Cyclones’ Meyers ‘getting the hang of’ defensive tackle

AMES - Mitchell Meyers was caught off guard when he got the news.

The sophomore walked into the Bergstrom Football Complex on Sunday before the Cyclones' game against Iowa ready to begin another week of practice as a defensive end. ISU coaches had something else in mind for him, though.

'They moved me to d-tackle,” Meyers said. 'I was like, ‘All right, we'll see how this goes.' I'm still getting the hang of it, so it's a work in progress.”

The Woodlands, Texas, native, was recruited to Iowa State as a defensive tackle, but has been pegged as a defensive end since arriving on campus. Meyers said he did play some defensive tackle in high school, but adjusting to it on the collegiate level is a different experience.

In his first game reps as an interior lineman, Meyers finished with six tackles against Iowa, a career-high. Defensive coordinator Wally Burnham realized Meyers 'took one for the team” in moving to defensive tackle after just two games, but he's been pleased with how he's adjusted.

'He's a little undersized, but he's accepted the challenge. He's willing to play for the team, and he was impressive last time we played a game,” Burnham said. 'He made some plays and made some other people make some plays because of things he did taking care of his gap or rushing the passer or whatever it is.”

One of the main reasons for Meyers' move was because of the speed he brings to the position. Trent Taylor is listed as the starting defensive end, replacing Meyers, which is something coaches say will give more speed to the line.

Meyers said he knew the possibility existed of playing defensive tackle because of the speed packages within the ISU defense. But when assistant coaches Stan Eggen and Shane Burnham told him he would be playing in the interior in the base package also, he had to learn quickly how to adjust to the limited space.

Senior defensive end Cory Morrissey said Meyers' speed and willingness to play the position has been a benefit to the defense. Once he matures more at the position, the group has a chance to be even more productive, Morrissey said.

'To be coachable and put the team on your back and do what's best for the team (is great),” Morrissey said. 'He probably wanted to stay an end, but you wouldn't know that from him. He wants to play tackle now because the coaches told him to play.”

As for Meyers' speed, he credits his background as a basketball player.

'Playing basketball really helped me with my footwork and it definitely got me in shape,” Meyers said. 'I could tell going from basketball to football I'd be in a lot better shape than I would be otherwise.”

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