when he was a tight ends coach at Washington State. He faced Stanford in November, losing 38-28, although the tight ends weren’t nearly as involved as Iowa’s in 2018.

So far, Fant has caught at least three balls every game and, in four of seven games, Hockenson has amassed at least 49 receiving yards. The comparisons to Penn State’s top-two receivers are stark. Hockenson has more receiving yards (424) than Penn State’s K.J. Hamler (401), and Fant (311) has more than Juwan Johnson (293).

“Both Hockenson and Fant are really nice complementary pieces for each other,” Franklin said. “Fant may be the best receiving tight end in the country, and then Hockenson does a really good job as well.

“Obviously, their tight ends are what make them go on offense.”

This story was originally published October 26, 2018 at 1:41 PM.