Sam LaPorta
Samuel LaPorta (born January 12, 2001) is an American football tight end for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa. He was named the Kwalick–Clark Tight End of the Year in 2022.
 LaPorta with the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2021 | |
| No. 87 – Detroit Lions | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Tight end |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | January 12, 2001 Highland, Illinois, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight: | 249 lb (113 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Highland (Highland) |
| College: | Iowa (2019–2022) |
| NFL Draft: | 2023 / Round: 2 / Pick: 34 |
| Career history | |
| |
| Roster status: | Unsigned draft pick |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |
| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |
High school career
LaPorta was born on January 12, 2001, in Highland, Illinois, and attended Highland High School.[1][2] He played wide receiver and defensive back in high school. During his career he had 3,793 receiving yards and 50 touchdowns. LaPorta committed to the University of Iowa to play college football.[3][4]
College career
As a true freshman at Iowa in 2019, LaPorta played in 12 games with two starts and had 15 receptions for 188 yards.[5][6] As a sophomore in 2020, he started five of eight games, recording 27 receptions for 271 yards and one touchdown.[7][8] He returned to Iowa as a starter in 2021, and hauled in 53 passes for 670 yards and 3 touchdowns.[9][10] A true senior in 2022, Laporta had 58 catches for 657 yards. He finished 14th at Iowa in career receiving yards (1,786) yards on 153 receptions, ranking first among Iowa TEs in catches and second in yards.
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3+1⁄4 in (1.91 m) |
245 lb (111 kg) |
32+1⁄8 in (0.82 m) |
10+1⁄4 in (0.26 m) | 4.59 s | 1.59 s | 2.61 s | 4.25 s | 6.91 s | 35.0 in (0.89 m) | 10 ft 3 in (3.12 m) | 16 reps | |
| Sources:[11][12] | ||||||||||||
The Detroit Lions selected LaPorta with the 34th overall pick in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft.[13]
References
- Brugler, Dane. "The Beast: 2023 NFL Draft Guide" (PDF). The Athletic. p. 249. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
- Emmert, Mark. "Tracing Sam LaPorta's path from small-town sensation to budding star tight end at Iowa". Hawk Central.
- Halfacre, Paul. "Highland's LaPorta taking his talents to Iowa". STLtoday.com.
- Bain, Matthew. "Iowa lands its third three-star Illinois TE in Sam LaPorta". Hawk Central.
- Batterson, Steve. "Hawkeyes' LaPorta follows a successful path". The Quad-City Times.
- Dochterman, Scott. "Why Sam LaPorta is primed to become the next great Iowa tight end". The Athletic.
- Leistikow, Chad. "After emerging in shortened 2020 season, Sam LaPorta aims to be Iowa's 'next great tight end'". Hawk Central.
- "Is Sam LaPorta the next great Iowa tight end? Sure looks like he's on his way there". www.thegazette.com.
- Southard, Dargan. "Dissecting Sam LaPorta's growth and how vital the Iowa tight end will be vs. Penn State". Hawk Central.
- "Iowa football summer check-in: Tight ends". www.thegazette.com.
- "Sam LaPorta Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
- "2023 NFL Draft Scout Sam LaPorta College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
- Twentyman, Tim (April 28, 2023). "Lions draft tight end Sam LaPorta". DetroitLions.com.