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Last season's spate of injuries built depth among Iowa State's linebackers
Cyclone football team enters 2025 season experience and deep
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Editor’s note: Fourth in a 9-part series looking at the Iowa State football team ahead of the season opener on Aug. 23.
AMES — The term “next man up” borders on cliche.
It’s a trite turn of phrase that reduces the challenges posed by injuries to the verbal equivalent of a shrug.
But there’s a reason the saying endures. It’s not a cop-out, it’s a coping mechanism — a stark reminder that worst-case scenarios like the array of injuries that decimated Iowa State’s linebackers room last season can hit at any time.
So best to prepare accordingly.
“It’s kind of crazy,” said Cyclone junior linebacker Will McLaughlin, who was rehabbing from offseason surgery while several of his position mates went down with their own injuries early and often last season. “Since I’ve been here at Iowa State, it seems like one position room gets riddled with injury every year. I don’t know if it’s like that elsewhere. Maybe it is. But it was just ‘next man up’ mindset.’”
There it is. And for ISU’s linebackers last season, sometimes the “next man” was nearly the “last man” on the depth chart, which served as a slow-burn silver lining. The sheer number of Cyclones forced into duty at linebacker last season during still helped produce an otherwise rollicking 11-win campaign.
“Coaching every guy is really, really important,” said Cyclone linebackers coach Colby Kratch, who started six different players at the position last season. “We learned that lesson last year and I think the nice thing is, you’’re reaping the rewards of that this year. All the guys, the communication, what we’re doing now from the ones to the fours — there’s not a lot of drop-off right now.”
So when McLaughlin, Carson Willich, Caleb Bacon, John Klosterman, Zach Lovett and Cael Brezina were all lost for either a couple of games or the entire seasons, green players such as Beau Goodwin and Rylan Barnes scrambled into “next man up” mode — and now they help provided key depth.
“Looking at our room, and (when) we come out to practice, everybody looks freakin’ awesome,” said Goodwin, a redshirt freshman who started two games in 2024. “There’s not a single guy (who) looks like a slouch. Everybody’s out there ‘yoked’ — abs and big arms and stuff like that.”
So the mental maturity last season’s trial by fire at linebacker required of the Cyclones now has been matched with physical maturity. Brawn and brainpower united. A greater understanding of the position reached.
“Yeah, it’s ‘next guy up’ mentality,” said junior Kooper Ebel, who started all 14 games last season despite dealing with a separated shoulder for more than half of it. “We’re going into (this) season healthy, but you never know. That could happen again. So we’re training every day. It’s from the top to the bottom of our room. Everyone’s ready to roll.”
The good news for ISU is McLaughlin, Willich, Bacon, Klosterman, Lovett and Brezina all are back this season. Bacon — who suffered a season-endinh injury in last year’s opener — may be the headliner after attaining rising star status in 2023, but each of the Cyclones’ linebackers brings a unique blend of power to the position.
“It’s kind of surreal, happening that quick and happening on special teams,” said Bacon, a former walk-on who had three sacks in 2023. “But (I appreciate) the support Ive had around here and (it’s helped me) grow as a not only a football player but a person, too. I think everything happens for reasons, so I think it’s helped me in the long run.”
His injury woes — coupled with several others at his position — also enabled the Cyclones to become deeper than ever at linebacker as they prepare for the Aug. 23 season-opener against Big 12 rival Kansas State in Dublin, Ireland.
Just ask McLaughlin, who has endured two surgeries since joining ISU. He fully embraced the team’s adoption of the term “mudita,” while watching the “next man up” rise behind him last season. That term translates to having “genuine, authentic love for another person’s success,” and it helps turn misfortune into a major growth opportunity.
“We’re in it for the team, truly, and not in it for ourselves,” McLaughlin said. “I think that’s the mindset behind everything.”
Comments: robgray18@icloud.com
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