Ever since Kirk Ferentz took over the Iowa football program, the tight end position has been fruitful.
The list of legendary tight ends to come through Iowa City is plentiful, and the Hawkeyes are the best program in the nation when it comes to developing that position. They take guys who were under-recruited and underappreciated and turn them into stars. And it’s happening again.
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In the second half of the 2025 season, DJ Vonnahme was Iowa’s best receiver. The redshirt freshman tight end was just put on scholarship a few months prior after starting his career as a walk-on. He opened the season not on the two-deep depth chart, but it didn’t take long for him to show signs of elite play. He put everything together in the back half of the season, becoming the top option for quarterback Mark Gronowski.
His efforts during the 2025 season opened a lot of eyes nationally, including from Pro Football Focus. PFF made one thing clear on Thursday: Vonnahme was the best freshman tight end in the country.
Vonnahme earned an 83.1 receiving grade from PFF for his 2025 season, a top mark among freshman tight ends. He finished the season with 29 receptions for 434 yards and three touchdowns. That’s an impressive stat line, especially considering that during Iowa’s first six games, Vonnahme had a total of just 64 receiving yards. After not factoring in to games against Penn State and Minnesota in October, Vonnahme got it going quickly.
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Over the final five games of the season, he had 43, 59, 31, 91, and 146 yards. His bowl performance against Vanderbilt to end the season was magical, as he hauled in seven passes for those 146 yards and a score. He firmly established himself as the top tight end on the roster with an extremely bright future.
The sky is the limit for Vonnahme, and with numerous years of eligibility left, he’s just scratching the surface of his potential. It looks like Iowa has its next great tight end on the roster, and he’s ready to make an impact in 2026.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa football TE led freshmen in PFF grade
