Iowa State coach Matt Campbell press conference following spring game
Hear from Iowa State coach Matt Campbell after defense wins spring game in convincing fashion
AMES – Rocco Becht and I were chatting around the 30-yard line after Iowa State wrapped up its ninth spring football season under coach Matt Campbell. We talked about what happened during a spring game that he watched from the sidelines. We talked about his new truck (from Ames Ford Lincoln), and he was almost ready to give an example of how new offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser interacted with players when he suddenly decided he’d keep that one within the locker room.
Our final off-the-cuff chatting was about the 2024 season expectations the team will carry through the summer and into the fall. We talked about the lofty expectations fans rightly should and will have about a veteran team to which he has the keys, the steering wheel and anything else that customarily go along with being the best quarterback on campus.
More: Peterson: Iowa State football spring game takeaways include a walk-on place kicker
“We know we have expectations,” the sophomore-to-be said. “We like that. We know we’re better than we were last year.”
On paper, that’s exactly right – or at least it should be right. Just three starters from the team that won six of nine Big 12 Conference games needed replacing – linebacker Gerry Vaughn, cornerback T.J. Tampa and place-kicker Chase Conteraz.
With Will McLaughlin, Caleb Bacon, Darien Porter, Jontez Williams, Jamison Patton and Kyle Konrardy, among others, I’d say Campbell and his staff have done a good job filling in the blanks. They’ve done that while continuing the upward trend of a program I suspect conference coaches will pick to finish mid-Big 12 pack when their preseason guesses come out in July.
I write that not because of what I saw during the 45 minutes or so of Saturday’s final practice in which the starters participated. I write that, too, after watching the final 45 minutes or so of Saturday’s spring practice when many starters watched from the sidelines.
I write that because Cyclones starters, obviously when healthy, are good enough to hang with most everyone on the 12-game regular-season schedule that starts Aug. 31 against North Dakota at Jack Trice Stadium.
That’s especially on defense, as usual, but it’s also about a passing game that could be way better from a passing game that was pretty good in 2023.
Consider Becht, the Big 12’s offensive freshman of the year – that’s where it starts, then there are proven receivers Jaylin Noel, Jayden Higgins, Daniel Jackson and Ben Brahmer, and let’s not forget running back Abu Sama and the 276 yards (on just 16 carries) he rushed for last season at Kansas State.
Specifically, though, let’s go with Noel, Higgins, Becht and Sama as the offensive stars who could entertain the home folk during Jack Trice games against North Dakota, Arkansas State, Baylor, UCF, Texas Tech, Cincinnati, Kansas State and Kansas (if you consider the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium a home field).
“Those four were nothing short of exceptional,” Campbell said of Spring Ball-24. “They all have something to prove. You saw them all have really good years last year, but they want to be the best in the country at what they do. Those guys have the ability to be that, with what they’ve put into place this spring.”
Campbell isn’t shying away from expectations he knows will be sky high for his team, that’s for sure.
A few among The Des Moines Register’s Iowa State text group asked about potential starters for next season. Here’s my best guess:
OFFENSE
Quarterback: Becht
Tailback: Same
Receivers: Noel, Higgins, Jackson
Tight end: Brahmer
Offensive line (left to right): James Neal, Jarrod Hufford, Jim Bonifas, Brendan Black and Tyler Miller.
DEFENSE
OF: Joey Petersen, Tyler Onyedim
DT: J.R. Singleton
of: Domonique Orange
LB: Kooper Ebel, Jack Sadowsky, Will McLaughlin, Caleb Bacon
DB: Myles Purchase, Jeremiah Cooper, Darien Porter, Malik Verdon, Beau Freyler
PK: Kyle Korardy
Punter: Tyler Perkins
Quotes to remember from interviews throughout Iowa State’s 15 spring practices
FROM CAMPBELL: From a receiver standpoint, we’ve seen here at times – look back to 2017 when you had Hakeem (Butler) and Allen (Lazard) at the same time, and Deshaunte Jones – it allowed us to be a different offense in some different ways. We were similar in 2018 when (quarterback Brock Purdy) took over and we still had Hakeem. We’ve probably been our most complete offensively when we had that receiving corps to match a strong running game. We kind of lost our way a little bit. We’ve really worked hard to get ourselves back to where we want to be from a receiving standpoint.
FROM BECHT: I’m very excited. We’ve got guys now who are able to stretch the field like (the Cyclones) were able to do in the past with Hakeem and a couple other guys. Watching those tapes, and watching those guys play from the past – hopefully we can replicate those plays and games.
More: The star of Iowa State football’s spring game? Freshman running back Dylan Lee
CAMPBELL ON LINEBACKER CALEB BACON: Look at the last six games last fall, man, I don’t know if anybody on our defense played better than he did. He’s such a unique player – elite pass rusher, plays great in the pass coverage game, and he can run sideline to sideline. Great leadership intangibles. My guess is he’s going to have a really great fall for us.
FROM LINEBACKER JACK SADOWSKY ABOUT STARTING AS A TRUE FRESHMAN LAST SEASON: When you’re going out there as a freshman, you’re not really sure if you deserve to be there necessarily. The more I’m out there, the more confident I became in that position.
CAMPBELL ON BECHT: Rocco is one of those guys who has never settled for just being a good player; he wants to be great. He’s the leader of the ship. When that guy’s on, everything is smooth. When that guy’s not, you see some young guys still trying to gain that confidence. We’re excited about Rocco.
FROM LINEMAN JAMES NEAL: Our team is more than ready to take on (high) expectations. We’ve made great strides. The best improvement since the beginning of the year last year is our run-game blocking has been more aggressive. Nasty.
Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson is in his 52nd year writing sports for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at [email protected], on X @RandyPete, and at DesMoinesRegister.com/CyclonesTexts
2024-04-22 11:06:04
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