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Iowa football: Multiple Hawks claim yearly Big Ten awards

By Andrew Wade

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - NOVEMBER 03: Ihmir Smith-Marsette #6 of the Iowa Hawkeyes runs the ball and is tackled by Markell Jones #8 of the Purdue Boilermakers in the first half at Ross-Ade Stadium on November 3, 2018 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - NOVEMBER 03: Ihmir Smith-Marsette #6 of the Iowa Hawkeyes runs the ball and is tackled by Markell Jones #8 of the Purdue Boilermakers in the first half at Ross-Ade Stadium on November 3, 2018 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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BLOOMINGTON, IN – OCTOBER 13: T.J. Hockenson #38 of the Iowa Hawkeyes runs for a touchdown against the Indiana Hossiers at Memorial Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN – OCTOBER 13: T.J. Hockenson #38 of the Iowa Hawkeyes runs for a touchdown against the Indiana Hossiers at Memorial Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Offensive Awards

As expected, TJ Hockenson and Noah Fant both took home All-Big Ten honors when the awards were announced tonight. More surprising, however, was the number of players that took home awards in addition to these two.

Let’s first start with Iowa’s two stud tight ends though.

TJ Hockenson, who is up for the John Mackey Award for the nations tight end also took him the Big Ten’s award for the best tight end in the conference.

The Kwalick-Clark Tight End of the Year award is now officially in the hands of an Iowa football tight end. Hockenson is the first Hawkeyes tight end to win the award that is named after one of the all-time great Hawks, Dallas Clark.

In addition to the 2018 Kwalick-Clark Tight End of the Year award, Hockenson received First Team All-Big Ten as voted by the media. Meanwhile, his running mate, Noah Fant, received second team as voted by the media. In the coach’s vote, the two swapped places with Fant being on the first team and Hockenson being on the second team.

Joining Hockenson and Fant on the media’s All-Big Ten Team were lineman Alaric Jackson (second team), Keegan Render (third team), and Ross Reynolds (third team). Jackson’s is arguably the most surprising to me considering his inability to stop some of the conference’s top rushers without inducing a drive-killing holding penalty, but he is incredibly talented and with some more work, he will likely be a future first-round draft pick.

The coaches’ All-Big Ten Team shook things up slightly. Jackson remains on the second team and Ross Reynolds bumped up to join him.

Sophomore wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Tristin Wirfs received honorable mention All-Big Ten as voted on by the media to round out the list of offensive awards received by the Iowa football team.