Iowas Mt. Rushmore: TE

The Iowa Football program has produced many great tight ends over the years, particularly during the tenures of Hayden Fry and Kirk Ferentz. There were many worthy nominees for our Mt. Rushmore of Iowa Football at the tight end position, but Dallas Clark and Marv Cook lead the list at this position.

As you can imagine, it was difficult to narrow the field down to a list of nominees and finally pick the four faces of the Hawkeye Football program at each position. Our voting panel consisted of Tom Kakert and Blair Sanderson from HawkeyeReport.com, Lyle Hammes, who has written two books on the history of Hawkeye Football, and Mike Hlas, Marc Morehouse and Scott Dochterman from the Cedar Rapids Gazette. Our thanks to Lyle Hammes for helping complete some of the bios for this project.

Here are the four choices for the Mt. Rushmore at the tight end position:

Dallas Clark

There aren't many stories in Iowa Football history better than that authored by Dallas Clark. Former walk-on who played quarterback and linebacker in high school. Comes to Iowa and plays special teams and works at linebacker early on in his career and then makes a switch to tight end that changed his life and helped change the fortunes of Iowa Football in the early 2000's. Clark emerged in 2001 as a breakout performer at tight end and then he really took off in 2002, winning the John Mackey Award, which is given annually to the best tight end in college football. He was also a consensus 1st team All American in 2002. Clark finished his two seasons at tight end for the Hawkeyes with 81 receptions for 1,281 yards and 8 touchdowns. He declared for the NFL Draft following his junior season and was a 1st round pick of the Indianapolis Colts. Clark recently announced his retirement from the NFL.

Marv Cook

Marv Cook grew up in nearby West Branch, IA, where he was a multiple sports standout at the high school level. Hayden Fry offered Cook the opportunity to come to the University of Iowa and Cook jumped at the chance to be a Hawkeye. Cook filled out his frame while working his way up the depth chart at tight end and by the time he left the Hawkeye program in 1988, he was considered the best at the position in Iowa Football history. Cook moved into a larger role at tight end in his sophomore year and his statistics grew each season. His most memorable play was in 1987 when he caught a 4th and 23 pass against Ohio State and fought his way into the end zone for a game winning touchdown. Cook finished his career with 126 receptions for 1,825 yards and 6 touchdowns. Cook earned 1st team All American honors in his senior year and was a 1st team All Big Ten selection in his final two years at Iowa. He was a 3rd round draft pick of the New England Patriots and played in the NFL until 1995.

Jim Gibbons

Jim Gibbons played offensive tackle and defensive end for a winless high school team on the south side of Chicago. When he began at Iowa - on Gibbons' request - he was allowed to try out at offensive end. Despite the fact he had never played the position or even caught a pass, Forest Evashevski gave him a look. Gibbons caught a touchdown pass in his first spring game and Evashevski conceded to Gibbons' wishes. A 1955 injury to Frank Gilliam allowed Gibbons to enter the starting lineup as only a sophomore. The 6'-3", 220-pound tight end is perhaps best remembered for his 1956 touchdown against No. 6-ranked Ohio State. The 17-yard pass from Ken Ploen proved to be the only score in a hard-fought battle in Iowa City. The team then pounded Notre Dame and handily beat Oregon State in Iowa's first ever Rose Bowl. They finished 9-1 on the 1956 season. The team went on to another stellar year in 1957, but even a 7-1-1 record didn't guarantee you a bowl game in those days. Nevertheless, Gibbons received many post-season accolades in 1957, including First Team All-Big Ten and First Team All-American.

Gibbons was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 1958 and then traded to the Detroit Lions. There he met up with former Hawkeye quarterback Jerry Reichow, who ended up being his quarterback for a time at both Iowa and Detroit. Gibbons made the Pro Bowl three times during his career, each with the Lions. Lastly, Gibbons was inducted into the University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996.

Jonathon Hayes

Jonathon Hayes is another success story for the Hawkeye Football team where a player starts out at another position and finds himself on the field at another one. Hayes played linebacker for the Hawkeyes early on in his career before he transitioned to tight end. The move paid off for Hayes, who had two outstanding seasons, catching 50 passes for 602 yards. In Iowa's 55-17 rout of Texas in the 1984 Freedom Bowl, Hayes caught 3 passes for 70 yards and scored two touchdowns. Hayes earned 2nd team All Big Ten honors his senior year and was named 1st team All American by one service. He was a 2nd round draft pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in 1985 and went on to play in the National Football League until 1996.

The rest of the nominees at TE:

Mike Flagg

Mike Flagg grew up in Cedar Falls, where he was a standout in several sports, but he picked football as his sport of choice and arrived at the University of Iowa in 1983. After redshirting in his freshman year, Flagg started to get into the rotation at tight end in 1984. Flagg seemed to have a real flare for playing well in bowl games in his career with 18 career receptions for 285 yards in post season games. When he left Iowa he held the career mark for receptions by a tight end with 86, totaling 1,187 yards, including 13 touchdowns. He was a second team All Big Ten selection in 1985 and 1986.

Scott Slutzker

Scott Slutzker grew up in New Jersey and turned down a scholarship offer from Notre Dame in the early 90's to play tight end at the University of Iowa. At 6-foot-4, Slutzker had good size and arrived at Iowa with above average speed for the position and also possessed very good hands. He started for the Hawkeyes from 1993-95 at tight end and had 95 career receptions for 1,261 yards and 5 touchdowns. Slutzker earned 2nd team All Big Ten honors in 1995 and was a 3rd round draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts. He went on to play four seasons in the NFL.

Scott Chander

Scott Chandler followed his older brother, Nate, to the University of Iowa and arrived on campus as a 6-foot-7 and 215 pound wide receiver. After playing wide receiver in his freshman year, Chandler moved added the necessary weight to his frame and transitioned to tight end, where he had a standout career for the Hawkeyes. His numbers at Iowa increased each year, finishing with 117 career receptions for 1,467 yards and 10 touchdowns. In his final year with the Hawkeyes, he had an outstanding season with 46 receptions, including 6 touchdowns, for 591 yards. Chandler earned 2nd team All Big Ten honors as a senior and was a 4th round pick of the San Diego Chargers in the 2007 NFL Draft. He is currently playing for the Buffalo Bills in the NFL.

Tony Moeaki

If you talk to people close to the Iowa program, they will tell you there might not be a more talented tight end in the history of the Hawkeye Football program than Tony Moeaki. Unfortunately, injuries kept the Illinois native off the field for extended periods of time, but that doesn't diminish what he accomplished when he was healthy. Moeaki was a prep standout and US Army All American in high school and played as a true freshman. Despite the injuries, Moeaki had 76 career receptions for 953 yards and 11 touchdowns in his Iowa career. In his senior year, he had 30 receptions, including 4 touchdowns, for 387 yards and earned 1st team All Big Ten honors. He was a 3rd round pick by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2010 NFL Draft and is currently a member of the Buffalo Bills.

C.J. Fiedorowicz

After initially committing to Illinois, C.J. Fiedorowicz flipped to Iowa during the recruiting process. He played in the US Army All American game and arrived with plenty of expectations to the University of Iowa. At 6-foot-7 and 260 pounds, Fiedorowicz looked the part the minute he arrived on campus and played as a true freshman. He worked his way into the starting lineup eventually during his Iowa career as his blocking improved and finished his time as a Hawkeye this past season with 91 receptions for 899 yards and 10 touchdowns, including 6 in his senior year. He was named first team All Big Ten in his senior year. He was a third round draft pick of the Houston Texans in this past year's NFL Draft.

Brandon Myers

During the Kirk Ferentz era at the University of Iowa, the Hawkeyes have made a habit out of offering in-state prospects late in the process and turning those players into standout performers. That was the case with Brandon Myers, as the Hawkeyes offered just before signing day in 2004. After redshirting as a freshman, Myers steadily worked his way up the ranks on special teams before breaking out in his junior year. In his final two seasons, Myers caught 55 of his career 56 receptions. He had 665 yards receiving in his career and 9 touchdown receptions. In his senior season, Myers earned first team All Big Ten honors and was a 6th round pick of the Oakland Raiders in the 2009 NFL Draft. He is currently a member of the Tampa Bay Bucs in the NFL.