With Luke Lachey out ‘for quite a while,’ Iowa football has options for filling void

IOWA CITY — Steven Stilianos considers Luke Lachey to be “literally like my best friend here.” So when his fellow Iowa tight end went down with a gruesome injury against Western Michigan, it was understandably “tough” for Stilianos to see.

“It breaks my heart a little bit,” Stilianos said. “It’s tough on the whole room. You lose the leader of the room. Especially for me as a good friend and roommate, it was definitely difficult.”

Lachey is “most likely” out for the rest of the season after needing surgery, Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said Tuesday. Now as Iowa moves forward into Big Ten play, replacing Lachey is no easy task considering his outsized role in the offense’s success through the first two weeks.

It is not uncommon for Iowa football to lean on one receiver, especially a tight end, heavily. But Iowa’s reliance on Lachey through two games reached another level.

Lachey accounted for 33.3 percent of Iowa’s receptions in his two healthy games.

If that rate continued over the course of the full season, it would be a higher percentage than any of Iowa’s leading receivers since 2017.

The only season where it was close was 2022, when tight end Sam LaPorta accounted for 30.2 percent of the team’s receptions. No other receiver since 2016 was above 26 percent.

When Iowa won 10 games in 2021, LaPorta had 23.9 percent of the team’s receptions. When Iowa won 10 games in 2019, Nico Ragaini had 19.0 percent of receptions.

There is recent precedent for the Hawkeyes losing their top receiver to an injury. LaPorta tore his meniscus in one of his knees last season against Minnesota and missed the Nebraska game.

Iowa ultimately suffered a 24-17 loss that dashed its Big Ten West title hopes, but it was not from a lack of go-to receiver. Lachey filled the void with a career-high seven receptions for 89 yards.

This time around, Iowa again has depth at the tight end position.

Erick All is the first-teamer on this week’s depth chart, followed by Addison Ostrenga and Stilianos. Ferentz spoke highly of all three unprompted in his weekly news conference.

“Erick is a quality player,” Ferentz said. “And Ostrenga is a good young player coming up the ladder. And Stilianos, talked about him being a much improved player in the spring and camp.”

All is the most likely candidate to fill the void. He is second behind Lachey with seven receptions for 81 yards. He also has past success and chemistry with quarterback Cade McNamara from their time together at Michigan.

“To get Erick All in here was a huge plus for us,” tight ends coach Abdul Hodge said earlier this month. “He’s smart, he plays the game (physically) and he’s a team player.”

Ostrenga had two catches in the Western Michigan game after Lachey’s departure. Stilianos also had two catches, which were his first two as a Hawkeye after transferring from FCS-level Lafayette College in 2021.

Stilianos did not appear in any games last year. He credited last year’s pre-bowl practices and this year’s offseason time in the weight room for his improvement.

“I definitely feel myself starting to move people off the ball quite a bit better,” Stilianos said, “and just being able to be more fluid through my routes and make more plays.”

Lachey’s absence could also present an opportunity for Iowa’s wide receivers to get more involved after they combined to account for 29.3 percent of the team’s receptions through three weeks.

Ragaini has five catches, Seth Anderson has four and Diante Vines has three through Iowa’s first three games. Fellow wide receivers Kaden Wetjen and Kaleb Brown’s only touches have been in the rushing game.

“When people go down, you got to step in and step up,” Vines said. “That’s what all of us are trying to do.”

After all, it’s usually not a one-person task to replace the production of the player who was second among Big Ten tight ends in receptions before his injury.

“No one's Luke Lachey,” Stilianos said. “The kid's a hell of a player, but we're going to do our damn best to play for him and try to make this offense go like he can.”

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com