Dallas Clark
Tight End University — need I say more?
Dating back to the Hayden Fry era, the Hawkeye football team has consistently produced top-tier tight ends. From the likes of George Kittle and Sam LaPorta to TJ Hockenson, Marv Cook, and Jonathan Hayes, Iowa is a breeding ground for producing at the position.
With so many great tight ends who have gone on to have exceptional careers in the NFL, it was very hard to narrow my choices down for the greatest Hawkeye NFL player ever — but it has to be a tight end.
After making some phone calls to some hometown scholars of Cherokee, Iowa — who have had a front row seat to hundreds of Hawkeye football games at the same bar and restaurant, the Brightside Lounge, for years — my choice became clear.
Dallas Clark.
Clark, who first came in with the Hawkeyes in 1999 as a walk-on linebacker, eventually forged a historic run as tight end at Iowa.
The position of tight end is known for being a bruising and less glamorous position than wide receivers, running backs, and quarterbacks. However, this is exactly what makes Clark’s reign that much more impressive.
Clark was a first-round pick at No. 23 in the 2003 NFL Draft to the Indianapolis Colts.
During his final two years at Iowa from 2001-02, the consensus first-team All-American and John Mackey Award winner racked up over 1,251 yards and eight touchdowns through two games. That Hawkeye success continued in the NFL.
The Livermore, Iowa, native recorded 505 receptions, 5,665 receiving yards, and 53 touchdowns in the NFL. With 53 touchdowns, Clark sits at 12th all-time for touchdowns at his position, among the likes of Tony Gonzalez and Shannon Sharpe.
This success led Clark to winning a Super Bowl with the Colts in 2006, being recognized by Sports Illustrated as a NFL All-Pro in 2008 as well as a Pro-Bowler in 2009.
On Oct. 20, the former Hawkeye was inducted to the Indianapolis Colts Ring of Honor, solidifying himself as the best NFL player ever to pass through Iowa.
Andre Tippett
The glamor, the touchdowns, the help from Peyton Manning — all of that is great. But what Dallas Clark is missing that Andre Tippett has is a gold jacket and a much more impressive resume.
Clark’s one first-team All-Pro nod? Try two and two more on the second team. That was Tippett from 1985 to 1988. One Pro Bowl selection? Try five. That was Tippett 1984 to 1988. And he was named to the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team, one of the best football players in the decade who saw some of the greatest players to grace the gridiron.
That’s not to mention the linebacker won the NFL Co-Defensive Player of the Year Award by the Newspaper Enterprise Association in 1985, which he shared with fellow Hall-of-Famer Howie Long. That was also as Tippett played among one of the greatest defenses ever in the Monsters of the Midway, or the Chicago Bears, that season. Step aside, Mike Singletary.
Let’s take a deeper look. Playing for one of the greatest franchises of all time, Tippett has survived the test of time as he continues to stick out as an all-time great for the New England Patriots — one of football’s winningest teams ever.
Tippett, competing with Tedy Bruschi and Steve Nelson, was selected to the New England Patriots Hall of Fame after earning spots on their All-1980s Team, All-1990s Team, 35th Anniversary Team, and 50th Anniversary Team. That legendary franchise made its first Super Bowl behind Tippett.
Do I continue? I will. Tippett was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008. Clark doesn’t have half the honors to stack up against Tippett. Nor does he have the statistics.
Tippett isn’t around the top 10 against any other players at his position, as Clark is. In fact, he was arguably one of the greatest defenders of his time, totaling 100 sacks in 151 games — nearly a sack a game. That’s unbelievable. And he retired with franchise-bests in sacks, sacks in a season, and fumble recoveries.
Alongside the great Lawrence Taylor, Tippett is regarded as one of, if not the, greatest on-ball linebackers the NFL has ever seen.