Everyone says the “next man up” mantra all the time. The reality is, that situation and the ability to do so are much more difficult when push comes to shove and it is time to step up.
The Iowa Hawkeyes are extremely fortunate to have Zach Ortwerth on their roster as someone who can shoulder that ask and take it on while exceeding expectations.
With the injury to Luke Lachey, Ortwerth was thrust into starting action and has taken it on while making big plays. Kirk Ferentz described who Zach Ortwerth is and how he ended up at Iowa in his weekly press conference.
“I can’t say what prepared him for it, but his recruitment is kind of interesting. Gary Kornfeld was the coach down there, has since retired, but Gary was an assistant when I used to recruit down there in the ’80s, so I’ve known him a long time.
He called, I don’t know what year it would have been, maybe 10th grade, 11th grade for Zach and just said here’s a guy you ought to keep an eye on, and he doesn’t call very often, so we appreciated that. We were able to get in early with Zach and our message resonated with he and his family.
I can’t say enough about him, the way he’s stepped in. He just plays. He’s not a 4.4 guy or a 270-pound guy, but he’s a good football player, and he’s mentally tough. He has to be because he played last year as a freshman.
This year he’s all of a sudden now carrying a heavy load and it doesn’t seem to faze him at all. He’s been the same guy since he’s been here, which I think is impressive.
I have to throw in Johnny Pascuzzi and Hayden Large, too, because we’ve got a couple pretty good players out right now, and nobody has talked about it. We’re not making it a big deal, but those guys have really done a good job. That’s what you look for. That’s what you hope you have on a team, when guys are ready to go in there and take advantage of opportunity.
All those guys are doing a good job, but Zach has been really impressive with what he’s done so far,” Ferentz said about Ortwerth, his recruitment, and other tight ends.
Ortwerth was a three-star recruit out of St. Louis, Missouri in the class of 2023 when he committed to Iowa, per 247Sports.
Coming to Iowa, Ortwerth was listed as 220 pounds. Iowa now lists him as 240 pounds after getting in the weight room and developing.
With Lachey potentially sidelined once again this week, the duties will go to Ortwerth who has taken his chance and ran with it this year as he reeled in three receptions for 66 yards last week in his first start.
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