Iowa State football players, coaches ‘on the same page’ for 2017

AMES - In the days that followed Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell's arrival, he wanted individual meetings with every member of the team.

Those meetings yielded a variety of results that showed maybe everyone wasn't on the same page. In that time of change, there were many variables at play and it had an effect. The result was another 3-9 season last fall.

Now the first-year newness surrounding Iowa State is gone. The foundation of a culture has been laid over a 20-month period, and everyone is starting to see things through the same lens.

As hectic as those initial meetings were, Campbell sees a more aligned version of the team ranging from coaches and players to strength staff and nutritionists. His understanding of his team and players is deep and well versed.

'Now, not only do we have a good understanding of what our kids can do, but also the ability to have given them the tools over the last six or seven months to enhance their development within our walls,” Campbell said Thursday at media day. 'That's the essence of a football program.

'It's not just go recruit guys and get good football players here, it's developing those people within those walls and giving them the tools and resources to have sustained success.”

An aid to Campbell's rebuilding effort was consistency in his coaching staff - both coordinators and every position coach are back for Year 2 - and a number of key skill position players have been in the fold since day one. In college football, you can't put a price on experience and familiarity.

'Now everyone is legit on the same page. Everyone,” said linebacker Joel Lanning. 'The strength staff, the coaches, the football team, everyone is running on the same page. The summer has been great, we've been working hard and are just ready for camp to get here honestly.”

Changes in routine have led Iowa State to a feeling of readiness for 2017. Players started showing up for workouts outside of scheduled practice, which is something many admit didn't exist in the years before last winter. Guys started to take ownership instead of waiting to hear things from coaches.

Quarterback Jacob Park, the primary quarterback in the last five games last year and the unquestioned starter this fall, said he watched each game of 2016 three or four times this offseason. Now that he has the keys to the offseason, Park is driving with care.

'I've taken strides forward in my preparation for the game, how I play the game, my pace to the game, it's really not even a comparison between last year and this year, but it's fun man,” Park said. 'It's making my job a lot easier, it's making everything slow down, it's making it fun again.”

Running back David Montgomery, who started the last four games last season and rushed for 563 yards, is a 21st century college football compliment to Park in the backfield. He's nimble yet powerful in his running style, but has soft hands as a receiver - he caught 13 passes for 129 yards last year.

'David is relentless at his craft,” Campbell said. 'We have to almost literally get him out of this facility at night, because he wants to be here constantly.”

Even with the new faces populating the offensive and defensive lines, the number of skill position returners naturally points conversations toward qualifying for a bowl game. Iowa State has missed the postseason the last four years and hasn't won a bowl game since 2009.

Allen Lazard, who will likely become the school's all-time receptions and receiving yards leader in the first half of the season, sees his senior year as the one that will define his entire career. Not just from an individual perspective, but for the team as a whole.

'These past few years, all the tough times we've been through, all the wins we let slip out from underneath us, that's what fuels me and drives me,” Lazard said. 'That's what pushes my teammates as well. It makes me want to push them even more.”

Campbell knows the amount of bowl-game chatter, too. His thoughts are elsewhere, and expectations for the program's future don't stop at being satisfied with six wins.

'Is that our goal to win six games? Not here. Not me. My goal is to win every game,” Campbell said. 'That essence of is a bowl game success or not a success, to be honest with you I despise talking about it because it's irrelevant.

'It's one day at a time and then let's see what the finished product looks like in the end.”

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