5 things to watch as Iowa State opens Matt Campbell era

AMES — The Iowa State football team and Coach Matt Campbell officially put 2 1/2 months of a whirlwind transition period into the rearview mirror.

The Cyclones started spring practices Tuesday and ushered in the Campbell era to the sound of music inside Bergstrom Football Complex, coming from large speakers near the corner of the field and ranging from Third Eye Blind to Jay-Z. This was a decision that diverges from how things used to be and toward how the 36-year-old coach wants them to be.

'A foundation of great attitude and effort is our starting point,' Campbell said. 'I thought we really made good strides in those areas in the last two weeks. We'll take a look at what today's practice looked like day one. We've got a lot of work to do. Our kids know that, I know that, but we'll take it one day at a time.'

Here are five things to watch during Iowa State spring practices:

1. Offensive line 'starting at square one.' Iowa State lost six offensive linemen in the off-season — four to graduation and Daniel Burton and Jacob Dunning to injury — and will be without junior Jake Campos this spring.

The Cyclones are returning just 24 starts between two offensive linemen — Campos has 23 — and will be relying on less experienced players to surface. Senior Nick Fett started one game at right guard. Senior Patrick Scoggins, junior college transfer Karson Green and Bryce Meeker and Julian Good-Jones — two Cedar Rapids natives coming off red-shirt seasons — also will be in the mix this spring.

'Some guys have played some snaps like Nick Fett played some snaps last year and Jaypee Philbert played some,' Campbell said. 'So really it's a matter of starting at square one, which is ironic because we kind of did the same thing a year ago at Toledo. We've been down that road and we'll just take it one day at a time.'

Campos had off-season hip surgery that Campbell said was used 'to clean some things out.' He added holding Campos out for the spring is precautionary and that he will be available full go in the fall.

2. Warren moving from hunter to hunted. Sophomore running back Mike Warren led all rookie rushers last season with 1,339 yards and became the first 1,000-yard rusher at Iowa State since 2009. Campbell has higher expectations for 2016.

'I'll continue to say this about Michael: You've kind of gone from the guy that's the hunter to now being the guy that's going to be the hunted,' Campbell said. 'That's a big change and the expectations rise.

'Mike is certainly under that microscope right now. I think he's had a good winter and is going to have to continue to have a great spring to continue to match my expectations and I think probably your expectations for Mike.'

The Cyclones lost Tyler Brown and Joshua Thomas to transfer in the off-season, but have Alburnett grad Mitchell Harger and Sheldon Croney Jr. — who is coming off a red-shirt season where he nursed a gunshot wound to his hand — in the fold for spring drills. They also get freshmen David Montgomery and Kene Nwangwu this summer, but Campbell said he's seen some good things from the players on campus.

'Mitch Harger is another young man, I'll be honest with you, I think has got a tremendous skill set,' Campbell said. 'I'm really excited to see what he can do. I think if you really watch the games last year and watch what he did when he was in, he's a guy that's a very capable football player.'

3. Lanning leading QBs, others bring skill sets to table. Junior Joel Lanning solidified himself as the starting signal caller for the last five games last season and hasn't done anything to change Campbell's mind in the last couple months. Lanning had 1,247 passing yards and 330 rushing yards and tossed 10 touchdowns in 2015.

'I think now it's a matter of him being comfortable and yet continuing to grow as quarterbacks have to,' Campbell said. 'I think he's really taken that personal and done a great job in terms of leading and growing within our offense and not having to learn that terminology.'

Iowa State also has quarterbacks Dominic De Lira, Zeb Noland and Kyle Kempt for spring drills.

4. Jones switches positions. Senior Jay Jones started nine games at nickel back and played some linebacker last season, but will be moving to defensive back in 2016. At 6-foot-3 and 209 pounds, Campbell said his length was key in making the switch.

In determining what style of defense to play, Campbell reasoned the order of importance is players, formations, then plays. Kamari Cotton-Moya, Jordan Harris, Demond Tucker and Brian Peavy will be key returners on defense.

'Jay may not be the fastest corner that we have, but his strength, his power and his length (helps),' Campbell said. 'It's kind of a starting spot, probably a little bit exploratory from our side of things, but you talk about a guy being a situational player and maybe even a guy growing into a guy that can be comfortable there.'

5. Lazard earning even more respect. Junior Allen Lazard led the Cyclones in receptions (56), receiving yards (808) and touchdown catches (6) last season and has given Campbell a front-row seat to his skill set — from the opposite sideline.

Campbell knew coming to Ames how much respect he had for Lazard's game, but said seeing it up close in winter workouts has taken it to another level. Lazard has a supporting cast of Dondre Daley, Jauan Wesley, Trever Ryen and Carson Epps this spring.

'He had a phenomenal winter in terms of what we expect from him, in terms of his leadership and it doesn't surprise me when I go out and I see him, even some plays he made today in practice were spectacular,' Campbell said of Lazard. 'He's that guy, but he's that guy every day.'

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