Iowa State fans get a glimse at next season's lineup

Iowa State fans got a sneak peek last week at a couple of young defensive players who will be asked to fill the void left by seven senior starters leaving the program at season's end.

Freshmen Jake Knott and Jeremy Reeves saw extended playing time in ISU's 17-10 victory over Colorado.

Knott played much of the second half in place of senior linebacker Fred Garrin, who injured his back. Reeves split time with cornerbacks Kennard Banks and Leonard Johnson. Banks is one of two seniors in the secondary with safety James Smith.

Linebackers Garrin, Jesse Smith and Josh Raven are completing their eligibility, as are defensive tackle Nate Frere and end Christopher Lyle. Replacing those figures will not be easy.

“It's going to be tough. We have a great group of seniors,” said Jesse Smith, who is leading the Big 12 in tackles with 117. “The coaches have a great challenge ahead of them. The (young players) have a lot of talent. They just have to learn how to play football.”

Freshmen A.J. Klein (linebacker) and Jacques Washington (cornerback) are on the two-deep roster, and a handful of red-shirt freshmen have gotten some snaps.

Knott, Klein and Reeves have a combined 48 tackles and are seeing the most playing time among the newcomers. Coach Paul Rhoads said they've earned it,

Tackling dummy no more

Despite being the one of the team's most productive tacklers the past two seasons, Rhoads saw plenty of room for improvement for safety James Smith.

“We thought he was a very poor tackler when we arrived,” Rhoads said.

Smith led the team a year ago with 85 tackles and he had 79 as a sophomore. He could have - and should have had - more than that. Smith is having a fine finish to his career, with 79 stops an interception and three fumble recoveries going into Saturday's game.

“He's embraced and accepted our form of teaching and tackling,” Rhoads said.

On alert

ISU's defense - the secondary in particular - has its work cut out for it in trying to defend Missouri receiver Danario Alexander.

The 6-5, 215-pound Alexander is the hottest offensive player in the Big 12, with consecutive 200-yard receiving games against Kansas State and Baylor. He has 46 receptions, 791 yards and seven touchdowns in his last five games and ranks in the top five nationally in touchdowns (11) and yards (123.8) and receptions (8.1) per game.

“He catches everything thrown his way,” Rhoads said.

After spraining an ankle in a conference-opening loss to Nebraska, MU quarterback Blaine Gabbert has rounded back into form. The red-shirt freshman is much like the Missouri quarterbacks of years past, someone who can hurt opponents with his arm and legs.

“He's better than a game manager,” Rhoads said. “He has the ability to beat you.”