Jirehl Brock ready to shine as Iowa State’s featured back

AMES — When Breece Hall decided to commit to Iowa State, he needed to reach out to one future teammate.

So the NFL-bound Hall — who broke several school records in three seasons with the Cyclones — texted fellow four-star back Jirehl Brock to see if he’d be joining him.

He, of course, did. And he’s the heir apparent to Hall after serving as a backup since both he and Hall committed to ISU head coach Matt Campbell’s program in the summer of 2018.

“I feel that the maturity that I have has allowed me to stick it out and be a leader even though I wasn’t starting,” said Brock, who has averaged 4.5 yards a carry in his career and scored two touchdowns. “I would still help Breece. I would still help Kene (Nwangwu of the Minnesota Vikings) — still help those guys with anything they needed, knowing that my time would come.”

That’s now. Brock’s showed versatility in his first three seasons with the Cyclones, scoring a touchdown both on the ground and through the air. So nothing’s changed for him this season except the projected and welcomed workload.

“I think that’s one of the things I enjoy about Jirehl so much, is that he carries himself like a leader,” ISU offensive coordinator Tom Manning said. “Carries himself very professionally and he always has great intent in terms of practice and study habits, but he’s always been that way. We want our guys to be themselves and he has proven to be a good leader even when he wasn’t quote-unquote ‘the guy’ and having a really good player in front of him.”

Brock’s ascension to feature back has been a long time coming, but he hasn’t been bothered by the wait. He’s played in 27 games, so it’s not like he didn’t see game action. He’s made key blocks while protecting record-setting quarterback Brock Purdy — and been through plenty of practice reps with new No. 1 play-caller Hunter Dekkers.

“We got a lot of time on the field together,” Brock said. “I don’t know much about quarterback, but his accuracy, his patience, his leadership skills, I feel like they all kind of (help him become) what could be a superstar quarterback, a really, really good quarterback.”

Both Brock and Dekkers have bided their time behind program legends. And they’ve taught as well as learned along the way. Patience comes naturally to both of them, but urgency enters the picture as their respective roles expand.

“Right now we’re just focused in on helping this team get to where we want to be,” Brock said. “We lost a lot (of talent), so just making sure that it’s not a looking back and being like, ‘Oh, we miss those guys,’ but looking forward and saying we’re happy with the guys we have and the direction that we’re moving in.”

Brock’s convinced that’s still a decidedly upward trajectory for a Cyclones team that’s played in four straight bowl games for the first time in program history. The leading players may change, but the expectations don’t. Not for him, not for Dekkers — not for anyone sliding into larger roles this season on both sides of the ball.

“I’ve put on a good amount of pounds in the last eight weeks and then mentally I feel like I want to make sure — because I know the offense, but I want to learn even more so it’s like the back of my hand,” Brock said. “(I want) to make sure I know more about all the positions, not just running back, so I can be that leader for guys that aren’t even in my room.”

Comments: robgray18@icloud.com