Sam LaPorta
Samuel Joseph 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 for the Iowa Hawkeyes and was named the Kwalick–Clark Tight End of the Year in 2022. He was selected by the Lions in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. High school career
LaPorta attended Highland High School in Illinois. 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. College career

2019 season

LaPorta entered his freshman season in 2019 behind Nate Wieting and Shaun Beyer in the depth chart. In Week 8 against Northwestern, LaPorta caught his first two career passes for 43 yards in a 20–0 win. In 2019, LaPorta played in 12 games with two starts and had 15 receptions for 188 yards. 2020 season

As a sophomore in 2020, LaPorta split starting duties with Beyer for the second year in a row. Against Purdue, LaPorta had a career-high 71 receiving yards on five receptions in a 24–20 loss. He caught his first career touchdown against Illinois while having four receptions for 57 yards in a 35–21 win. LaPorta played in eight games with five starts while recording 27 receptions for 271 yards and one touchdown. He was also named Fourth-Team All-Big Ten by Phil Steele and honorable-mention All-Big Ten by the coaches and media. 2021 season

LaPorta became the starting tight end in 2021. He was placed on the Mackey Award Preseason Watch List and was named Preseason Third-Team All-Big Ten by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele. In their first game against ranked Indiana, LaPorta set a new career-best with 83 yards on five receptions in a 34–6 blowout win. Against Kent State, LaPorta caught a career-best seven catches while totaling 65 yards and adding a touchdown in a 30–7 win. He caught another touchdown against Colorado State in a 24–14 win. Against ranked Kentucky in the 2022 Citrus Bowl, LaPorta had his first 100-yard game with seven receptions, matching a career-high, for 122 yards and a touchdown that gave the Hawkeyes the lead. They would not hold on to win, losing 20–17. LaPorta hauled in 53 passes for 670 yards and three touchdowns in 2021, all career-highs. At the end of the season, LaPorta was named Second-Team All-Big Ten by Phil Steele, Third-Team All-Big Ten by the coaches, and honorable-mention All-Big Ten by the media. He was also a Iowa Hawkeyes Team Hustle Award recipient. 2022 season

To open the 2022 season, LaPorta was put on the Rotary Lombardi Award and Mackey Award Preseason Watch List as well as being named Preseason Third-Team All-American by Phil Steele, Fourth-Team All-American by Athlon Sports, and First-Team All-Big Ten by both Steele and Athlon. He was also named as one of Iowa's team captains. In a loss to Iowa State, LaPorta caught a career-best eight passes for 55 yards. Against Illinois, he would top that total with nine receptions for 101 yards in a 9–6 loss. Against Purdue, LaPorta caught his one and only touchdown of a season in a 24–3 win. As true senior in 2022, Laporta had 58 catches for 657 yards. He was named Fourth-Team All-American by Phil Steele, First-Team All-Big Ten, and Kwalick–Clark Tight End of the Year. He finished 14th at Iowa in career receiving yards (1,786) yards on 153 receptions, ranking first among Iowa tight ends in catches and second in yards. College statistics

College awards & honors
 2020
 Fourth-Team All-Big Ten – Phil Steele
 Honorable Mention All-Big Ten – Coaches and Media

 2021
 Second-Team All-Big Ten – Phil Steele
 Third-Team All-Big Ten – Coaches
 Honorable Mention All-Big Ten – Media

 2022
 Kwalick–Clark Tight End of the Year
 Fourth-Team All-American – Phil Steele
 First-Team All-Big Ten – Coaches and Media

Professional career

The Detroit Lions selected LaPorta with the 34th overall pick in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. 2023 season

On September 24, 2023, LaPorta became the first tight end to tally five receptions in each of his first three games as well as having the most receptions by a tight end in that stretch with 18. He also caught his first career touchdown pass on a 45-yard catch-and-run from Jared Goff. The Lions would end up beating the Atlanta Falcons, 20–6. With his four receptions in Week 4 against the Green Bay Packers, LaPorta broke the record for receptions by a tight end in their first four games with 22. A week later in Week 5 against the Carolina Panthers, LaPorta caught a pair of touchdowns for the first multi-touchdown game of his career while also having three receptions for 47 yards. The Lions would win, 42–24. NFL career statistics

Regular season

NFL records
 Most receptions in a tight end's first three games (18)
 Most receptions in a tight end's first four games (22)
 First tight end to tally five catches in each of their first two games
 First tight end to tally five catches in each of their first three games

Lions franchise records

References

External links

 Detroit Lions bio
 Iowa Hawkeyes bio

2001 births
Living people
American football tight ends
Iowa Hawkeyes football players
People from Highland, Illinois
Sportspeople from Madison County, Illinois
Players of American football from Illinois
Detroit Lions players