Fant, Hockenson To Attend NFL Draft

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa tight ends T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant will attend the 2019 NFL Draft in Nashville, Tennessee. The announcement was made Tuesday on the NFL Network. The NFL Draft will be held April 25-27, with the first round on Thursday, rounds two and three Friday, and the final four rounds Saturday.
 
Hockenson (6-foot-5, 250 pounds) was a redshirt sophomore in 2018 and is a native of Chariton, Iowa (Chariton High School). He received the John Mackey Award as the top tight end in the nation and was awarded the Ozzie Newsome Award, presented by the Touchdown Club of Columbus, Ohio. Hockenson was named Kwalick-Clark Big Ten Tight End of the Year and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors from Big Ten media and The Associated Press.
 
Spring Ball LogoHockenson earned first-team All-America honors from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and USA Today. He was named second-team All-America by the Walter Camp Foundation, The Associated Press, and the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). He was Iowa’s Roy Carver Most Valuable Player on offense and earned Academic All-Big Ten honors for a second straight year.
 
Hockenson led the Hawkeyes with 760 yards on 49 receptions, with six receiving touchdowns. He also had one rushing touchdown. Hockenson averaged 15.5 yards per catch. His career totals include 73 receptions for 1,080 yards. He is seventh among Iowa tight ends all-time with nine touchdown receptions.
 
Fant (6-5, 241), a native of Omaha, Nebraska (Omaha South High School), completed his junior season in 2018. He totaled 39 receptions for 519 yards and a team-leading seven touchdown receptions in 12 games.
 
Fant’s career totals include 78 receptions for 1,083 yards and 19 touchdowns – the most by an Iowa tight end and third-best among Big Ten tight ends.
 
Fant was named first-team All-Big Ten by league coaches and was a semifinalist for the John Mackey Award. He was named third-team All-America by The Associated Press.
 
Under Kirk Ferentz, 66 Hawkeyes have been drafted over the past 20 years, including 40 selections over the past 11 years. Iowa has had four first-round selections in the last nine NFL drafts. Three Hawkeyes were taken in the first four rounds of the 2018 NFL Draft, including defensive back Josh Jackson (second, Green Bay), offensive lineman James Daniels (second, Chicago), and linebacker Josey Jewell (fourth, Denver).
 
Iowa has had at least one player selected in each NFL Draft since 1978. Iowa’s streak of 41 consecutive years with at least one selection ties as the seventh-longest streak among all college programs.
 
Requests for 2019 Iowa football season tickets can be submitted at hawkeyesports.com/tickets, or by calling 1-800-IAHAWKS.
 

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