Cyclones claim to be a more close-knit group this season

AMES – Coming off a 2-10 season and winless Big 12 campaign, Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads wanted to know who his leaders were.

So, he took a direct route by sitting the team in a room and simply asking, who here thinks they're a leader?

The coach said at the team's media day Thursday it was an important step that has resulted in better team chemistry heading into fall camp, which opens Friday.

'It's intentional because it's been a larger part of our focus in the development and improvement of our kids,” Rhoads said. 'It was essential and necessary after some lapses in that chemistry that's necessary for teams to find success.”

Rhoads said that after the coaching staff, leadership starts with the senior class. An advantage the Cyclones do have over much of the loaded Big 12 – besides TCU and Heisman Trophy candidate Trevone Boykin – is an experienced starter in senior Sam Richardson back at quarterback.

Rhoads wouldn't reveal who stood up in that offseason meeting, but it's safe to assume Richardson did.

Offensive coordinator Mark Mangino hopes the maturity displayed on the practice field by Richardson in the spring will translate to game situations.

'He's much more in command of the practice field. He's much more in command of the players on offense,” Mangino said. 'He's at the point now in our offense where if somebody's not lined up properly or not doing the right thing, he'll approach them and explain it to them or tell them.”

Another obvious leader should be receiver Quenton Bundrage. After being injured in the first game of the season, he said seeing games from the coaches' perspective will help him as a senior.

'That helped me a lot with my leadership now so I've kind of passed that along to some of the guys on the team and it's been really helpful,” Bundrage said.

Injuries certainly contributed to losses piling up last season, but the Cyclones seem confident that steps taken in the offseason will prevent divisions in the team when adversity strikes.

'There were a lot of trust issues in the past with this program, but I don't really see that now,” Bundrage said. 'We have a lot of people stepping up trying to be leaders, which is great on this football team.”

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