Tag: Steven Stilianos

Tennessee Titans sign Iowa TE Steven Stilianos as undrafted free agent

Music City bound. Iowa TE Steven Stilianos inked an undrafted free agent deal with the Tennessee Titans.

The Tennessee Titans put their trust in Tight End U.

The Titans signed Iowa Hawkeyes tight end Steven Stilianos to an undrafted free agent deal following the conclusion of the 2024 NFL draft.

A transfer from Lafayette, Stilianos spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Iowa Hawkeyes. Stilianos appeared in 18 games and started eight this past season with Iowa.

When injuries piled up for the Hawkeyes at tight end last season, Stilianos was one of Iowa’s players that stepped up.

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz commented on Stilianos’ development after the Hawkeyes lost tight end Erick All to a season-ending ACL injury in Iowa’s 15-6 win at Wisconsin.

“Talking about Steve, we said that in the spring, I thought he was probably one of our more improved guys on the team. Last year was a transition year for him. And in the spring you could see him operating, like, this is a guy who can help us play and help us be successful. And he’s going to be called upon to do more now as we move forward,” Ferentz said in October.

The 6-foot-5, 255 pound tight end caught eight passes for 96 yards. Stilianos had a long reception of 37 yards in the Hawkeyes’ 13-10 win at Nebraska. It helped set up the Hawkeyes’ lone touchdown drive of the day.

 

In his college career, Stilianos reeled in 73 grabs for 630 receiving yards with five touchdowns across 47 games played and 30 starts.

Stilianos joins defensive tackle Noah Shannon and defensive end Joe Evans as Hawkeyes that have signed undrafted free agent deals following the conclusion of the 2024 NFL draft. Shannon was signed by the Las Vegas Raiders and Evans was signed by the Baltimore Ravens.

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Iowa’s Diante Vines, Steven Stilianos share strong words of encouragement for Luke Lachey

Luke Lachey is right at the heart of the Iowa Hawkeyes. After his injury, teammates offered strong words of encouragement for him.

When Luke Lachey went down last Saturday, all of the Iowa Hawkeyes, their fans, and supporters held their breath. A huge part of the heart and soul of the Hawkeyes, Lachey was off to a red-hot start to the 2023 season.

Unfortunately, that season is going to be cut short as Kirk Ferentz confirmed that Lachey is likely done for the entire season after surgery on his ankle. This is a loss for the Hawkeyes but has spurred on a few teammates to let Lachey know they are playing for him and are already rooting for his comeback.

Wide receiver Diante Vines stepped up and let Lachey know that the comeback is just now beginning and is one that will be special.

“You’re about to have the greatest comeback. It’ll be a legendary comeback that Iowa people will be talking about forever,” Vines texted Lachey.

Steven Stilianos, a tight end, shares a bond with Lachey as they share the same position and spend more time together than any other teammates. Stilianos was heartbroken for Lachey but is now ready to play for him.

“It’s tough. He’s literally my best friend here. So it breaks my heart a little bit,” Stilianos said when asked what losing Lachey for the season felt like.

“No one’s Luke Lachey. He’s a hell of a player. But we’re going to do our damn best to play for him,” Stilianos added when asked how Iowa replaces him.

Iowa now turns to the trio of Erick All, Steven Stilianos, and Addison Ostrenga to carry the weight for the tight end group. Luke Lachey is going to be there supporting the Hawkeyes and just as much a part of this team as he can.

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Iowa was the least active Big Ten team in the transfer portal for good reason

The Iowa Hawkeyes were the least active Big Ten team in the transfer portal. And for good reason. They develop their own internally.

The transfer portal is the talk of NCAA football every offseason it seems. Coaches move and players follow them. Players don’t feel things are a fit at their current school and leave. Or, you get programs that retain, develop, and go with their guys they know and have bought into. That is what Iowa does.

The Iowa Hawkeyes were the least active Big Ten team in the transfer portal this offseason, as reported by The Gazette’s John Steppe. There was one player that joined the Hawkeyes through the transfer portal this offseason and that was Steven Stilianos, a tight end coming from FCS school Lafayette.

Stilianos makes up one player, or 0.97% of transfers in the Big Ten. Iowa doesn’t use the portal. They develop their guys and they do so very, very well. Iowa has a strong culture, a rich history of turning unheralded recruits into college stars and NFL talents.

Iowa’s defensive line coach provided a great quote to their strategy surrounding their philosophy to filling gaps that arise.

“Is there somebody here? He may be in another position room,” Bell said in a June episode of The Gazette’s Hawk Off the Press podcast. “I’m going to check that before I check the portal because if he’s in the building, that kid understands the culture. If he’s in the building, that transition would be seamless.”

With their success and development, another reason for the lack of transfers joining the Iowa program is simply due to the experience already on the roster. With many upperclassmen starting, contributing, and helping win, the Hawkeyes don’t need to go away from what is clearly working.

Since the NCAA Transfer Portal originated in October of 2018, Iowa has won 73% of their games over the last four seasons with two 10-win seasons in there.

As Steppe discussed, the transfer portal can be a case of the grass not always being greener. Of those entering the portal, 42% of them are stuck without a new home, didn’t return to their original school, and many have given up scholarships.

Former quarterback Deuce Hogan gave up his Iowa scholarship when entering the transfer portal and is one of those individuals who was lucky enough to find a new home. Yet, he is now a walk-on, a steep price to pay in the transfer portal.

Luckily, the Iowa Hawkeyes have found success internally, moving guys around, growing them, and developing them into Big Ten football players. With their track record speaking for itself, don’t expect or think the Hawkeyes need to get their hands in the mess that the transfer portal is.

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‘This is where I wanted to be’: Iowa Hawkeyes TE Sam LaPorta made ‘easy’ decision to return

Iowa tight end Sam LaPorta made the “easy” decision to return to Iowa City. The Hawkeyes’ offense is set to reap the rewards of that move.

One of the best tight ends in all of college football is back for the Hawkeyes entering 2022. Senior Sam LaPorta was Iowa’s leader in receiving yardarge and receptions in 2021 with 670 yards and 53 grabs.

After a 2021 campaign where he earned second-team All-Big Ten honors from Phil Steele, the 6-foot-4, 249 pound tight end is earning all sorts of preseason recognition heading into this season. Phil Steele and Athlon Sports both listed LaPorta as the Big Ten’s preseason first-team tight end, while On3 ranked him as the No. 8 tight end on its Impact 300.

As the Power Five leader in returning receiving yardage among tight ends, naturally, LaPorta is garnering plenty of 2023 NFL draft buzz, too. ESPN’s Mel Kiper listed LaPorta No. 2 on his most recent big board and he was also included on Pro Football Focus’ draft watch list for tight ends.

LaPorta will be one of the most important offensive playmakers for the Hawkeyes next season. Last week, he met with Hawk Central and rest of the Iowa media members in attendance to discuss the start of Iowa’s summer program and how he feels about his game and the tight ends group heading into the 2022 college football season.

Iowa Hawkeyes’ transfer TE Steven Stilianos could add an offensive wrinkle

The Iowa Hawkeyes top transfer this offseason from the FCS ranks could add an offensive wrinkle at an unexpected position.

The Iowa Hawkeyes remained quiet in the transfer portal for the most part aside from one offensive addition. That addition is at the tight end position in the form of Steven Stilianos who comes over from Lafeyette and the FCS ranks where he played his previous four seasons.

CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli took a look at all of the top Big Ten transfers and ranked Stilianos Iowa’s top transfer for the upcoming 2022 season. Obviously, he sort of had to as he is the only transfer joining the Hawkeyes.

Iowa — TE Steven Stilianos: It didn’t take much time to figure out the best transfer in Iowa’s class because Stilianos is the only one. The Lafayette transfer is seen as more of a blocking tight end but might impact the passing attack. – Fornelli, CBS Sports.

Stilianos committed to the Hawkeyes in February of this year. He chose Iowa over a handful of other offers such as Pittsburgh, Virginia, Syracuse, Temple, and Rutgers.

While Fornelli views him as a blocking tight end—and it certainly makes sense why as Stilianos is 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds—he does add value to the passing game. While at Lafeyette, he racked up 65 receptions for 534 yards and five touchdowns. His ability to perform in the passing game is evident.

Stilianos joins a tight end room that includes Hawkeyes leading pass catcher Sam LaPorta and redshirt sophomore Luke Lachey. There are also two incoming freshman tight ends in the 2022 recruiting class, Addison Ostrenga and Cael Vanderbush.

The Hawkeyes were relatively quiet in the transfer portal as they often have most of their talent homegrown. Going out and adding Stilianos could be signs of mixing his size into the scheme with play-action passes and throwing the ball out of run-heavy formations to go against their tendencies.

As Iowa begins summer camp and preseason, it might be worth keeping an eye on not only how many reps Stilianos receives, but also what his utilization looks like. The Iowa Hawkeyes have built up a reputation for churning out top tight ends and have more than the benefit of the doubt to think they will be right once again.

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