Iowa Hawkeyes tight end Addison Ostrenga (87) poses for a portrait during the Iowa Football 2024 Media Day at the Iowa Football practice field on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)
IOWA CITY – Addison Ostrenga was a home run hitter for the Iowa football team this summer, literally, when he hit three blasts in a charity softball game.
“That was a lot of fun,” Ostrenga said, reflecting on the game between Iowa and Iowa State football players, which ended with an 11-3 victory for the Hawkeyes.
Trade charity softball for real college football, and Ostrenga is coming off a season in which he was the figurative equivalent of the pinch hitter who finds a spot in the lineup and becomes the team’s go-to home run hitter.
Ostrenga started the 2023 season as the third tight end behind Luke Lachey and Erick All. (All is now in the NFL and Lachey could be an early draft pick in 2024 with a good season.)
At the end of the year, Ostrenga was tied for the team lead with 31 passes caught and developed into one of the Hawkeyes’ most consistent pass receivers in the second half of the season.
Ostrenga was the only Hawkeye to catch at least two passes in each of Iowa’s last six games.
When Iowa’s quarterbacks threw to Ostrenga in 2023, they completed 72.1 percent of their passes, according to Pro Football Focus. That was fifth-best among Big Ten tight ends with at least 40 targets, even though Iowa ranked 129th out of 130 teams nationally with an overall completion percentage of 48.9.
“It’s just a testament to how well he prepared and stayed ready all season,” said fellow tight end Luke Lachey of Ostrenga’s success last year. “Spring ball 2023, great training. Fall camp last year, went great.”
Lachey isn’t the only one who has noticed Ostrenga’s behind-the-scenes efforts leading up to his on-field performance. Tight ends coach Abdul Hodge had special praise for Ostrenga and “his work ethic” earlier this summer.
“When I’m looking for new players, I’m looking for the next Addison Ostrenga,” Hodge said on the Gazette’s “Hawk Off the Press” podcast in June. “He does everything he’s told and he works extremely hard. And our guys love him.”
Ostrenga has made significant physical improvements over the past season, said Hodge.
“His fundamentals in run blocking have really, really improved,” Hodge said. “And that’s the biggest thing I’ve seen from Addison, but Addison is a guy that’s only going to get better. He’s never going to get complacent. … He’s going to be a great leader for us.”
Iowa tight end Addison Ostrenga (87) catches a touchdown pass in the first quarter of the Hawkeyes’ victory over Illinois at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)
The combination of a healthy Lachey and Ostrenga creates a dangerous one-two punch when Iowa goes with a “12” team, whether because of potential imbalances in the passing game or the added pressure in the running attack.
“You get two tight ends that can really play in that system, that pro-style system — I think it helps because you get guys that can block on the perimeter,” Hodge said. “You get guys that can be a focal point in the gap scheme, also on the front of that gap scheme.”
Any baseball analogies for Ostrenga are especially apt given his history in the sport. He initially committed to play baseball at Iowa in 2020 before accepting a scholarship offer from the football program across the street — or rather, across the parking lot.
“This is a guy who is a really good athlete who can play in the corner outfield and maybe be a center field hitter,” thought Marty Sutherland, Iowa’s assistant head baseball coach, when he recruited Ostrenga.
Ostrenga added that he was also “pretty fast.”
“That was about 40 pounds ago,” said Ostrenga, whose official weight is 251 pounds.
The 6’4″ junior player also showed some power in high school, although not at the level of his performance in charity softball this summer.
“He wasn’t lifting the ball a ton yet,” Sutherland said. “I think that was something he was still developing. But the bat speed was there. The power was there. You had a pretty strong idea of what kind of baseball player he was going to be when he got to college.”
Ostrenga enjoyed his year as an Iowa baseball player and had a “really good relationship” with Rick Heller’s team. Sutherland, meanwhile, said, “You can’t find a better kid and a better family.”
“I really liked it here,” Ostrenga said, less than 100 meters from the baseball stadium where he would have played. “All the coaches and everything, all the players.”
At the same time, Sutherland “always knew that football was definitely going to play a role.” Kirk Ferentz’s program eventually offered Ostrenga a scholarship in 2021, and Ostrenga made what he described as a “pretty tough” decision to choose football over baseball.
“When he made the call, it really was no surprise at all,” Sutherland said.
Sutherland still has his eye on what his former recruit accomplished on the field as a Hawkeye. Now it’s all figurative home runs for Iowa football and not literal ones for Iowa baseball.
“Ultimately, it was obviously a great decision for him and we are all happy for him,” Sutherland said.
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