(Green Bay, WI) — Four Iowa Hawkeyes were taken in the NFL Draft on Saturday. Defensive Tackle Yahya Black was taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 5th round and the 164th pick overall. Three players were taken in the 7th round — Mason Richman, Connor Colby and Luke Lachey. Richman is an offensive lineman was selected at pick number 234 by the Seattle Seahawks; Colby is an offensive lineman taken at pick number 249 by the San Francisco 49ers and Lachey is a Tight Ed selected at pick number 255 by the Houston Texans.
It is the third straight season the Hawkeyes have had a defensive lineman selected in the NFL Draft. Black, who joins teammates Kaleb Johnson and Logan Lee in Pittsburgh, is the 18th defensive lineman drafted under head coach Kirk Ferentz.
Black, an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection as both a junior and senior, started the final 27 games of his Hawkeye career. As a senior, he finished with 34 tackles, including seven tackles for loss, one sack, two pass break-ups, two hurries and a blocked field goals.
Richman and Colby are the 20th and 21st offensive linemen drafted under Ferentz. The last time two Hawkeye offensive linemen were selected in the same draft was 2015 (Brandon Scherff, first round; Andrew Donnal, fourth round).
Lachey is the 14th tight end drafted in the Ferentz era and it is the third straight year a Hawkeye tight end was selected (Sam LaPorta, 2023; Erick All, 2024).
Richman, an honorable mention all-conference selection, started all 13 games at left tackle in 2024. The native of Leawood, Kansas was also an Academic All-District, Academic All-Big Ten and National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society inductee as a senior.
Colby, a Phil Steele third-team All-American and a first-team All-Big Ten selection, started all 13 games at right guard in 2024. He started 50 career games on Iowa’s offensive line, the second-most in the Ferentz era.
Richman and Colby paved the way for an Iowa’ rushing attack that rushed for 200+ yards in eight games – the most for the program since 2015. The team’s 197.2 rushing yards per game were the most for the team since 2002 and ranked third in the Big Ten and 24th nationally.
Lachey, an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection as a senior, had 28 catches for 231 yards (8.3 average) in 2024. During his career, the Ohio native started 24 games, where he finished with 74 receptions for 893 yards and four touchdowns.
