Cyclones DE Irving hopes to reach untapped potential

AMES - David Irving's faced an uphill climb on the football field.

The raw, but gifted Iowa State defensive end's well-suited for the arduous trek.

Irving's a mountain of a man - 6-7, 262 pounds - and virtually untapped in terms of potential.

“Really, the sky's the limit with him,” Cyclones defensive ends coach Curtis Bray said recently. He's just got to keep working and keep developing and a good thing is he knows he hasn't arrived yet. He knows he has a ways to go."

The sophomore from San Jacinto, Calif., nonetheless expects to contribute significantly this season for a Cyclone defensive line anchored by nose tackle Jake McDonough and potentially bolstered by a healthier Roosevelt Maggitt.

Irving played as a true freshman last season, seeing his first action in the 44-41 triple-overtime win over Iowa.

“Way faster than I thought,” he said. “Everything's a hustle every single time, every play. You've got to do everything your fastest, everything your hardest every play.”

Maggitt's been beleaguered by knee injuries and may sit out Saturday's 2 p.m. spring game.

Who's behind him on the depth chart if he's healthy?

His understudy, Irving, who played one full season of varsity football in high school after enrolling in a charter school to improve his grades to a 3.6 average.

“Roosey, he gets on us,” Irving said. “We might think we're doing something right one play and he'll point out the little things. Some things we don't notice and Roosey will get on you. He coaches you up on everything.”

Maggitt's a proud mentor, too.

Hungry to be productive again himself, but happy to pass his knowledge on to Irving and other big potential prospects at end such as Devin Lemke.

“I teach the young guys to be leaders as much as I can,” said Maggitt, who plans to be 100 percent this fall. “I just look forward to seeing those guys develop.”

So is coach Paul Rhoads, who hopes his D-line can go fully two-deep this season, and possibly five deep at both end and tackle spots.

Irving, he said, remains mostly a “two-deep guy,” but one to keep an eye on.

“Still learning the game,” Rhoads said. “Still learning the level of aggression you need to play with, especially on the defensive line to be successful.”

McDonough, more mountain range than mere peak at 6-5, 290, said that curve can take time to master.

“It's a different mentality you have to have on the defensive line,” McDonough said. “It's a fist fight every play and you have to have that mentality going in - I'm going to kick this guy's butt across from me.”

Irving's already amply-equipped for the hand-battering conflict.

“David's huge,” McDonough said. “He can probably stand in our locker room and touch each wall. Real long and he's a tough kid. He's coming along.”

Irving hopes to add another 20 pounds or so of muscle mass to his expansive frame.

Talk about potential.

“That's what's kind of cool,” said Irving, a former basketball player. “I mean, I've gained almost 60 pounds being here, or more.”

So the climb continues - on the scale and on the practice field.

“I eat everything they feed me,” he said, smiling.