Luke Lachey looking forward to college career at Iowa
After having his basketball season cut short due to the pandemic, future Hawkeye tight end Luke Lachey has been back in training mode, adding weight to his frame as he gets ready for his freshman year at Iowa. We caught up with the 6-foot-6, 230-pound Lachey this week to talk about his training, his goals for his freshman year, and much more.
Q: How are you dealing with things right now during the whole pandemic as you try to get ready for college?
LACHEY: It’s been going fine. I get up and lift every day and just try to do something to make sure that I’m ready when I get there. Since basketball has been over, I’ve gained about 20 pounds just by lifting and eating a bunch, so I’m up to about 230 now. Then I’ve been getting all my schoolwork done too. We’re finished next Tuesday.
Q: What have you heard from Iowa as far as when you might arrive on campus or the next step with all of that?
LACHEY: I’ve talked to Coach Brian Ferentz and it sounds like it is still all up in the air.
Q: You mentioned basketball before. Did you get to finish your season or did it get cut short?
LACHEY: It got cut short. We were in the Elite Eight, the regional finals, before it got cancelled.
Q: You were having quite a season too.
LACHEY: Yeah, it was a lot of fun and we just kept winning. We won our first two post-season games by 40, then the next two by 21 and our last one by 30, so we were on a roll and I think we would have kept on winning.
Q: In your conversations with the Iowa coaches, what have they said as far as the opportunity or where your mindset should be coming in your freshman year?
LACHEY: Honestly, we haven’t talked much about that. We haven’t talked much football at all recently. They’ve just been checking in and trying to make sure I’m doing okay and doing the best I can with my routine.
Q: How about you? What are your goals going into your freshman year?
LACHEY: I’m really just looking forward to getting to work and just doing the best I can to try to earn some playing time. Whatever role I end up with, whether I’m redshirting or playing or whatever happens, I’m just going to take it on full go and do the best I can. I’m just excited to get out there and get to work.
Q: Have you found out what number you will be wearing in college?
LACHEY: #85
Q: Last question, when you look back at your decision last summer, what was it about Iowa that made it the right place for you?
LACHEY: I just really loved the culture and everything about it. I enjoyed meeting the players and the coaches, and they were all awesome. Also, the other commits there played a huge part in it. There were 20 other guys in our class that visited the same weekend I did and we all got to know each other really well. Then obviously their tight end tradition there is really good. I’m just excited to be able to go out there and hopefully make a name for myself.
Lachey, whose father Jim played at Ohio State, committed to Iowa on July 10, 2019, choosing the Hawkeyes over scholarship offers from Michigan State, Nebraska, LSU, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Kentucky, Minnesota, Louisville, Indiana, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Iowa State, Vanderbilt, and Cincinnati, among others.
As a senior, Lachey put up big numbers for Grandview Heights last fall, finishing the season with 57 catches for 720 yards and seven touchdowns receiving, plus 43 carries for 337 yards rushing and three touchdowns on the ground and five interceptions on defense.
On the basketball court, he averaged 16.7 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per game this season, leading Grandview Heights to a 22-5 record.
See highlights from Lachey's senior year in football in the video below.