Should Iowa State football fans take away anything from Saturday’s official spring game from an offensive standpoint? “No,” Matt Campbell said before amending that one-word assessment.
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Should Iowa State football fans take away anything from Saturday’s official spring game from an offensive standpoint? “No,” Matt Campbell said before amending that one-word assessment.
Even though Iowa State’s spring football game at 11 a.m. Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium isn’t an actual contest of any sort, fans should grab a post-tailgate popcorn because there are plenty of things to watch.
Iowa State linebacker Jack Sadowsky’s rookie success story included a stat line of 33 tackles and 2.5 stops for loss. He also notched a quarterback hurry for a deep unit that lost Gerry Vaughn to graduation and Carson Willich to a torn ACL this spring, but returns several players with valuable playing experience.
Endless adversity. That’s what Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell and his staff have tried to create for a Cyclones team brimming with a blend of proven and unproven talent.
Jontez Williams, a 5-11, 200-pound native of Starke, Fla., doesn’t possess T.J. Tampa’s expansive wingspan, but he clearly has the mental makeup to shine at cornerback for Iowa State opposite returning starter yles Purchase.
Kiper thinks the cornerback has all the tools to make it in the NFL and should be rated higher in the draft
Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins could give Cyclones quite a punch on offense, among other talented threats
Cyclone junior has only been playing football since his senior yeare in high school and once considered basketball his future
New Iowa State offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser played an integral role in building strong relationships on the recruiting trail and within the team’s walls. And he’s ready to lead an offense that improved from 128th to seventh in red zone scoring and features an array of big play threats in the running and passing games.
One broke a 38-year-old Iowa state record in the long jump. The other became Minnesota’s first two-time Gatorade player of the year award winner. Together, Iowa State sophomore tailbacks Abu Sama and Carson Hansen form a one-two punch in the backfield that should pose a problem for opposing defenses this fall.
Ben Brahmer’s big numbers have helped define him early in his ISU career. The first-team Freshman All-American by The Athletic broke the program’s true freshman tight records for receptions (28) and receiving yards (352) last season and the best is likely yet to come.
Taylor Mouser started his coaching journey “from the ground up,” becoming an integral part of the Iowa State’s recruiting efforts early on. Now, as offensive coordinator, he’ll get to serve as a general manger of sorts himself, helping to shape and guide the Cyclones’ roster through spring ball (which begins Thursday), then fall camp, and finally, game days in 2024.
After a foot injury slowed him late in the XFL season and carried over into his time with the Dolphins, former Iowa State standout Mike Rose is elated to be healthy and back with St. Louis, which now plays in the United Football League (UFL), a league created when the XFL and United States Football League (USFL) merged.
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