Iowa State's running backs seek to build on solid 2024 numbers

Editor’s note: Second in a 9-part series looking at the Iowa State football team ahead of the season opener on Aug. 23.

AMES — Carson Hansen “set the standard” last season for Iowa State’s tailbacks.

And that’s not just idle talk. Those are Cyclone head coach Matt Campbell’s words.

Hansen tallied 15 total touchdowns while his team set a program record with 11 wins in 2024.

So what will the Lakeville, Minn., native do for an encore?

More of the same — but he’s got standard-setting company.

“The whole running backs room, excited for what’s to come this year,” said Hansen, who likely will split primary backfield duties with the explosive Abu Sama again this season. “I think there are a lot of things that are unseen in the room, so I’m excited for what’s to come in that area.”

ISU averaged 160.5 yards per game on the ground last season, a major uptick from the paltry 119.9 yards and Big 12-worst 108 yards it put up in the previous two seasons.

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The one-two punch Hansen and Sama teamed up to provide helped explain why, as did improved offensive line play. Redshirt freshmen Dylan Lee and Aiden Flora also return — and each rushed 11 times last season to set the stage for significant offseason growth.

Lee has taken the “bigger, stronger and faster” developmental mantra Campbell stresses to his players seriously, packing 15 pounds of muscle onto his 6-foot-1 frame. Flora, a preferred walk-on, quickly became a standout performer on special teams — a role he’ll likely continue to excel in.

“I’m just gonna keep working,” said Flora, who scored his first career touchdown last season. “Let the work do its thing. If I’m on the field, awesome. If not, hopefully (I’ll be) in a spot to better the team any way I can.”

Lee has had a particularly impressive fall camp, so first-year Cyclone running backs coach Jake Landry feels confident he can rotate at least four players at the position, but there’s always room for more.

“All of them,” Landry said when asked how many backs in his room he hopes to be able to count on every week. “Honestly, that’s a big thing in our room. I think you just look at (the injuries in) the linebacker room last year, that’s something that I’m preaching in there all the time. No matter where you’re at on the depth chart, we could need you at any moment and you have to feel prepared when you’re out there so it’s not a ‘deer in the headlights’ moment.”

Expect Hansen and Sama to continue to serve as de facto 1(a) and 1(b) backs, however, for the foreseeable future — and for good reason.

Both juniors can turn a short gain into a large one with a single deft move, and both have expanded their overall knowledge base, which will help them more confidently follow blocks and make quick reads.

“I try to hit the holes as fast as possible because they close pretty quick,” said Hansen, who scored 13 of his 15 total touchdowns in the final nine games last season. “So just being able to be a complete player in the run game and the pass game, that was my goal.”

Accomplishing that goal helped “set the standard” in ISU’s running backs room. Setting and meeting new ones will do the same for this season.

“You never prepare as a backup,” Landry said. “You’re always ready to go.”

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