Iowa State reaches ‘light at the end of the tunnel,’ readies for fall camp

AMES - In the middle of another long offseason, Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads noticed things clicking in a way he hadn't seen in awhile.

Winter workouts were in full swing with Iowa State coming off a combined five wins in two seasons, but that's when Rhoads saw the Cyclones begin to come together. That's when chemistry started to be built and the adversity of two seasons full of losses, injuries and a handful of dismissals started to fade into the background.

'The workouts that they endure (in the mid-offseason) are some of the toughest of the year,” Rhoads said. 'They're tough because they're grueling in nature, but there's no light at the end of the tunnel.”

When Rhoads stood at the podium at his media day press conference, it finally signaled a light at the end of the tunnel. The signal also represented a chance for Iowa State to put some of the demons of the last two years in the rearview mirror.

'I just hope we're on the same page at all times and when adversity hits, we stick together and show people we can fight back,” said senior wide receiver Quenton Bundrage.

For as similar as the Cyclones will look in some offensive positions, they will look almost as equally different on defense. Familiarity with the offensive personnel is highlighted largely by the presence of returning starter and fifth-year senior quarterback Sam Richardson.

The Winter Park, Fla. native completed 56.3 percent of his passes in 2014 and threw for 2,669 yards and 18 touchdowns. Richardson has struggled to add the wins to his record - three as a starter - but knows the pieces on the offensive line and receiving corps can change that.

'We're returning most of the guys and most of them are seniors and guys I've played with for a while now and guys that I have trust in,” Richardson said. 'It's nice to know that I have so much trust in them and they have trust in me as well.”

As trusting as Richardson is in his teammates, Rhoads and the coaching staff feel just as confident about Richardson's intangibles and ability to command the offense in his second year with the playbook.

'You're talking about a fifth-year senior, who has started a bowl game and has been part of a lot of action, who knows everybody in the room, thoroughly knows and understands the offense that we're running and has a high level of confidence in leading his teammates,” Rhoads said. 'There's a decided advantage in that and certainly not everybody in the league has that.”

High expectations already exist for the wide receivers led by Bundrage, Allen Lazard and D'Vario Montgomery, who will play behind a line with five players who have recorded career starts.

Iowa State lost three of its four running backs from last season, which paved the way for red-shirt sophomore Tyler Brown and red-shirt freshman Mike Warren to enter the fold.

'It's thin, it's inexperienced, but they're capable and they're talented,” Rhoads said of the running backs. 'Tyler and Mike showed that this spring and what they learned probably were the skills that they needed to improve on.”

Defensively, eight junior college players - three from the 2014 class and five from 2015 - will enter the fold with the opportunity to contribute. Demond Tucker, Jordan Harris, Jhaustin Thomas and Jarnor Jones add depth at every level of the ISU defense that last season allowed 38 points per game.

'There will be a lot of new faces on the field in 2015 and we've seen enough of a group of them already that we feel without a doubt they'll be better,” Rhoads said. 'How competitive they'll get and how far they'll come depends on the confidence level that grows.”

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