Cyclones camaraderie

AMES - Fresh off Iowa State's scrimmage Saturday. Coach Paul Rhoads issued his team a challenge.

The ISU staff had seen players grow closer on the practice field and bond in the dining room, meeting room and video room. Rhoads wanted to see that closeness continue to blossom.

Ultimately, Rhoads said growing even closer on and off the practice field will translate to game days in the fall.

'When you bring that kind of energy to the practice field, you're generally going to improve,” Rhoads said. 'You're going to be coachable because you want to be out there and you want to be playing.”

Iowa State's scrimmage Saturday was more like 60 percent drill work and 40 percent actual scrimmaging, but Rhoads' sentiment on the enthusiasm he saw held steady.

Off-season defections from DeVondrick Nealy and Tad Ecby followed the Cyclones' 2-10 finish, but coaches have seen a different mentality in 2015. Second-year offensive coordinator Mark Mangino has noticed a swing in the culture since arriving 14 months ago.

'These guys like playing, like practicing, like getting after each other and want to get better,” Mangino said. 'I'm not saying every guy last year (wasn't enthusiastic), but the culture seems different from last year.”

Some of that difference through the spring is players are being held accountable by each other. Defensive coordinator Wally Burnham saw that develop throughout the off-season and said it's carried through to spring drills.

'We're not having to coach effort,” Burnham said. 'Last spring we had to coach effort. Our guys might be going the wrong way, but they're going full speed. To me, that's big.”

Learning curves are inevitable each season, but Rhoads and Burnham have seen middle linebacker Jordan Harris progress as they hoped he would when he first arrived on campus.

The junior college transfer sat out as a red-shirt in 2014, largely because his understanding of the Division I level defense was beyond his grasp. That's all changed this spring when the junior was elevated to No. 1 at middle linebacker and has directed the front seven.

'He had to make an adjustment mentally,” Burnham said. 'He's always been a physical kid. He's a pretty good load out there when he gets after the ball carrier so we've been really pleased. He's improved in all areas: pass coverage, getting in the right run gaps and all those things.”

The 6-foot and 233-pounder led the NJCAA in tackles for Copiah-Lincoln Community College in 2013 with 13.8 per game. The difference when advancing to the Division I level was comfort and familiarity with the system.

Spending more time in the video room with teammates and Burnham has sped up the learning curve that slowed Harris down last year.

'Because of that comfort level,” Rhoads said, 'he's playing fast and the physical Jordan Harris that we recruited is coming out.”

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