IOWA CITY, Iowa — Straight from central casting, Sam LaPorta seems to fit perfectly as both Iowa’s next NFL-bound tight end and the outsized personality that often accompanies that position.
Everyone in LaPorta’s family has played collegiate sports. His father, Joe, played football at William Jewell. His mother, Staci, competed in both basketball and softball in junior college and on traveling Air Force squads. Older sisters Olivia (Fordham volleyball) and Alex (Missouri-St. Louis basketball) — who are four and two years older than Sam, respectively — recently finished their collegiate eligibility. Younger sister Bella, who is two years younger than Sam, plays volleyball at William Jewell.
Advertisement
With that much competitive fervor in one household, the LaPortas find ways to channel everything into a contest. It doesn’t matter if it’s a sport, running around the block or downing a beverage the fastest, the entire family tries to outdo one another. For LaPorta, that meant getting past two tough-minded and athletic older sisters from day one until, well, last month.
“I think I attest some of my athletic ability and the hard work that I get from them shoving my face in the dirt,” said LaPorta, who will be a senior this fall.
Following LaPorta’s spring semester at Iowa, he spent time at the family home in Highland, Ill. One night, he challenged Bella, her boyfriend and his mother in a game of H-O-R-S-E in the driveway. According to Sam, “I got my butt kicked.”
“Umm, that would be to me,” said Staci LaPorta, the family matriarch. “He keeps coming back for more punishment, but I can usually beat him.”
Sam LaPorta was a quality high school basketball player, earning third-team all-state honors as a senior at 15.1 points per game while leading his team to a school-record 28 wins. But it’s not the sport that defines his athletic career nor the one for which he will be recognized.
LaPorta (6-foot-5, 249 pounds) has developed from a last-minute recruiting add-on to one of the nation’s top tight ends. Last year, he led Big Ten tight ends in catches (53), yards (670) and receptions of at least 15 yards (18). According to Pro Football Focus, he also paced his league competitors in yards after the catch (299) and yards after contact (206).
At a school regularly known as “Tight End U,” LaPorta’s single-season and career numbers have surpassed many of those who have preceded him. Only three other Iowa tight ends — and none in the last 30 years — had more catches in a season. LaPorta’s 2021 yardage total ranks fifth among Iowa tight ends all-time.
Advertisement
In three seasons LaPorta has 95 catches for 1,129 yards and four scores. He’s fourth in career catches by a tight end, ahead of well-known Hawkeyes C.J. Fiedorowicz (91), Dallas Clark (81), Noah Fant (78), T.J. Hockenson (73) and George Kittle (48). LaPorta ranks sixth at the position in receiving yards.
There’s a legacy attached to the position at Iowa, and a dash of personality to go with it. Kittle, the highest-paid tight end in NFL history, has become the foremost advocate for tight ends in creating a holiday and his own “Tight End University” annual event, which took place last weekend. Fant and Hockenson were the first teammate tight end tandem ever selected in the first round together. Iowa’s 10 drafted tight ends over the last 20 years have compiled 1,754 catches, 20,147 yards and 137 touchdowns in the NFL. So, there’s a history with the position and a recognition for those who follow.
LaPorta feels that, and he doesn’t shy away from it.
“I guess it’s almost like something I hear so often now it’s like mundane or just normal for me to hear,” he said. “But of course, I want to uphold that standard, and I have a duty to be the best football player I can be for myself. I work as hard as I can for my teammates and this team. So, upholding that standard is a big part of the position and what makes Iowa tight ends Iowa tight ends.”
LaPorta also has something in common with many of his predecessors, especially those currently in the NFL. Nearly all of them were overlooked as high school recruits. Kittle was classified as a wide receiver and was ranked No. 199 at that position in 2012. Fant was considered an athlete with most schools wanting to play him at defensive end. Hockenson, whose pedigree most closely resembles LaPorta, was rated as the No. 66 tight end in the class of 2016.
Advertisement
Like Hockenson, LaPorta was a small-town wide receiver with massive numbers. As a senior at Highland, LaPorta caught 68 passes for 1,457 yards and 19 touchdowns. He ranks second in Illinois history with 50 career receiving touchdowns and third with 3,793 career receiving yards. But growing up 30 miles east of St. Louis, LaPorta was a few hours from any major football program and they all seemed to overlook him.
“When he was getting into his junior year, he was trying to figure out why people weren’t reaching out to him,” Staci LaPorta said. “He was always competing with the better athletes (at camps and combines), with the big names or people who thought they had the big names or to have the right fit for what the schools were looking for. I think he got a little frustrated later on when he was thinking, ‘I want to go play a sport in college, and nobody really knows about me.’”
Multiple FCS programs reached out and offered LaPorta, as did three different MAC schools. LaPorta built a good relationship with Bowling Green and visited there less than two weeks before signing day in December 2018.
Iowa learned about LaPorta when special teams coordinator LeVar Woods stopped by Edwardsville (Ill.) High School, the home of current Buffalo Bills and former Iowa defensive end A.J. Epenesa. As part of Woods’ conversation with Edwardsville coach Matt Martin, LaPorta was discussed as an overlooked prospect. Woods then watched LaPorta at a basketball practice and left impressed. Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz later came to a Highland basketball game, and LaPorta was placed at the top of his team’s press defense. It showed off his athletic skills coupled with his endurance and tenacity.
LaPorta squeezed in a visit to Iowa the final weekend before signing day. He and his family cut it short because he had to return for a basketball game. But after seeing how Iowa had developed tight ends in the past, especially those in a similar position, LaPorta became excited. He received an Iowa offer and signed with the Hawkeyes four days after his visit.
“Tight End U wasn’t really in my brain,” LaPorta said. “It was kind of making myself happy and doing what I want to do for my family and, most importantly, myself.”
At Iowa, LaPorta was considered raw but with potential and a great work ethic. He attacked the weights hard when he arrived on campus in June 2019. With Fant and Hockenson on NFL rosters, there was an opportunity to play right away. LaPorta saw limited action on special teams until an injury at midseason forced him into a bigger role. He caught two passes for 43 yards at Northwestern, then followed up with a start at Wisconsin. By season’s end, LaPorta had developed into the receiving tight end and led all Iowa pass catches with six receptions in a 49-24 win against USC in the Holiday Bowl. He is the only true freshman tight end to start a game under Ferentz.
Advertisement
In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, LaPorta became the first tight end to lead the Hawkeyes in catches since Scott Chandler in 2005. LaPorta totaled 27 receptions for 271 yards and his first career touchdown. The 22-yard scoring reception was made sweeter because it happened at Illinois, which did not offer him a scholarship.
LaPorta has never been shy about expressing emotions on the field, whether it was giving a first-down motion after absorbing a hard hit against USC or spinning the ball after scoring a touchdown against Colorado State.
“From the day he walked in here, he’s really been fun to coach,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “You visit with him, you just feel it, right? He likes life. He likes people. He’s the same way as a football player. When he’s on the practice field, in the weight room or just around the building, he’s upbeat, really enjoys his teammates, enjoys the game, likes the competition.”
A third-team All-Big Ten selection in 2021, LaPorta outplayed his lack of accolades, especially late in the season. Over his final three games, LaPorta totaled 245 receiving yards. His 122 receiving yards against Kentucky in the Citrus Bowl are tied for the second-most in an Iowa bowl game. He scored on a 36-yard screen pass early in the fourth quarter.
“Sam’s a guy that runs great routes,” Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras said. “He catches the football and he makes plays after he catches them. A great tight end like that is a quarterback’s best friend. He’s just a great player. It’s just my job to get him the ball when he’s open, and that’s quite a bit.”
“He just has a knack for getting open,” said Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell, one of LaPorta’s roommates and a second-team All-American. “He does a great job of just finding the soft spots in a zone, sitting down.”
LaPorta, 21, considered leaving for the NFL after his third year — just like Hockenson and Fant — but instead wanted to round out his Iowa career with a great senior season and a college degree. LaPorta needs 23 catches and 532 receiving yards to become the program’s all-time leader among tight ends in both categories.
Advertisement
“He just loves it there,” Staci LaPorta said. “He loves everything about Iowa football and didn’t want to leave early and look back at it wishing that he would have gone back for that senior year. Just being with all of his teammates and his housemates and the coaches and to get his degree finished up. He weighed both options, but he felt really comfortable making the decision to get back for his senior year.
“He’s got some pretty big goals for himself.”
(Photo: Douglas P. DeFelice / Getty Images)
ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57kmxvbXBlZ3xzfJFrZmluX2eEcLXOsJhmnp%2BkwaOty6VkrJmdYrmivM6rq5plpJ60qcCMnqWdZw%3D%3D