Iowa State OL Deylin Hasert seeks to make his mark up front for the Cyclones

AMES — Deylin Hasert smiled instead of wincing.

An Achilles injury derailed the then-true freshman Iowa State offensive lineman’s push to earn immediate playing time last fall, but the painful setback didn’t halt the versatile 6-4, 315-pounder’s progress.

It simply shifted his perspective.

“Last year obviously sucked because I didn’t get to play, but I also think I grew a lot mentally,” Said Hasert, who’s fully healthy now and poised to shore up a deep unit seeking greater consistency this season. “Just as a person, just becoming a better man, just getting older obviously. It sucked having to go through something hard, but at the end of the day I think it made me a better person.”

Hasert had already impressed offensive line coach Ryan Clanton during last fall’s camp, but his response to the injury deepened Clanton’s respect for his dogged approach to honing his craft. Hasert couldn’t perform physically, so he dug into mental reps with zeal, not bummed-out reluctance.

“I remember vividly talking with him about it with (head) coach (Matt) Campbell in the hospital after (the injury) and we were talking about how he can attack his rehab with a different mindset of, ‘I can use all these reps to see other people and get the mental reps throughout,’” Clanton said. “He is so much more focused. He understands what’s going on to a different level than just his job. He can make position moves in a day and go out there and perform at a high level.”

So Hasert serves as an exemplar of sorts for Clanton, who constantly preaches “violence and versatility” to his offensive linemen as they work out at every position, both inside and outside.

“Then you can play the best five players across the board at multiple positions,” Clanton said. “You can strengthen certain spots as you’re looking at the offensive line as a whole. Where are our weaknesses? Where are our strengths? And then you can attack that by either keeping a player at a position for a long period of time, or you can try to mix and match to find that right combination.”

That search for both mainstays and complementary pieces up front continues for Clanton, who fielded a unit that ranked third in the Big 12 in fewest sacks allowed (14) last season, but struggled to produce a consistent push for ISU’s erratic running game.

The Cyclones’ offensive line returns five players who’ve started five or more games. Add a healthy Hasert to that mix — along with 6-9, 315-pound graduate transfer Jalen Travis and others — and optimism abounds for a room that’s produced mixed results in the Campbell era.

“We have so many people who can play all types of spots,” said junior offensive lineman James Neal, who started all 13 games at tackle last season. “Yeah, just a bunch of dawgs.”

Neal’s one of them. The 6-6, 330-pound former basketball player didn’t start playing football until his senior year of high school, but progressed rapidly in his first season as a starter for ISU after a stint at the JUCO level.

“He’s so athletic,” said Clanton, who produced two NFL offensive linemen during his previous stop at Northern Iowa. “And the cool thing with him is he’s always trying to learn and develop. … You can tell he’s a basketball player (by) the way he moves — and it is my job to get him to put his feet down and not move around people, but move through them.”

Hasert’s happy to simply be moving at all on the football field — and eager to earn that playing time he came so close to tapping into before last fall’s injury led to his lengthy rehab.

“Coach Clanton and coach Campbell, all those guys (were) telling me, ‘We’re gonna need you next year,’” Hasert said. “Repetively telling me that and just making sure I was staying on top of it, and also just myself being like, ‘My time is gonna come eventually.’ Just try to trust the process. I feel great now.”

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