Iowa State receiver Dimitri Stanley making the most of his second chance to be a Cyclone

AMES — There’s something about second chances.

They can be redemptive on multiple levels, but they also allow for a rewind — a chance to reverse a past decision tinged by regret.

That’s where Iowa State graduate transfer wide receiver Dimitri Stanley found himself when Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell and his staff came calling for him a second time late last winter.

He’d said, “no thanks” the first time. He wouldn’t make that mistake in round two.

“It’s crazy how the world works and how life works, and you never know where it’s going to take you,” said Stanley, who hopes to help ISU (3-5, 0-5 Big 12) get back in the win column at 2:30 p.m. Saturday against West Virginia (3-5, 1-4) at home. “So it’s a blessing to be where I’m at right now and I’m thankful to Coach Campbell for giving me this opportunity again.”

Stanley’s coming off one of his best games as a Cyclone. The 6-foot, 196-pound holder of a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Colorado caught five passes for an ISU career-high 90 yards in last week’s 27-13 loss to Oklahoma. He solidified his playmaking role in the Cyclones’ struggling offense — and is convinced consistently moving the ball will finally lead to scoring a significant number of points for the first time in conference play.

“Just start fast,” Stanley said. “Just making those plays; giving us more opportunities to call our plays and giving us more opportunities to run the ball just by staying on the field, I feel like that’s the best way to go about it.”

Stanley’s one of a handful of transfers making a major impact at ISU.

Graduate transfer linebacker Colby Reeder — who Campbell said is likely to play after sitting out the past two games because of injury — has two interceptions and has made plays all over the field. Minnesota transfer defensive lineman M.J. Anderson recorded a key sack in the Oklahoma loss.

Stanley and Anderson were second-time ISU recruits who chose to go elsewhere the first time Campbell offered them a scholarship, but now are thriving in second-chance mode.

“Even with things that might not sound good from the outside, we come to work every day and just work,” Anderson said. “That’s one thing I commend on our team, just the character of the people in the room.”

But can those characters form a cardinal-and-gold-clad cast that headlines a feel-good comeback story late this season? No one knows, of course, but the fact the Cyclones have had plenty of chances to win in each of their five straight losses augments those seemingly dim hopes.

“(We’ve) been right on the verge of it quite honestly in every game (we’ve) played,” Campbell said. “In the first three, you were able to do it and then you’ve been a hair off from it in the last five games. So I think the ability to play the 60 minutes and do the things you need to do to win the game, I think that’s the starting point and then you build from there.”

So consider the final four regular-season games to be ISU’s second chance this season. Another opportunity to fix mistakes. A platform from which to build confidence and banish regret.

“Just a lot of positivity remains even the day after a game,” Stanley said. “Those are kind of the guys you want around you when things aren’t going the way you want (them) to.”

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