Growth at tight end has fueled Iowa State's football success

AMES — Chase Allen crossed the goal line.

Charlie Kolar leaped into his arms.

The two Iowa State senior tight ends briefly celebrated as Allen put the finishing touches on a 48-14 regular season-closing win over TCU at Jack Trice Stadium — and the end zone proved to be a misty patch of green grass.

“That was probably the most emotional moment of the whole day,” said Kolar, who will team up with Allen one last time in the Cyclones’ Dec. 29 Cheez-It Bowl matchup with No. 19 Clemson in Orlando, Fla. “Chase is incredible. An incredible teammate, person, brother, friend. He’s a really, really good football player. He’s gonna have a chance to play in the league for a long time because he does everything right.”

That touchdown celebration a day after Thanksgiving warmly framed the final stages of two outstanding ISU careers. When Allen — the son of former Northern Iowa coach and Cyclone assistant Terry Allen — chose Iowa State over offers from Michigan, Nebraska and Florida State, the tight end room didn’t include a single player on scholarship.

And Allen’s impact on the position group would be delayed by hardship, injury and illness. He was hit by a car. He contracted mononucleosis. He didn’t make his first career catch until the 2017 season. Allen caught four passes that year. No other tight end caught one, but Allen was helping to turn the tight end position into an area of strength instead of an afterthought.

Dylan Soehner, now with the New Orleans Saints, played a part in that transformation. Kolar — a three-time All-American who holds all of the Cyclones’ significant tight end records — helped cap that remarkable growth, but he said Allen remains the foundational piece for all of it.

“For years, he hasn’t gotten the same recognition that I have just because I catch more balls,” said Kolar, who set single-season marks for catches (58) and receiving yards (723) for an ISU tight end in 2021. “It’s not fair and it’s not right. And for him to get that moment and to get that celebration, I was so happy for him. So excited and just kind of a little overwhelmed for a second.”

It’s difficult to fully quantify how important and productive the tight end position has become for the Cyclones (7-5), who will play in their program record fifth-straight bowl game against the Tigers (9-3).

ISU tight ends have accounted for 26 of the team’s last 69 touchdowns via the passing game — or 38 percent of that considerable sum.

To put that in perspective, in the previous three seasons, Cyclone tight ends scored zero touchdowns.

Kolar ended that troubling trend with the first of his ISU tight end record 22 career touchdown catches on Sept. 28, 2019 in a narrow loss at Baylor. Allen notched his first career touchdown grab in a win over TCU a week later.

Hence the emotion he shared with Kolar in their final win against the Horned Frogs.

“This place means so much to me,” Allen said. “I’m just trying to soak up all the moments I have left with these guys in this room because they seriously mean the world to me.”

There may or may not be more tears when Allen and Kolar suit up side-by-side one last time in sun-splashed Florida. Either way, their combined production and leadership has altered ISU’s trajectory from Big 12 bottom-dweller to perennial contender. Just ask fellow senior Brock Purdy, the quarterback who’s served as the starting point for nearly all of their touchdown receptions — including that final emotional one for Allen at home.

“It was special for us seniors to be able to end the regular season at home like that, just with all of our careers and things that we’ve done here,” Purdy said. “It definitely was special and we’ll always be able to look back and have that moment. No one can take that away from us, but there is a point where you have to turn the page and get ready for this bowl game. … Now we’re back to basics in terms of training and practice and what we have to do against Clemson. So we’re ready for the next little chapter that we have."

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