5 Arkansas State players to know ahead of football game against Iowa State

AMES — Several roads snake from central Iowa to Jonesboro, Arkansas, but the quickest route hugs the outskirts of St. Louis — tracing a path on the nearly 100-year old U.S. highway 67.

To call that trip the “quickest” is strictly relative, however, as the long journey requires a minimum of nine hours of driving time.

Nonetheless, it’s likely thousands of Iowa State football fans will hit the dusty road this weekend to cheer on the No. 14 Cyclones (3-0) when they conclude a home and home series with host Arkansas State (1-0) of the Sun Belt Conference.

Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday. Those not wishing to make the drive can watch the game on ESPN2. And it’s somewhat of a no-win situation for ISU, which beat the Red Wolves, 52-7, last season at home, opened as a 20.5-point favorite this week, but carries “concerns” into what’s expected to be a nearly stress-free road trip.

Bottom line: When anything’s supposed to be “comfortable” for head coach Matt Campbell’s Cyclones, it rarely is.

“At a place like (ISU), you’ve gotta learn the hard way,” Campbell said. “There’s no instant gratification.”

With that in mind, here are five players to know from an Arkansas State team that could put up a strong fight on Saturday:

QB Jaylen Raynor

The 6-foot, 202-pound junior earned Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year honors in 2023 — becoming the first true freshman to earn the award in 16 years.

Raynor’s thrown 37 career touchdown passes and has rushed for eight more scores. He’s generally accurate and elusive, though he did toss two interceptions in last week’s blowout loss to Arkansas. Raynor also threw two picks in last season’s rout in Ames, while going just 5 of 16 through the air for a career-low 68 yards.

So expect ISU defensive coordinator Jon Heacock to have a good plan to bottle Raynor up and force him to make bad decisions. Raynor hasn’t done much with his legs early this season, but he racked up 70 or more yards in the ground in two games last season.

WR Corey Rucker

Rucker — who eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in receiving last season — decided to transfer to South Carolina in 2022. That didn’t work out (he played two games before suffering a season-ending foot injury), so the 6-0, 213-pound redshirt senior returned to Jonesboro and is now the program’s all-time leader in receiving yards with 3,037.

He also ranks second all-time in Red Wolves annals in touchdown catches (23) and receptions (180). Rucker didn’t play in last season’s 52-7 loss to the Cyclones, but could stress ISU’s defense this time if Raynor has time to find him downfield. He’s off to a somewhat slow start this season, with five catches for 79 yards, but he finished last season with back-to-back 100-yard games, including a two-touchdown performance in a bowl win over Bowling Green.

LB Terry Kirksey Jr.

The 6-3, 242-pound redshirt junior spent two seasons as a lightly-used backup at Kansas State before briefly transferring to Connecticut and bolting to Arkansas State shortly thereafter.

Kirksey has been a revelation for the Red Wolves’ defense early this season, as he’s second on the team in tackles with 15 and also intercepted a pass in last week’s loss at Arkansas. He’s a physical and athletic linebacker who compliments leading tackler Nigel Nelson nicely at the position.

DT Cody Sigler

Sigler, a transfer from Division II West Alabama, lead Arkansas State with 1.5 sacks this season.

The 6-3, 297-pound redshirt junior totaled 12 tackles for loss last season along with 2.5 sacks and is expected to shore up a Red Wolves defensive front that ranked a lowly 125th against the run last season — and 124th so far this season.

WR Chauncy Cobb

What the 5-6, 163-pound sophomore lack in “measurables,” he makes up for with sheer speed.

Cobb leads the Red Wolves in receptions (nine) and receiving yards (135) and also turned his lone kickoff return this season into a 98-yard touchdown that gave his team hope early in the eventual blowout loss last week at Arkansas.

Comments: robgray18@icloud.com