Iowa Football Recruiting: Hawkeyes Land Commitment from Illinois TE Sam LaPorta

With the early signing period opening up on Wednesday, the Hawkeyes garnered a huge commitment from tight end Sam LaPorta on Tuesday night after he made a late visit to campus.

Looking at the stars, LaPorta doesn’t jump off the page, as he’s currently ranked as three-star by 247 and Rivals, but this is a kid who has a whole lot of potential that Iowa can probably help him untap. As a senior, LaPorta put up huge numbers for Highland with 68 catches for 1,457 yards and 19 touchdowns, earning first team all-state honors at wide receiver in Class 5A. For comparison’s sake, Iowa high school record holder T.J. Hockenson’s senior season stats included 81 catches for 1,114 yards and 17 touchdowns, so you can see that he has a lot of potential in the passing game. Add to that some solid measurables - he ran a 4.6 40-yard dash and has a 39” vertical, which is pretty solid for a guy who’s 6’4” - and you can really see what the Iowa coaching staff sees.

Of course, his offer list isn’t super spectacular, as it includes Yale, Bowling Green (where he was expected to go if he didn’t choose Iowa), Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, Northern Iowa, Illinois State, Western Illinois, Southern Illinois, and Lindenwood. While some of y’all might see this and wallow at the fact that Iowa is once again beating out MAC programs for recruits again, I think this continues the comparison to Hockenson at this point in his football career pretty nicely - TJH’s only offers included Iowa, Iowa State, and Eastern Michigan, and he’s turned out pretty well!

Welcome to Iowa, Mr. LaPorta, and we can’t wait to see you take the field in the black and gold. Hopefully we can see you make some spectacular catches, too!

Sam LaPorta, TE

Hometown: Highland, IL (Highland)
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 215
Stars: 247 Sports - 3 Rivals - 3