Five things you might not know about Noah Fant

Meet the newest Denver Bronco, Iowa tight end Noah Fant.

Fant is a big play threat who dominated the Big Ten during his three seasons with the Hawkeyes. He turned one of every four catches into a touchdown and set the school record for touchdown catches by a tight end.

Now, Fant will join Phillip Lindsay, Royce Freeman, Courtland Sutton and DaeSean Hamilton in Denver as part of a youth movement among playmakers in the Broncos’ offense.

Here are five things you might not know about your new playmaker:

His college coach called him a “specialist”

In case you haven’t heard, Noah Fant split time at tight end at Iowa with T.J. Hockensen, who the Lions chose with the eighth pick in this year’s draft. There’s no bad blood between the two, but there’s also no doubt Fant’s numbers took a hit because of his lighter role in the offense.

From the midpoint of his sophomore year to the midpoint of his junior year, Fant scored 14 touchdowns in 12 games. In that stretch, the Hawkeyes lost three times. Then, inexplicably, his workload was decreased. He went three games without a touchdown, and all three were losses.

In the last loss, 14-10 to Northwestern, Fant didn’t see the field in the last 8 minutes, 53 seconds while the Hawkeyes attempted a comeback. Iowa fans and media were confused and, in the days following the game, head coach Kirk Ferentz was asked why Fant only played nine of his team’s 26 second-half snaps.

“I would compare him more to a specialist position,” Ferentz said of Fant, according to HawkCentral.com. “But nonetheless, he’s an outstanding football player, and we’ve tried to get him the ball, and we’ll continue to try to get him the ball.”

Of course, playing the same position as another first-round talent was going to cut into Fant’s playing time, but peculiar coaching decisions made the cut deeper. Despite it all, Fant managed to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors.

In case you’re wondering, here’s what Fant had to say about why he didn’t see the field more after his one-catch, zero-yard performance against Northwestern:

“Our coaches decided to get the other guys the ball. I’m not saying if it’s right or wrong, I’m not really sure. That’d be a better question for the coaching staff. It’s one of those things where I go out there when I’m told to and I try to catch everything that comes to me, and I tried to do that today.”

Not exactly a diva response.

His brother took the diminished role a little harder

Fant was a big name heading into his junior season and, according to HawkCentral.com, he wasn’t interested in building more hype. That’s why he stays off social media.

“My dad. My brother. All of them are on Twitter. That’s their job,” Fant said last summer. “I kind of keep those lives separate. As a parent should be, they’re proud. They’re excited, all that stuff. But my job is to play football. My job is to focus on what I can improve on.”

When Fant saw more of his playing time handed to Hockenson, his brother, Chris, took to Twitter.

“These coaches must think the #1 Guy in the nation is the 2nd or 3rd best on there [sic] team! Because they both get more reps than he does. It’s hard to believe a player who is arguably the best at his position only plays sometimes. Hard to watch that mess over and over!” He wrote in a since-deleted tweet.

Safe to say it made a big stir in Iowa City.

He was once projected to be drafted much earlier

The phrase “freak athlete” is thrown around often during draft season but for Fant, it’s not an overstatement.

Out of 21 tight ends invited to the NFL Combine, Fant had the best mark in the 40-yard dash (4.50 seconds), 60-yard shuttle (11.49 seconds), broad jump (127 inches) and vertical jump (39.5 inches).

The craziest part? You could make the case he underperformed.

Prior to his junior season at Iowa, Fant stole the tight end vertical jump record from some guy named George Kittle (more on him later). It took a 42.1-inch jump. For context, point guard Nate Robinson is 5-foot-9 but won three NBA Slam Dunk titles thanks to his 43.5-inch vertical.

Fant’s athletic ability, combined with his 6-foot-4, 249-pound frame, and elite production, made him the number five NFL prospect early last season, according to NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks.

It didn’t hurt that he made three preseason first-team All-America squads.

He calls George Kittle his mentor

Broncos fans don’t want to hear the name “George Kittle.” I get that, I don’t blame you, and I’m sorry.

But, just to recap, Kittle slashed Denver for 210 yards and a touchdown on seven catches in just the first half – that’s 30 minutes – of the 49ers’ 20-14 win over the Broncos in December, one of four San Francisco wins all season.

Maybe you can find solace in the fact that Fant is trying to grow in his fellow Hawkeye’s footsteps. In his introductory press conference, Fant said that Kittle has been his mentor.

“He told me to enjoy it,” Fant said. “He was very happy and it was nothing but words of encouragement.”

“Hopefully I can live up to what George Kittle has done in the NFL,” he said Thursday. “That’s the goal.”

Fant is the next in a long line of talented tight ends to make the jump from Iowa to the NFL. Kittle, C.J. Fiedorwicz and Tony Moeaki were all drafted in the last 10 years. Dallas Clark is the biggest name among former Hawkeye tight ends.

The Broncos’ current tight end room is packed with Big Ten talent. Jake Butt is a Michigan grad. Jeff Heuerman went to Ohio State. Troy Fumagalli is from Wisconsin.

“I can’t wait to get to meet those guys,” Fant said Thursday.

He wanted to be a surgeon

Fant was a biology major at Iowa, and he planned on a career as an orthopedic surgeon if football didn’t work out.

“There are a lot of injuries in sports,” Fant told the University of Nebraska Medical Center public relations in 2016. “I want to be that person who helps injured athletes get back to their dream of playing sports again.”

It sounds crazy now, but Fant wasn’t always a lock for the NFL.

In high school, Fant was a wiry tight end and defensive end. He was recruited to play both positions at various schools, but when he decided he wanted to play offense, he chose Iowa over UCLA, Vanderbilt and Nebraska, his hometown school.

He set Omaha South High School records for touchdowns and receptions in a season and served as a captain his junior and senior years. ESPN called him a three-star prospect and the No. 15 tight end in his class.

Now, even after finding his way into the first round of the NFL draft, Fant is still interested in becoming a surgeon when his football career is over.