Herman steps into tight end role
Iowa Hawkeye tight end Brad Herman.
Junior Brad Herman figured it out fairly quickly. If he wanted to be a pass-catching tight end for the Hawkeyes, he was going to have to learn to be a blocking tight end first.
“To be an Iowa tight end, you have to block,” Herman said. “I figured I could go out there and catch passes early on, but my blocking held me back.
“Once I accepted that, and really learned how to block and focused on blocking, it freed me up in the passing game, too.”
On Saturday, Herman had three catches for 57 yards, including a 35-yard strike that set up Iowa’s first touchdown.
In his first two seasons, Herman had one catch for three yards.
“When your number is called, you have to be ready,” Herman said. “I think I stepped up and did my job.”
Herman knew he could catch. He caught 21 passes for 578 yards as a senior at Metamora High School in Illinois (a 27.5 per catch average).
But he never had to learn to be a good blocker.
“Small school Illinois football, it’s a lot of leaning,” Herman said. “I could just run through them.”
At Iowa, Herman had a lot of catching up to do, but fortunately, there were some good tutors nearby. Tony Moeaki — now with the Kansas City Chiefs — gave Herman some advice.
“Tony wasn’t always on point, but he was just determined,” Herman said. “It didn’t matter who lined up against him, his attitude was ‘I’m going to kick that guy’s butt.’
“That’s the mentality I’m trying to take this year.”
The 6-foot-5, 247-pound junior is No. 2 on the depth chart behind senior Allen Reisner. Reisner had 27 career receptions coming into Saturday and had four catches for 39 yards.
Sophomore Zach Derby had his first career catch. And the next big thing — true freshman C.J. Fiedorowicz, a 6-foot-7, 250-pound high school all-American out of Johnsburg, Ill. — played but did not record a catch.
“A lot of us are not very experienced tight ends,” Reisner said. “Our names are not very well known. But three tight ends got the ball today, so that’s good for us.”
Herman, who played as a true freshman, knows more opportunities are ahead for him in his third season.
“It was a struggle the first few years, I didn’t get as involved as I thought I would,” Herman said. “Today was a stepping stone. Next week is going to be another step.”
Category: Iowa Hawkeyes Football
