Iowa has signed four-star tight end Thomas Meyer. As shared via Iowa social media channels, the Clear Lake, Iowa product is officially a Hawkeye.
Meyer chose Iowa over offers from Wisconsin, Texas A&M, Missouri, Miami, Kansas State, Nebraska, Iowa State, Minnesota, Stanford, and others. Notre Dame also showed interest in Meyer.
Meyer, the top prospect in the state of Iowa, committed to Iowa back in February after a Junior Day visit to Iowa City.
"It's all about 'Put your head down and work,' at Iowa," Meyer said about his decision to commit to Iowa. "It's not about going out there and being flashy. It's just going out, working and beating guys."
"I kind of had a good idea a while ago," he said. "I just feel like their culture and their mindset fits mine and what we have at Clear Lake. I feel like it's a great fit for me and my family."
Meyer's Iowa ties run deep -- he grew up a Hawkeye fan and his parents are longtime season ticket holders at Kinnick Staidum. He told us that he'd dreamed of being a Hawkeye since he was a kid.
"It's definitely a dream come true," he said. "I still can't really believe it's happening. Going to all the games like I did growing up, it's truly just crazy. I'm kind of speechless, to be honest."
"After the Junior Day visit yesterday, I told my parents I had a good idea that Iowa was the place I wanted to be," Meyer said. "We sat down and talked about it more this morning and we made the decision. It all got a little emotional, they're really happy for me."
Meyer was a high-level performer on both sides of the ball at Clear Lake, but he projects as a tight end for Iowa.
"If you watched the game tonight, I believe that he'll be best at tight end," Aaron Stensland, Meyer's high school coach at Clear Lake, said last fall. "We're a ground-and-pound team, so we're probably crazy for not using him more. But I think he's a tight end. He has a fantastic catch radius, he bends and moves well and is explosive off the line of scrimmage. That's me, I'm just a high school coach. Iowa has put however many tight ends and defensive ends in the NFL, so I'll leave that to them or whoever he goes to."
Meyer was often used as a tight end that split out as a receiver in the Lions' offense. He possesses strong ball skills, good awareness of defenders around him, and the vision to find open spots on the field, which should help him be an effective pass-catcher as the next level as well.
A 6'4", 215-pound receiving option, Meyer will likely need to spend time in the weight room and with the Iowa strength and conditioning staff to get his body ready for the rigors of Big Ten football. While he's already a willing blocker who embraces contact, he'll likely need some time to work on the blocking aspect of being a tight end in the Iowa offense.
Meyer had 31 receptions for 512 yards and nine touchdowns on offense for Clear Lake this fall. He also racked up 34 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, and five sacks on the defensive side of the ball.
