2019 ISU Football

IOWA STATE FOOTBALL Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019

TIME TO PROVE IT: CYCLONE FOOTBALL 2019

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IOWA STATE FOOTBALL | Sunday, August 25, 2019

IOWA STATE FOOTBALL | Sunday, August 25, 2019

Table of Contents Passion and perfection — How Brock Purdy can lead Cyclones into expectationfilled season. Page 4 Marcel Spears a ‘heartbeat’ for Cyclones as a senior. Page 8 “Family first” — How JaQuan and Josh Bailey’s bond brought them to Ames. Page 12 Off-field bonding as important as on-field experience for Cyclones’ O-Line.

Page 17 Iowa State football 2019 season game-by-game preview capsules. Page 19

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eshaunte Jones is the elder statesman of the Iowa State wide receiver group. The senior from Cincinnati, Ohio, has 108 career receptions for 1,175 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 10.9 yards per reception. AMES TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO

BY NIRMALENDU MAJUMDAR

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IOWA STATE FOOTBALL | Sunday, August 25, 2019

PASSION AND PERFECTION

HOW BROCK PURDY CAN LEAD THE CYCLONES INTO AN EXPECTATION-FILLED SEASON

By Dylan Montz, Staff Writer dmontz@amestrib.com

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ccelerated vision isn’t a term Brock Purdy used prior to his arrival at Iowa State, but it is something he’s lived with inherently since he began playing sports. No, he doesn’t literally see things quicker. It’s a term, first introduced by offensive coordinator Tom Manning, said it signals the start of things slowing down, and the ability to process information more precisely.

It’s a skill every quarterback must have, and Purdy has it in bulk. He showed it time and again as a true freshman playing in some of the biggest moments the Cyclones have seen in program history.

Now, as expectations for

ISU rise, that accelerated vision has to become even more apparent. The onus is on Purdy — without a few weapons from last year — to guide his team through a rugged non-conference and Big 12 season and meet the highest expectations this program has seen in years, if ever.

It’s a lot to ask of a 19-year-old. It isn’t anything, however, for which Purdy is unprepared.

“I’ve gotten even more calm I feel like and poise in the pocket,” Purdy said. “Last year I was sort of antsy on my feet and trying to make plays all the time where I didn’t trust everybody on the field.

Everything has just calmed down a lot.”

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Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy spearheaded the Cyclones’ surge to the Alamo Bowl last season, throwing for 2,250 yards and 16 touchdowns while completing 66.4 percent of his passes. FILE PHOTO BY NIRMALENDU MAJUMDAR/AMES TRIBUNE

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IOWA STATE FOOTBALL | Sunday, August 25, 2019 Continued from page 3

Don’t mistake the mild-mannered, sometimes soft-spoken sophomore quarterback Brock Purdy for being passive.

That’s not, and never will be, in his DNA. PHOTO BY ADAM RING/SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE

Feeling anything but antsy, particularly in his first few outings last year, would have been unnatural even for someone as sure of himself as Purdy. He burst onto the scene for his first set of significant snaps against Oklahoma State, high-stepping his way into the end zone and tossing touchdowns left and right.

It was the dynamic performance ISU had lacked to open its season, and one that instantly changed the fortunes of 2018.

A 7-2 record was the result of his first collegiate season, with a school record 66.4 percent completion percentage in tow. Purdy’s appearance, combined with one of the best defenses in the country and a few electric offense players, changed the fortunes of the season and gave ISU its first Alamo Bowl appearance in school history. Not bad, especially for a rookie.

“He expects a whole lot every day when he goes out there,” receivers coach Nate Scheelhaase said. “There is no such thing as having an off day, there’s no such thing as having a bad rep. That dude demands greatness.”

Trust is an essential part of putting an 11-man offensive set together.

There has to be trust across the board that everyone is doing their job. If one person misses, things can

fall apart. Last year it was Purdy earning the trust of his playmakers. Now, it’s them earning his trust.

Don’t mistake the mildmannered, sometimes soft-spoken sophomore for being passive. That’s not, and never will be, in his DNA. He knows exactly what he wants from his teammates, but is able to communicate them with clarity and brevity. That’s not always the case for youngsters.

“He’s so passionate about the game and passionate about getting everybody better,” senior receiver Deshaunte Jones said. “That’s one thing he brings to the table, if he does one rep and doesn’t like it with a route or bad timing with the ball, whatever the case may be, he’s like, ‘We’ve got to get it again, we’ve got to get it again.’ He’s a perfectionist in a sense.”

That sense of never being satisfied might as well be coming straight from fourth-year Cyclones coach Matt Campbell. In his preseason camp media session, Purdy sounded like a coach. He didn’t talk about numbers he wants to put on the board, specific gains he’s made or even the expectations that face his team. He was measured, and grounded. He’s focused on the here and now.

One of the lights he did Continued on next page

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shed into his continued growth is his ability to stay in the pocket, trust his progressions and make timely reads. He was able to do that in spurts last year, but Purdy often fell back on his mobility to get out of trouble. The 21 sacks might not be replicated in 2019 due to a more experienced offensive line and Purdy’s own maturation, but each one taught him how to adjust when things break down — or simply to accelerate his vision.

Pro Football Focus ranked Purdy No. 8 out of 130 FBS quarterbacks entering the 2019 season, giving him a grade of 89.3 — it is the second-highest grade awarded to a true freshman quarterback behind Clemson’s national champion signal caller Trevor Lawrence. His 2,250 passing yards and 16 touchdowns are a nice foundation for his resume too.

“There are some plays that we ran this morning that he ran against so-andso last year in a game and he knows it, he knows how to read it and he’s comfortable with it,” quarterbacks coach Joel Gordon said. “But being a year older and with his work ethic, it’s only a matter of time before things begin to get easier. He’s worked really hard at trying to improve at all aspects of it, so it’s paying off for him right now.”

It doesn’t take people

IOWA STATE FOOTBALL | Sunday, August 25, 2019

outside the program long to see what Purdy offers ISU, either.

Former ISU and NFL quarterback Sage Rosenfels was back in Ames this spring watching game film when Purdy walked by the film room. The two had never met, and started talking about the previous season and what was ahead.

Then Purdy took a peek at what film Rosenfels was watching, and the two dove into football jargon further.

“He’s very comfortable with himself in a sense of he’s not nervous to answer a question right or wrong.

He is calm,” Rosenfels told the Ames Tribune. “He’s a kid that knows he’s got a lot to learn and is learning every single day. He’s very humble, that’s another thing. That didn’t surprise me, but he’s a very humble kid. You would never imagine he was a first-team freshman All-American last year by the way he talked.”

The chance meeting could be more divine than just having an opportunity to talk football. Purdy is indirectly chasing the mark Rosenfels, Dan McCarney and Co. set in 2000 with their 9-3 record and first bowl win in school history.

The Cyclones have reached eight wins each of the last two seasons and did so for a stretch in the 1970s under Earle Bruce, but haven’t climbed that hill again.

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Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy achieved a passing efficiency rating of 169.91 last fall, the best for a true freshman in NCAA history. PHOTO BY SARAH PHIPPS, THE OKLAHOMAN

IOWA STATE FOOTBALL | Sunday, August 25, 2019

In the two decades since Rosenfels last lined up for ISU, the game has changed dramatically. The Big 12 looks different. Offenses are more potent. Defenses have devised new ways to stymie athletic backs and rangy receivers. Then there’s the off-field component. Avoiding social media criticism is like navigating the traps One-Eyed Willy laid out in The Goonies, so having a rock-solid understanding of who you are is important.

Rosenfels senses that in Purdy.

“Before, the only time you ever really heard from fans was maybe a call into the Dan McCarney show or something,” Rosenfels told the Tribune. “Or maybe there would be a, ‘That player is not very good.’

That’s about as bad as it gets.

Now Twitter or Instagram or whatever, people can talk both good and bad about you.

“He really is the real deal as far as when you look for a team guy and somebody that really just wants to find a way to become a great quarterback so his team can win.

That’s the exact guy you’re looking for.”

Austen Arnaud started every game at quarterback for ISU in 2008. That’s the last time such a thing has happened. Since then, Jerome Tiller, Steele Jantz, Jared Barnett, Sam Richardson, Grant Rohach, Joel Lanning, Jacob Park, Kyle Kempt and Zeb Noland have

all started, but none were able to have the longevity programs crave at such an important position.

Purdy can break the cycle and put that 11-year streak in the trash this season, which can be accomplished by obviously staying healthy, but also showing a mastery of the offense. Now that he has nine games under his belt and a full offseason in the program, the Cyclones can begin to tailor schemes around Purdy under the umbrella of the ‘players, formations, plays’ mantra that Campbell has used since his arrival in November, 2015.

“The nice thing about having Brock is Brock was a freshman and now you get the opportunity to build an offense around a guy,” Campbell said, “and you get the opportunity to help him create ownership in an offense and continue to build with him, and I think one thing we have seen in this league, the great quarterbacks, they own it.”

If a 10-win season, Big 12 title game berth and prestigious bowl game are truly on the horizon for the Cyclones, it will be on Purdy’s shoulders and accelerated vision to get them there beginning Aug. 31 against Northern Iowa (11 a.m./FS1). This season, and the quarterback behind it, has been almost two decades in the making.

“The rising tide raises all boats,” Scheelhaase said.

“That’s Brock Purdy.”

7 Sophomore Brock Purdy will begin the season as Iowa State’s starting quarterback.

FILE PHOTO BY NIRMALENDU MAJUMDAR/AMES TRIBUNE

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IOWA STATE FOOTBALL | Sunday, August 25, 2019

MARCEL SPEARS A ‘HEARTBEAT’ FOR CYCLONES AS A SENIOR

By Dylan Montz, Staff Writer dmontz@amestrib.com

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arcel Spears has the reminder pinned to the top of his online social media page. His redshirt freshman year at Iowa State, by all accounts, was a success as he started on all four special teams units and played in all but one game. But he knew there was more to offer.

“I ain’t been reppin my last name right,” Spears wrote on Jan. 29, 2017.

“Time to put on” Since that spring, Spears has been everything the Cyclones have wanted in a linebacker. Now he’s going into his fifth and final season with the program not only as a staple of one of the best defenses in the country. His value stretches teamwide.

“Marcel is the heartbeat of our football program and really our football team,” ISU coach Matt Campbell said. “He’s had the pulse of our locker room really over the last three years.

Marcel is a guy that if you say who relates really well to everybody in our program, who is the best leader, who is the guy that speaks and everybody listens? It’s Marcel.”

What it took to get there, in a word, was sacrifice. “(Campbell) said, ‘Do you want more?’ I’m like, ‘Yes you obviously want more,’” Spears said. “So he’s like this is what needs to happen blahblah-blah. So I need to sacrifice this, I need to do this instead of this if I want to be in this position I truly want to be in.”

PHOTO BY ADAM RING/SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE

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IOWA STATE FOOTBALL | Sunday, August 25, 2019

Only Julian Good-Jones and JaQuan Bailey have started more games at ISU than Spears (26).

Since the 2017 season began, the 6-foot-1 and 218-pound weakside linebacker has started every game and taken cues from the veterans around him. Now he’s the resource.

Spears, an Olathe, Kan. native, always saw himself as a leader growing up. His father instilled a confidence in him to step up when called upon. Those memories, combined with his heart-to-heart conversations with ISU coaches going into his sophomore year, fueled his transformation over the last couple years.

“I wouldn’t say have to grow into (being a leader) all over again, I would have to say getting comfortable in your environment first,” Spears said. “When you’re first getting into somewhere you’re not used to and you don’t know anybody, you can’t really open up to them. That makes it hard for you to be vocal and speak what’s real. You don’t know (your teammates yet).”

Standout play also gives validity to a voice. Spears graduated

Iowa State linebacker Marcel Spears has made several gamechanging plays in his Cyclone career.

AMES TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO BY NIRMALENDU MAJUMDAR

from special teams regular to a mainstay at linebacker as a sophomore. He was second on the team in tackles per game (8.2) and the defensive player of the game at the Liberty Bowl. His voice started to get louder.

“When the chips are really against you, against our defense, against our team, he plays his best football. That’s what I see,” defensive coordinator Jon Heacock told the Ames Tribune. “That’s the guy

you want to have. The tougher the situation gets, the bigger the situation gets, the better he plays.

That’s what it’s really all about.

Playing your best when people are counting on you the most and when it’s in the biggest moment, that’s when you’ve got to be a dude.”

Said Bailey: “Marcel doesn’t do it just on the field, but he does it in the meeting rooms. If we have a team issue and it’s a problem,

Marcel will go in and speak before or after Campbell. He’ll basically straighten everyone out.”

As a junior last season, Spears carried himself like an experienced starter despite only one year at linebacker. He had 8.0 tackles for loss, two interceptions, was fifth on the team in tackles (69) and was always in the middle of a big play, particularly his pick six against Texas Tech.

“He’s a calming presence for

those younger guys because he’s a really good human being,” linebackers coach Tyson Veidt said.

“He’s been a great leader for us all through this summer. And with (strength and conditioning) coach (Rudy) Wade, he’s been a great leader.

“He’s sharpened his game since he really took the summer to study. He’s anticipating better so things are happening slower for him and he’s reacting faster to things. That part of it gives him a chance to help guys on the field before the ball is snapped. That’s really what we need from him.”

Now in his final collegiate season, Spears is ready to deliver one more time. His rise has mirrored that of his team over the last few years.

“Maturity and being able to handle adversity better I’d say (is the biggest difference),” Spears said. “That first year I feel like people were down and it was kind of hard to come out of it like it’s over type of deal. Now there’s always a fighting chance.

“We’re not going to stop until it’s the fourth quarter and the clock is all zeroes.”

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IOWA STATE FOOTBALL | Sunday, August 25, 2019

IOWA STATE FOOTBALL | Sunday, August 25, 2019

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2019 Iowa State football schedule Aug. 31 Sept. 14 Sept. 21 Sept. 28 Oct. 5 Oct. 12 Oct. 19 Oct. 26 Nov. 9 Nov. 16 Nov. 23 Nov. 30

Northern Iowa Iowa Louisiana-Monroe at Baylor TCU at West Virginia at Texas Tech Oklahoma State at Oklahoma Texas Kansas at Kansas State

Cyclones’ success brings some higher expectations

By Travis Hines Sports Editor thines@amestrib.com

It’s a unique time for Iowa State football as we head into the 2019 season.

People actually expect the Cyclones to be quite good.

Coming off an 8-5 season with an Alamo Bowl appearance, the Cyclones are ranked in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 1978 and have the look of a Big 12 contender.

Year 4 of Matt Campbell’s tenure in Ames brings with it the highest expectations around Jack Trice Stadium in recent memory, and they’re well-earned.

Despite losing David Montgomery and Hakeem Butler to the NFL Draft, the Cyclones have a ton of talent, led by quarterback Brock Purdy and a defense that could be the conference’s best.

The Cyclones, though, will have to replace that dynamic offensive duo as well as get better results from an offensive line that has struggled under Campbell if the team is to meet or exceed expectations.

Oklahoma and Texas are the favorites in the league, but ISU isn’t far behind. If things break right, it’s not hard at all to picture the Cyclones closing out the season in Arlington in the conference championship game.

Those are the kind of realistic expectations that have rarely been seen in Ames during the fall.

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IOWA STATE FOOTBALL | Sunday, August 25, 2019

PHOTO BY ADAM RING/SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE

‘Family fi rst’ — How JaQuan and Josh Bailey’s bond brought them to Ames

By Dylan Montz, Staff Writer dmontz@amestrib.com

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aQuan Bailey paused momentarily.

He tried to think if he’d ever heard this name before, but was coming up empty. There was maybe a time he’d heard the name Shawn Moorehead in passing, but the Iowa State senior couldn’t fill in the blanks of its significance.

Bailey at his podium inside the sprawling AT&T Stadium last month, on the cusp of his final season at ISU, which will close out a historic career. By January, the 6-foot-2 and 255-pound Bailey will be

the best defensive end in school history.

Since Moorehead’s career ended in 2006, he has held the title of best defensive end, especially if the distinction is limited to pass rushing numbers. He still holds the single season sack record (8.5) and career sacks record (18.5), but could cede them both to Bailey in a few months.

“I didn’t even know who held the record (for sacks) because I never paid attention,” Bailey said. “I still don’t really care about it to this day.”

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IOWA STATE FOOTBALL | Sunday, August 25, 2019

AMES TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO

That sentiment isn’t a slight to Moorehead. Rather, it’s a testament to how far Bailey has come.

It isn’t that long ago that chasing records was a large part of what he wanted for his football career. The last two years have changed that.

It’s opened a whole other world of possibilities for the Jacksonville, Fla. native.

“I’ve learned from being at Iowa State that football is the

ultimate team sport,” Bailey said.

“If our secondary or our linebacker don’t cover, I don’t have time to get a sack. Or if I don’t put pressure on a quarterback, those guys have to cover for five, six or seven seconds, which is very long.

It’s almost like a two-way street.”

Had it not been for a late change of heart, and lasting relationships with his twin brother, Josh, and mother, Valyrie, who

knows where JaQuan Bailey would have landed. But those key figures and a timely set of circumstances led him to Ames, Iowa, and a road to personal growth.

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JaQuan and Josh Bailey were naturally close growing up. Nine minutes separated their births in May 1997, with Josh edging

JaQuan for the first few moments of life. The running joke, Valyrie Bailey says, is that JaQuan claims he was in line to be born first but Josh pushed him out of the way, making JaQuan settle to be the baby in the family of four kids.

That was the first instance of a sibling dynamic that would blend back and forth between a rivalry and a bond only twins can share.

“One would do one thing and

the other would do the opposite, then they’d switch off and change,” Valyrie Bailey told the Ames Tribune. “They can have an issue with the outside, but when it comes to either one of them, they’ve got each other’s back no matter what.

They have their little knockouts and drag outs between themselves, but you better not get in there.”

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IOWA STATE FOOTBALL | Sunday, August 25, 2019

IOWA STATE FOOTBALL | Sunday, August 25, 2019

As structured as Valyrie Bailey made their home, JaQuan and Josh craved competition and structure through sports, too. They played in pee-wee football growing up in their north Florida community, and stuck with it until they were set to go to high school.

That’s when the pair went to their mom asking her for permission to go to a big-time football high school.

Raines High School is ranked in the top three schools in Florida in sending players to the NFL — they’ve had 23 play at least one full season — and is a playoff regular. So JaQuan and Josh went to their mother and begged to go to Raines for the enhanced football profile. She agreed on one condition.

“If you don’t do what you’re supposed to do in the classroom, then you know you’re not going to be able to get out on that field and play,” Valyrie Bailey told her sons. “I can truly say football was used as a tool to help them get to the point they are now as young men. That’s the whole emphasis I have tried to instill whether they thought I was being mean or firm with them.

I said you’re young boys now becoming young men. You’ve got to be able to stand up and be a man.”

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JaQuan and Josh Bailey held up their ends of the bargain, and in turn excelled on the football field. Raines made the Florida state playoffs in all four seasons the Baileys played, and even reached the Class 4A state championship game in 2015 — they finished 12-2 as seniors.

There were several Power 5 schools after JaQuan during his junior and senior seasons. In

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fact, he committed to Florida during the spring of his junior year, which likely meant he and Josh would split up for college.

Just as their senior year of football was wrapping up, the wheels of change started to spin halfway across the country in Ames.

Matt Campbell was hired by ISU in late November, and he quickly assembled his staff, bringing many Toledo assistants over, including linebackers coach Tyson Veidt. The staff immediately hit the recruiting trail, checking up on the leg work the previous ISU regime started.

“Initially coming from Toledo, we didn’t recruit Jacksonville there,” Veidt told the Tribune. “When we got here, an offensive lineman from their high school (Solomon Kindley) had visited. He had official visit here for a game prior to our arrival and was a really good player.

He’s at Georgia now and playing O-line for them.”

JaQuan was still committed to Florida, so things were at a standstill as far as ISU’s involvement in his recruitment.

Shortly before ISU was set to go back to Jacksonville to check in at Raines, Veidt got news that would set the events in motion for an eventful final month before signing day.

“We were all staying at a hotel (in Ames) at that point, and it was a deal where we woke up early and hadn’t come into work yet,” Veidt told the Tribune. “I was just going through Twitter and it had the ‘In Case You Missed It’ or whatever the heck Twitter has, and JaQuan announced on Twitter he had decommitted. I got ahold of him at that point and he had immediately replied.

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AMES TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO

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IOWA STATE FOOTBALL | Sunday, August 25, 2019

“I got ahold of his coach (Deran Wiley) and he was like, ‘Yeah he decommitted.’ I said, ‘Well we’re certainly interested.’ And he goes, ‘Coach he has a twin brother as well.’ I’m like, ‘OK what’s his name?’ He said, ‘Josh.’ I said, ‘OK we’ll watch him too.’ So we watched him and coach Campbell is like, ‘Yeah let’s get both of these guys.’”

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Things weren’t going to be so easy to land both Baileys, though.

Virginia Tech already offered JaQuan that spring. Then Tennessee offered JaQuan, and showed interest in Josh. Josh had offers from Kansas and Cincinnati, but went on an official visit to Tennessee with JaQuan to see if he could stick with his brother.

Ultimately after ISU offered in December, Josh was going to end up in Ames. The biggest question was if JaQuan would join him. “(JaQuan) was still on the path of Virginia Tech, but in the meantime, he said, ‘Momma where would you pick?’” Valyrie told the Tribune. “I said, ‘I can’t decide that for you. You have to decide for yourself. You have to go wherever you feel most comfortable.’

“Up until the day of signing, I printed out the different forms they needed to have. I printed out the forms for him to go to Virginia Tech. Up until they got ready to make that choice, he had the hats on the table. That’s JaQuan.”

The last weekend in January, JaQuan squeezed in official visits to Virginia Tech and ISU, separate from Josh. The allure of Virginia Tech, which was going into its first season with Justin Fuente

AMES TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO BY NIRMALENDU MAJUMDAR

as head coach, was real. But the in-home meeting in Jacksonville when Campbell, Veidt and defensive line coach Eli Rasheed visited spoke volumes. Two words would ultimately symbolize the decision JaQuan made.

“Family first,” he said. “Campbell is a family guy. He knew family for me and my brother was really big. His whole pitch to me was actually perfect. There were really no flaws in what Campbell was pitching besides the fact they hadn’t won at Iowa State yet.”

Still, JaQuan didn’t know what he would do on signing day, even though Josh was already in the fold for the Cyclones. JaQuan

spoke to Campbell at the last permitted moment, and Campbell told him to follow his heart. So JaQuan sat at his table at Raines with Josh, and looked back at his mother one last time. He picked up a red ISU hat with gold letters.

“We had no idea (he was committing),” Campbell told the Ames Tribune. “I think at the end of it, it was great that’s what he decided to do. But I think why he decided to do it even afterward, ‘I want to be with my brother, I want to change the culture, I want to do something different,’ that was big.”

JaQuan ultimately made his own decision, but took cues from

his family on how to value certain things in life.

“Their hearts are huge,” defensive coordinator Jon Heacock told the Tribune. “That comes from mom and the family. We knew when we went in and met the family who we were going to get, and that’s who we got. They should be proud of them. We are.

When you meet the grassroots, you know who they’re going to be.

We’re blessed that’s who they’ve become.”

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JaQuan played from the onset as a true freshman, starting the

last seven games of his rookie campaign. He hasn’t been out of the lineup since. Josh has mainly provided depth for the interior defensive line, and has found his way onto the depth chart ahead of the season.

While JaQuan helped the culture change of the program take place, he’s also undergone plenty of changes of his own.

The immature kid that arrived in Ames from Jacksonville has become a model of consistency, reliability and accountability.

“JaQuan’s maturity level has gone so much higher,” senior receiver Deshaunte Jones said.

“When we came in, he’s going to hate me for saying this, but he was a little bit childish. Now you can see how the maturity level has grown and how he’s impacted a lot of peoples’ lives after he’s been around. You can tell he’s going to have a wonderful senior year, and he had a great junior year. I think the sky is the limit for that guy.”

Watching players mature over a four or five year period is always a high point for Campbell.

Seeing how far JaQuan Bailey has come — particularly because everything in his career from his recruitment to role on the field was sped up — is especially satisfying.

“The humility he has to allow others into his life whether it was players or coaches, he’s allowed great people that have surrounded him into his life. I think that’s really hard,” Campbell told the Tribune. “Honestly that’s better than any win I’ll ever have or be a part of. It’s about watching guys like that be the best version of themselves they can be.”

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IOWA STATE FOOTBALL | Sunday, August 25, 2019

OFF-FIELD BONDING AS IMPORTANT AS ON-FIELD EXPERIENCE FOR CYCLONES’ O-LINE

PHOTO BY ADAM RING/SPECIAL TO THE AMES TRIBUNE

By Dylan Montz, Staff Writer dmontz@amestrib.com

T

he new ink on the arms and chests of Iowa State’s offensive linemen follows the same guidelines as Fight Club. The first rule of Fight

Club is you don’t talk about Fight Club. Same goes for the “O.G.” tattoos that adorn the big uglies.

“It’s in house,” redshirt freshman Trevor Downing said.

Fair enough. Either way, getting those tattoos were

part of the necessary bonding process that needed to take place with the guys up front.

The offensive line is one of the most experienced position groups on the already experienced roster, but the one that has struggled to gain its footing.

Until now.

The jury will be out on how much improvement the Cyclones made on the line over the last nine months until the season opener, but one thing is certain: they’re closer off the field. That, they hope, will

translate to on-field success.

The linemen drove up to a lake house this summer in Minnesota, driving Downing’s party bus and just got to know each other as people.

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“That trip brought us all together pretty close,” Downing said. “And we spent three days together or something. We all had a great time going the casino, boating every day. It was an awesome time.”

That camaraderie is where it has to start. Feeling comfortable with, and have trust in, the guys next to you is just as important as the technique of playing on the line.

“I challenged them with the mentality that we carry, not only on the field, but off the field,” offensive line coach Jeff Myers said. “At times, I felt like when we first got here, that room was kind of beaten down a little bit and was kind of looked at as the reason why (we weren’t successful). And that was something that I felt like, we need to really get out of them.”

It starts with the seniors.

Words like improving and growth are almost pejorative at this point. They want results.

Julian Good-Jones, Collin Olson, Josh Knipfel and Bryce Meeker are the guards and tackles currently with the starting group, and make up 95 of the 107 starts ISU returns in its first five. Good-Jones, Knipfel and Meeker are also more than 300 pounds each, a deviation from what ISU linemen looked like four or five years ago.

Good-Jones and Meeker are scholarship players signed by the Paul Rhoads staff. Olson joined the team as a walk-on. Knipfel played one season in junior college at Iowa Western, and jumped to ISU before his recruiting could heat up. The variety of experiences have informed their paths.

“We always felt like we were always the weakest group on our team,” Knipfel said. “The defensive line is really good, our defense in general is really good, we’ve had good quarterbacks, we’ve had good running backs with David (Montgomery) and good receivers with Hakeem (Butler) and all those guys.

“With us, we were inconsistent. We’d show flashes where we were really good and then the next game we weren’t as good as the week before. Figuring out the consistency and confidence

IOWA STATE FOOTBALL | Sunday, August 25, 2019

Iowa State football team celebrates as offensive lineman Josh Knipfel runs back onto the field after he was wrongly ejected during the game against Baylor last season. AMES TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO BY NIRMALENDU MAJUMDAR

and knowing each other was the toughest part. After last year and after the bowl game and going through an offseason all together, it’s just like, ‘Alright, we get who we are.’”

The seniors have been through the wringer. Three-win seasons dotted their first couple years while position changes, particularly for Good-Jones, underscored the next couple. ISU is still tinkering with positions in preseason camp, but being in year four or five of a collegiate program allows each player to have a confidence they made lacked previously.

“If you look at the offensive line now, there are some good football players that have really continued to grow and develop throughout their three or four years here that we’re really excited about,” offensive coordinator Tom Manning told the Ames Tribune. “The offensive line, it’s a process. If you take a quick fix, you’re going to always be trying to find a way to have a quick fix.

“Our belief is to recruit

really tough kids that have a passion for football, get them in our program, let them be in our strength and conditioning program and do everything we can do from our end.”

The offensive line helped Montgomery, now with the Chicago Bears, reach 1,000 rushing yards in back-to-back seasons, but most people outside the program gave credit to his ability to break tackles — he led the nation in forced missed tackles the last two years — for the feat. There is no known commodity, besides quarterback Brock Purdy, in the backfield this year, so the necessity for consistent play up front has never been higher.

Fundamentally they’ve gotten better with their techniques and watching film on what they could have done better last year,” Purdy said. “You know, they’re all returners, so they watch film on themselves of last year. They did that this summer, they’re always up there. We look great in our OTAs and everything, so I’m excited for them this year.”

There are a few names among the youngsters that could help in that area. Colin Newell, an Ames native, started 12 games at center as a redshirt freshman and should be more comfortable with a full year and offseason under his belt. He even helped pull Downing out of a muddy farm field this summer, diversifying his familiarity with his teammate.

Downing and Joey Ramos, both redshirt freshmen, are pushing the first group and Robert Hudson is slotted behind Knipfel at right guard. For the first time in years, there is true depth on the offensive line, which is a far cry from when Campbell and Co. arrived four years ago.

“Other than Jake Campos, there wasn’t really a veteran player in our building process to build with and around,” Campbell said. “You’re really rebuilding an entire offensive line from scratch. That takes time, it takes recruiting and the willingness to play those guys to get experience and develop them. How do

you shortcut that? You can junior college or you can grad transfer, but the bluebloods of the college football world, that’s what they do.

“We’ve gone with the philosophy of we’re going to build it slow, we’re going to build it right and then at some point we’ll have the ability to turn the tide. You hope we’re finally at that point.

But I think you saw vast improvement the second half of the season last year from that group.

That’s where that experience started to pay off for us.”

Myers has seen a rebuilding project of this kind before.

He sat out as a redshirt in 2010 during Tim Beckman’s second year at Toledo before truly beginning his career. The Rockets averaged 167.4 yards on the ground in 2010 and produced a 1,000-yard rusher, but lacked consistency. When Myers was a senior, Toledo averaged 256.4 yards rushing while Kareem Hunt ran for 1,631 yards — one of his fellow teammates, Greg Mancz, is still in the NFL with the Houston Texans.

“We all started for three years, that class,” Myers told the Tribune. “And I think that’s when we finally turn the tide. We all played as redshirt sophomores, but our junior and senior year; we preach to these guys a lot about it’s about what you leave behind, it’s about how you change the program and how you change your position room.

“What was nice for us after we graduated and left was the guys that stepped up and played the next year, right when she was everybody’s big fear. You know, they didn’t miss a beat. They were better than we were. I took pride in that.”

Going into year four in Campbell’s system, ISU is poised to hit its stride as an offensive line and see the fruits of their labor. And it’s been the off-field confidence and continuity that has seen an uptick on the field through preseason camp.

“Confidence is continuing to build, they have great talent and it’s our job to make sure we’re getting everything out of them,” Manning told the Tribune, “so they have a chance to be successful.”

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IOWA STATE FOOTBALL | Sunday, August 25, 2019

A glance at the 2019 Iowa State football schedule If Iowa State is going to reach double-digit wins for the first time in program history, or reach its first Big 12 Conference title game, it has an unrelenting schedule to get through.

Two in-state games, a nonconference matchup against a Sun Belt opponent and a round-robin conference schedule await the 2019 Cyclones. Here is a glance at each game.

Northern Iowa Panthers (Aug. 31, Jack Trice Stadium, 11 a.m./FS1) After a year off from the in-state matchup, UNI returns to Ames for the season opener. The Panthers are coming off a 7-6 season that saw them reach the FCS playoffs, but there are plenty of questions ahead for Mark Farley and Co. UNI was picked fifth in the MVFC preseason poll and is No. 18 in the FCS preseason rankings and will have a new quarterback — either Jacob Keller or Will McElvain.

Iowa Hawkeyes (Sept. 14, Jack Trice Stadium, 3 p.m./FS1) Iowa has topped ISU in each of the last four seasons — some by large margins, and some close — but this could be the most intriguing match of any. Both teams are top-25 caliber and have legitimate

conference championship game aspirations. The Hawkeyes are always solid up front, so ISU will have to find a way to gear up after a week two open date and match that physicality. Like ISU, Iowa also has a returning quarterback that it trusts.

Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks (Sept. 21, Jack Trice Stadium) After going 6-6 but missing out on a bowl game last year, Louisiana-Monroe will face the Cyclones for the second time in program history — ISU won the first matchup 42-7 in 1980. The Warhawks will be looking at its receivers to get the offense going with quarterback Caleb Evans returning.

Louisiana-Monroe plays at Florida State two weeks before traveling to Ames, which could be a barometer of the challenge it presents the Cyclones.

Baylor Bears (Sept. 28, Waco, Texas) Matt Rhule has the Bears on a trajectory similar to what Matt Campbell did with the Cyclones in his first couple years. After a dismal first season (1-11), Baylor but finished 7-6 last year with a bowl win. With a competent quarterback in Charlie Brewer and an improving defense, they could be a tough out for

everybody in the league in 2019. If the Cyclones escape Waco with a win to open conference play, it could bode well for the rest of the schedule.

TCU Horned Frogs (Oct. 5, Jack Trice Stadium) TCU had a “down” year in 2018 according to the standards Gary Patterson has set the last two decades, but should have a top two or three defense in the Big 12.

The Horned Frogs still have a quarterback battle to settle — Kansas State transfer Alex Delton and true freshman Iowa native Max Duggan have appeared to separate themselves — but could have enough playmakers on the opposite side of the ball to carry the early part of the year.

West Virginia Mountaineers (Oct. 12, Morgantown, W.V.) Other than Kansas, this might be the team that has the farthest to climb in the upcoming season.

Neal Brown has dealt with transfers and rebuilding an offense after the loss of Will Grier and David Sills, so preseason expectations have been modest for the Mountaineers. Morgantown has been a traditionally tough place to play for ISU, which has one win in three tries in the series

history. It also starts a crucial swing in the season.

Texas Tech Red Raiders (Oct. 19, Lubbock, Texas) In the last three years under Kliff Kingsbury, the Cyclones outscored the Red Raiders 137-54. Kingsbury was fired in the offseason — he was hired by the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL — and Matt Wells was brought in from Utah State.

Alan Bowman returns at quarterback for Texas Tech and looks to build on a freshman year that showed promise but was riddled with injuries. The game also concludes ISU’s only backto-back road game stretch of the season.

Oklahoma State Cowboys (Oct. 26, Jack Trice Stadium) The last time the Cyclones saw the Cowboys, it became the Brock Purdy show. Oklahoma State started the season strong, but lost three of its last four games to finish the season 6-6 — a bowl win put Mike Gundy and Co. above .500. Things appear to be pointed in a better direction in 2019. The Cowboys are still trying to find a starting quarterback — it’ll be Spencer Sanders or Dru Brown — but return game changers on offense and potential breakout players

on defense.

Oklahoma Sooners (Nov. 9, Norman, Okla.)

Oklahoma is the gold standard in the conference. It is looking to defend its Big 12 crown for the fifth-straight time, and will trott out yet another quarterback. Jalen Hurts will likely take over for Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray, who followed the blueprint of Baker Mayfield in Norman. Alex Grinch came aboard from Ohio State to revamp the defense and Lincoln Riley has proven himself to be a top offensive mind. ISU will go back to the site of its 2017 upset fresh off a bye.

Texas Longhorns (Nov. 16, Jack Trice Stadium) This is the last Big 12 team a Campbellled Cyclones squad hasn’t toppled, and could have a lot of ramifications in the Big 12 title game race. Texas is thought to be the second-best team in the league behind Oklahoma, and have a dynamic quarterback in Sam Ehlinger. There are a few weapons to replace on offense, but the Longhorns have bullied ISU up front the last couple years and are coming off a Sugar Bowl win against Georgia. Circle this one on the calendar.

Kansas Jayhawks

(Nov. 23, Jack Trice Stadium) Another new era in Lawrence is set to begin. Les Miles took over for the fired David Beatty, and will attempt to get Kansas over the three-win hump for the first time this decade. The Jayhawks have struggled to catch up to its Big 12 counterparts on the scholarship front and find equal footing with talent, but have been stuck in the vicious cycle of losing and missteps on the recruiting trail. Whether Miles can pull Kansas out of the abyss is a giant question mark.

Kansas State Wildcats (Nov. 30, Manhattan, Kan.) ISU beat Kansas State for the first time in a decade last year and sent hall of fame coach Bill Snyder into his second retirement. The Chris Klieman era in Manhattan began last winter, but will likely face a few challenges this season.

Skylar Thompson returns as the clear quarterback, but the Wildcats will have to find a few new skill position players to complement him. Klieman cut his teeth in FCS football, and will bring a mindset similar to Snyder’s in how to build the K-State program. How quickly that happens is up for debate.

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IOWA STATE FOOTBALL | Sunday, August 25, 2019