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Hawkeye fans have spent much of the last season debating the use (or mis-use) of the talents of Noah Fant. And while Fant was the tight end we all expected to put up stellar numbers this year, it was T.J. Hockenson who came away with the Mackey Award.
With Fant certainly headed to the NFL and Hockenson possibly to follow (if not this year, then certainly next), the Iowa coaching staff has been looking long and hard for the next crop of talented tight ends to fill the cupboards.
Logan Lee was the first to commit and certainly seems to fit the bill of a traditional in-ine tight end with solid blocking and pass-catching ability. Dunlap, IL tight end Josiah Miamen is the ideal compliment Lee.
Today, both are officially Hawkeyes.
Amen – TE Josiah Miamen | #Swarm19 https://t.co/wAIrCXFeUH pic.twitter.com/sIupJn5WMY
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) December 19, 2018
Miamen brings a skillset to the tight end spot that will remind most Hawkeye fans of Fant. He has a similar build at 6’4”, though he joins the Hawkeyes a bit more Big Ten ready out of high school than Fant at 225 pounds.
Few will have the sheer athleticism of Noah Fant, but Miamen does bring a good bit of it. His size and speed combination are a matchup problem waiting to happen.
He used those natural abilities to amass 464 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns on 24 catches for an average of 19.3 yards per reception this year. His Dunlap team often used him split out wide, often throwing jump balls downfield or in the redzone - a role Hawkeye fans would have liked to see more of with Fant.
Those talents earned him a slew of offers from some very good company. In total there were 15 offers for Miamen, including Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin, Princeton and Columbia.
Miamen is one of three tight ends the Hawkeyes intend to sign in the class of 2019, joining fellow Illinois natives Logan Lee and Sam LaPorta, who committed just last night.
Miamen has been committed to the Hawkeyes since late September. Welcome aboard, officially, Josiah Miamen.