Notebook: Iowa State filling the experience void

AMES – There's a pretty big shadow being cast over the Iowa State football team's defense this fall.

Two of them, actually.

Jake Knott and A.J. Klein are off pursuing NFL careers now, and those left – Jeremiah George, Jevohn Miller and Jared Brackens in particular – have big shoes to fill on a defense that's seen a lot of turnover from last year.

“Jake and A.J., they led by example. Guys were willing to follow them over a mountain,” George said Sunday at Iowa State football Media Day. “I feel all of us, together, are doing our job, playing our roles and replacing Jake and A.J. Their time has come, and one day our time is going to come and someone else is going to have to step up.

“(But) I wouldn't say we're (necessarily) replacing them, we're just stepping up and filling in the void.”

Knott and Klein were the unquestioned leaders of the Cyclone locker room, and George – who played alongside the two last season – is the clear front-runner to take the torch, being named captain this year by a wide margin.

Coach Paul Rhoads said he's seen no change in what George brings on the field, which will only add to his burgeoning reputation and amplify how his teammates see him.

“Jeremiah (George) played well a year ago. And you could say, ‘Boy he was shoulder to shoulder with two NFL linebackers, and that helped him.' I don't see that right now. I don't see a guy who's lost with two inexperienced players playing by his side,” Rhoads said. “He's practicing as a leader, he's practicing with great intensity and productivity on the field.

“(I) don't see a dropoff in Jeremiah. I see him stepping up and being even more of a leader and playmaker than he was a year ago.”

That void George is trying to fill – a combined 708 career tackles, 13 interceptions and 11 forced fumbles between Knott and Klein – is obviously a big one, not just on the field, but off it.

To that end, George sent a message to his coaches that he's going to carry what he learned on the field into the locker room and film room by being a coach's liaison over the summer.

“Coach (Yancy) McKnight and our strength staff, they address our strength and speed and stuff like that, but they don't go out there and teach them the game of football. Jeremiah has been in a position where he's done that throughout (this) summer,” Rhoads said. “All Division I programs have their kids around campus (over the summer), but it's what those kids are doing in that time that leads to results in the fall.”

RUNNING BACKS GALORE

“Youth and inexperience” was a phrase Rhoads uttered on several occasions during his media day news conference, but one position on his team couldn't be more of the opposite.

At running back this fall – barring injuries – Rhoads will have six capable running backs from which to choose in any given situation. Obvious names are back in James White, Shontrelle Johnson and Jeff Woody, but Aaron Wimberly and DeVondrick Nealy both impressed in the spring and so far during fall camp.

With that many talented guys to find time for, Rhoads said he's focusing on what they'll do as a unit, not as individuals.

“You can see the experience (in the running backs), and the work ethic,” Rhoads said. “I'm not concerned with their happiness as far as carries and so forth. I'm concerned that we figure out what their roles are, that they understand their roles, and they go out there and get that done. I don't have any reason to believe after seven (fall) practices that they won't.”

So Rhoads doesn't care how much time each guy sees. Do they?

“It's not about (keeping everyone happy),” Johnson said. “Coach is going to go with the hot hand. And at the same time, we all feed off each other so … there's going to be a rotation. We'll expect to see things from all of us. We're a group, we're a team, we're a unit.”

White echoed his teammate, and said he's tried to step up as a leader himself this offseason and bring the group together.

“What I told them before camp started, I told everybody as a team: ‘Don't have any negativity amongst the teammates,' as far as talking about ‘I'm better than him, I should be in the game,'” White said. “I told them to be like a family, stick together, encourage the teammate, help him out. If you know a little more than him, coach him up. Because you never know, you might be the guy that gets hurt, and then your backup, he's in and he doesn't know what to do. That's hurting the team. We need all of us to be on point, be on our A-game.”

DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD IS EXPERIENCED, TOO

The running backs may have the most depth and experience on the 2013 Cyclones, but they're not the only position with some time on the field.

The defensive backfield – led by Jacques Washington, who tallied 90 tackles, three interceptions and a forced fumble last season – has played together a lot, and will have to play well this season against the high-powered Big XII offenses they'll see.

“Fast and furious (is our identity),” Washington said. “We're going to attack the ball, attack the (ball-carrier), we're going to attack everything we do.”

To get that done, the group will have to rely on effective communication, something the players believe won't be an issue.

“On the defensive side, it's good to communicate,” said senior cornerback Jansen Watson. “For us, we have a mindset of ‘Know our opponent, know the keys, know the read, know the formation.' And it's always good because, with some of the offenses (we face) they come out with a lot of motion, a lot of formations, and being a defense we have to communicate. We're getting there, and I feel like the defense is really starting to get on a good page.”

KIRBY BALANCING ACCOLADES WITH EXPECTATIONS

The lone preseason All-American on the squad, Kirby Van Der Kamp has mixed emotions about how much he'll show off his skills.

While he wants to be out there using his talents, doing so means the team is giving up the ball.

“I'm just always prepared on third down. You obviously don't want to see me out there, because that means we're giving the ball up,” Van Der Kamp said. “But when I do have my opportunities, if it's many or if it's few, I have to go out there and perform.”

In addition to wanting to give his defense the best field position possible, Van Der Kamp knows what he does on the field will either back up those preseason expectations, or prove them wrong.

“I go out there for my teammates, and I see them working hard, and I want to do the best for them and give them a great opportunity,” Van Der Kamp said. “I enjoy (the preseason honors). It's good to be recognized, but I have to perform. That's what it comes down to, is ultimately, I have to perform this season.”