Cyclones close to naming starters on defense

AMES - As fall camp draws to a close, Coach Paul Rhoads said his team is heading into the week of its first game fresh and, most importantly, healthy. There are also some competitions for starting jobs that are going to be decided soon.

'Alton Meeks is our number one guy at the Mike linebacker right now and Kane (Seeley) and Jordan (Harris) will back him up,” Rhoads said.

And while the depth chart isn't set in stone there, defensive coordinator Wally Burnham said Meeks, a red-shirt freshman, still has to get used to the position but his intelligence and speed have helped him separate himself.

'We just feel like he's the guy that will blossom there hopefully and he's stayed a step ahead of the posse so to speak and done a few more things and been more productive,” Burnham said. 'A lot of things are based off production and that's kind of how he stayed ahead.”

Burnham also said weak-side linebacker Luke Knott has closed the gap between himself and the linebacker listed as the number one right now, Jevohn Miller. He credited Knott's jump to getting reps consistently for the first time since last fall.

On the offensive side of the ball, offensive coordinator Mark Mangino has seen the understanding of his system improve 'light years ahead of where we were at the end of spring.”

The basic operation of the offense and playing fundamentally sound are where he's seen the biggest growth.

'We just understand we still have a way to go and we still have a lot of work to do,” Mangino said. 'We'll take advantage of all the practice opportunities between now and Aug. 30.”

And with junior Sam Richardson emerging as the starting quarterback, Mangino has a great example about the value of persevering. Richardson, who took reps with the third-team offense in the spring, elevated himself to the starting role by accepting the changes happening around him.

'He may have accepted slowly, but he accepted change and he's in with both feet and has been since we started training camp,” Mangino said. 'He's playing with a real sense of urgency in all parts of his game and we expected that of him.”

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