Iowa State football notes: Brian Peavy battling injury, bowl prep, recruiting Texas

AMES — Iowa State All-Big 12 cornerback Brian Peavy hasn't been 100 percent healthy all season. Since fall camp, the senior has been battling injury.

Coach Matt Campbell has alluded to the injury, but has never gone into detail and said he won't until the end of the season.

'Brian Peavy's story will be a really powerful one to tell at some point once we get to the end of the season,' Campbell said.

Peavy downplayed it and said it just comes with the game. But when asked to describe the type of pain he plays with he said it's 'indescribable.'

Even with the pain and the injury, receiver Hakeem Butler has remained impressed with his teammate.

'I say repeatedly he's the best corner I've gone against,' Butler said. 'We have a lot of great corners here in the Big 12, but he's the best, hands down, in my opinion.'

Luckily for Peavy, he has a few weeks before the Alamo Bowl against Washington State on Dec. 28 in San Antonio, Texas.

'You think about those guys that have had to play a lot of reps — we are a lot better this year than we were a year ago, but the David (Montgomerys) and the Brian Peavys and the Ray Limas and some of those O-linemen,' Campbell said. 'It's going to be really big for those guys to get a little bit of rest. They need it.

'It's a fine balance between how much time do you give them and how much time do they need to be prepared to be the best they can be once we go play?'

Bowl prep

Campbell loves practice. He's gone on record and said he likes practice more than games.

These weeks leading up to the Alamo Bowl, Campbell is in his own little version of heaven.

He's able to work more with the younger players on the team while the veterans rest up.

'We really want to focus on us,' Campbell said. 'We'll practice, we'll take exams and then put our emphasis on bowl preparation. For us it's invaluable. It was invaluable for us last year to get those practices and invaluable for this team to continue to get those practices.'

Last season, then-true freshmen receiver Tarique Milton, defensive back Datrone Young and linebacker O'Rien Vance started to stand out. All three have been key pieces to the Iowa State team.

It's not just the true freshmen that get an opportunity to get more work, it's the other young players who might not have had big roles.

'The young guys get a chance to practice and get even better. This year we had a lot of young guys step up, whether they were freshmen or redshirt freshmen, you never know. When you get a little work at the end of the season, some of those guys even got to play in the bowl game last year.'

The main players Butler was referencing were safeties Braxton Lewis and Lawrence White, who were also key players this season.

Recruiting trail

Campbell is already hitting the recruiting trail. Campbell and Washington State coach Mike Leach had a press conference in San Antonio — a press conference in which Leach, who's known has an interesting quote, complimented Campbell's 'consistency' with his kids. Campbell has two boys and two girls, which Leach was impressed by.

While Campbell was in Texas, he went on a few recruiting visits.

'In general, for recruiting, it's another really positive step forward for this football program,' Campbell said. 'It's a first-class bowl and an opportunity to play a big-time opponent and an opportunity for this football program to trend in the direction it's gone.'

Hometown game

Peavy is from Houston and Butler went to high school in Travis, Texas, which is in between Dallas and Austin.

The two are excited to play another game in their home state.

Peavy said San Antonio is about three hours away from Houston and he said he expects a large number of his family and friends to be in attendance.

'There will probably be a small No. 18 section,' Butler said with a smile.

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