Through the Looking Glass: ISU's Josh Lenz magnified

By Rob Gray

 Gazette correspondent

 AMES - To paraphrase Socrates, a wise man knows one thing.

And that is he knows nothing.

It's not easy for young men, let alone football players, to admit that, until they've elevated themselves to the cusp of iron-wrought enlightenment.

Take Iowa State wide receiver Josh Lenz.

He came to Ames four years ago strong, smart and fast out of Dubuque Hempstead High School.

But how to get stronger, smarter and faster?

That was Greek to him.

So he consulted with a wiser - and bigger - man, Cyclone strength and conditioning coach Yancy McKnight.

“It's unreal how much weight you can put on and still maintain your speed - even gain speed,” said Lenz, who caught 39 passes for 510 yards and two touchdowns in a 2011 season hampered by a sprained knee sustained in the jaw-dropping 37-31 upset win Nov. 18 over then-likely BCS title game participant Oklahoma State. “It's just unreal. Guys come out of high school thinking they're in great shape, then you come here and it's kind of shell shock. (McKnight) does a great job and I wouldn't want a different coach. It's definitely paid off.”

Lenz and others clad in Cardinal and Gold have happily, if painfully, reaped the plate-stacked dividends.

“He's got great quickness and deceiving speed,” Cyclone Coach Paul Rhoads said of Lenz. “Good concentration in catching the football and needs to be a go-to type of player for us.”

Packing muscle onto a lithe frame built for speed isn't a snap.

It is, however, a prerequisite for personal growth on the gridiron.

“I'm the biggest I've ever been going into fall camp,” said Lenz, who was listed at 194 pounds this spring. “I'm 200 or 205, in that area, and that will probably help with injury prevention. So I'm really looking forward to getting on the field and staying on it.”

Lenz leads a mostly young group of pass catchers that includes sophomore Jarvis West and redshirt freshman Quenton Bundrage.

He's also one of the team's captains - and one of a handful who played as a true freshman under Rhoads in his first season.

“We've got a lot of great leaders on this team and a great senior class, too,” Lenz said. “We're really looking forward to getting this season started.”

Stronger.

Wiser.

Fully healthy as a senior.

“It's definitely the best offseason we've had,” said Lenz, who slid and kneeled for a key sideline touchdown catch in the 20-19 2011 season-opening win over Northern Iowa. “Yancy's an amazing coach. Since we've gotten here I've put on 20, 25, 30 pounds and it's all due to (him). He does a great job and has a great program. Everybody's bought in and everybody looks forward to going in and working out. It's not like we're going in being punished to work out. We have fun. We look forward to working out and look forward to maxing out. Getting better every day.”