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On 5/6/2019 at 11:53 PM, LTtxfan said:

Decent grad-transfer WR pickup for Iowa State....

Ex-Arkansas WR Pettway going to Iowa State

3:17 PM CT

ESPN

Graduate transfer La'Michael Pettway, who was Arkansas' leading receiver last season, announced Monday he has committed to play for Iowa State.  "So many feelings & mixed emotions, a lot of praying went into this decision!! All of this was a lot to process but it's reality. I'm not sure exactly what to say, but to the University of Arkansas, The community, My help academically, My parents, even relationships that I've lost before making this decision, I wouldn't be who I am today without you," he said in a statement to multiple media outlets.

"To the fans some happy-some not, I appreciate you guys making my days as a Razorback some to remember. BEING THE FIRST in my immediate family to receive a college degree is more than an accomplishment of mine that I'll forever cherish! With all of that being said @Cyclonefootball let's make it happen."

Pettway had 499 receiving yards last season to lead the Razorbacks. He also had 30 receptions and four touchdown receptions.  The Cyclones need to replace leading receiver Hakeem Butler, who declared for the NFL draft and was selected by the Arizona Cardinals. Butler had 60 receptions for 1,318 yards and nine touchdown catches last season.

At least he wrote it himself.

Edited by ImissWallyPryor
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Per article, Iowa State may have best DL in Big 12 for 2019...

(Texas rated 4th, TCU 2nd, K-State 3rd blOU 5th)

1. Iowa State

In 2018, the Cyclones had probably the best defensive line in the Big 12, one that allowed Iowa State to have the best rushing defense in the league and total more sacks in conference play than any of the other nine teams. The great news for Cyclones fans? Practically all of the lineman from last year’s two deep are back.

Included in that group is All-Big 12 defensive tackle Ray Lima, who will see his name on plenty of lists coming into this season. Lima constantly demands double teams, and has a knack for getting to the football, something to which his 34 tackles last season are an undoubted testament.

As far as defensive ends go, it would be hard to argue that Iowa State doesn’t have the best one in the entire Big 12 in JaQuan Bailey. After having put up some of the best statistics of 2018, Bailey is slated to have an All-Big 12 type of season this year. Last season, Bailey led the team with eight sacks and had 14.5 tackles for loss. This year, the senior should be one of the most productive defenders in the Big 12.

http://landgrantgauntlet.com/2019/05/23/big-12-position-group-rankings-defensive-linemen-2/

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On 5/27/2019 at 1:01 AM, LTtxfan said:

Per article, Iowa State may have best DL in Big 12 for 2019...

(Texas rated 4th, TCU 2nd, K-State 3rd blOU 5th)

1. Iowa State

In 2018, the Cyclones had probably the best defensive line in the Big 12, one that allowed Iowa State to have the best rushing defense in the league and total more sacks in conference play than any of the other nine teams. The great news for Cyclones fans? Practically all of the lineman from last year’s two deep are back.

Included in that group is All-Big 12 defensive tackle Ray Lima, who will see his name on plenty of lists coming into this season. Lima constantly demands double teams, and has a knack for getting to the football, something to which his 34 tackles last season are an undoubted testament.

As far as defensive ends go, it would be hard to argue that Iowa State doesn’t have the best one in the entire Big 12 in JaQuan Bailey. After having put up some of the best statistics of 2018, Bailey is slated to have an All-Big 12 type of season this year. Last season, Bailey led the team with eight sacks and had 14.5 tackles for loss. This year, the senior should be one of the most productive defenders in the Big 12.

http://landgrantgauntlet.com/2019/05/23/big-12-position-group-rankings-defensive-linemen-2/

I'm going to have to give most of the credit to scheme rather than talent here.  ISU's DL played tough and with good technique but they (and the scheme) got exposed somewhat against Texas.  The Cyclones' defense depends heavily on bringing players from 7-10 yds deep to support against the run and to protect the edges of the box.  That works if the box safety and overhang defender have time to react.

Texas did 2 things: 1) run right at the defense with inside zone and power, 2) threw intermediate balls over the middle to put the box safety in conflict.  Against a team with a weaker OL #1 probably doesn't hurt ISU too much.  Against a less accurate passer #2 doesn't hurt them as much.  But they had the misfortune to run into an improving Texas OL late in the season.  Iowa State's defense certainly showed what they could do to a one-dimensional offense against Iowa and West Virginia.

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Campbell's teams are annoyingly soft against Texas.  Not that you don't have more talent, but we've punched a lot of people in the mouth the last few years, and we roll over dead for you guys.  We finished with the same record, badly beat teams you lost to, and our game was not competitive at all.  None of his games against Texas have been, and it's the only team he can say that about.

Edited by Al_4_ISU
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2 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

Campbell's teams are annoyingly soft against Texas.  Not that you don't have more talent, but we've punched a lot of people in the mouth the last few years, and we roll over dead for you guys.  We finished with the same record, badly beat teams you lost to, and our game was not competitive at all.  None of his games against Texas have been, and it's the only team he can say that about.

Mack and Charlie are gone. There's still plenty of things wrong with Texas that need to be fixed, but praise Allah getting punched in the mouth is no longer one of them.

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That was such a good ass beating, god that night was fun. Every isu fan in the stadium had strong sads going on. The phone light song went viral and Purdy got his ass benched.

That was a fun game. Not necessarialy on the field - it was actually pretty sloppy - but it was cathartic to see the team come out and all but clinch the B12 title bid by completely shutting ISU down. Honestly, most fun I've had at a home game since at least ND.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

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3 minutes ago, Walden Ponderer said:

Mack and Charlie are gone. There's still plenty of things wrong with Texas that need to be fixed, but praise Allah getting punched in the mouth is no longer one of them.

For the record, I did not expect to win that game.  I did expect a better performance on our end. 

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26 minutes ago, chesthair said:

I've been up here (iowa city) for a week.  it was 90 the other day and they had a heat advisory.  

I don't understand why they do that.  It's like how we have tornado warnings when one hasn't actually touched down.  90 is hot, but we have enough days at that heat level where there's AC everywhere and people know how to deal with it.  I don't even know why they do heat or cold advisories anyway.  The effects of a certain temperature level are universal.  No one is going to look at the forecast, see 90, and go out in a damn parka.  Or see -10 and wear shorts.

Edited by Al_4_ISU
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its funny as hell.  my boys are here for a wrestling camp and they run every day.  they keep saying "dad, man, this weather is awesome for running but all the northern kids are passing out".  im sitting on the porch in this "heat wave" enjoying a beer and the beautiful weather.  

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1 hour ago, Al_4_ISU said:

Campbell's teams are annoyingly soft against Texas.  Not that you don't have more talent, but we've punched a lot of people in the mouth the last few years, and we roll over dead for you guys.  We finished with the same record, badly beat teams you lost to, and our game was not competitive at all.  None of his games against Texas have been, and it's the only team he can say that about.

His scheme works really well at spilling inside zone runs to the outside.  He's got an overhang man and a box safety waiting there to set the edge and close off the cutback lane respectively.  It's very effective against spread formations with just the 5 OL blocking, presenting what looks like a light box that most teams can't run against.

Adding a blocking TE creates an extra gap.  A real running threat at QB with the option to keep creates a backside constraint.  Running power creates blocking angles from short pulls to an interior gap.  KSU can do some but not all of that, which is probably why Campbell has had trouble with them as well.

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His scheme works really well at spilling inside zone runs to the outside.  He's got an overhang man and a box safety waiting there to set the edge and close off the cutback lane respectively.  It's very effective against spread formations with just the 5 OL blocking, presenting what looks like a light box that most teams can't run against.
Adding a blocking TE creates an extra gap.  A real running threat at QB with the option to keep creates a backside constraint.  Running power creates blocking angles from short pulls to an interior gap.  KSU can do some but not all of that, which is probably why Campbell has had trouble with them as well.


Sorcery is the explanation for our KSU struggles.

But yeah, a QB like Ehlinger is much more capable of getting his against us than a Will Grier type.
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Campbell's teams are annoyingly soft against Texas.  Not that you don't have more talent, but we've punched a lot of people in the mouth the last few years, and we roll over dead for you guys.  We finished with the same record, badly beat teams you lost to, and our game was not competitive at all.  None of his games against Texas have been, and it's the only team he can say that about.

He’s not trying to stay in Ames. If he beats Texas it just gets harder to leave.
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Iowa State's starting punter likely lost for all of the 2019 season with torn Achilles #collegefootball
3:56 PM · Jul 11, 2019
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Quality Defense.....

Iowa St -- B12 Defensive Stats 2018 

Pts allowed             22.9.           1st

Rush Yds Allowed.  115.0         1st

Pass Yds Allowed.  234.2.        2nd

Sacks.                           33.          3rd

Forced Fumbles          11.         T-3rd

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Hope Herman takes note....

Matt Campbell showing how to improve his staff in Year 4 at ISU

RELEASE: Tom Manning’s return to the ISU football staff is official

Rob Gray, Jan 18, 2019

**The following is a news release from Iowa State Athletics Communications**

AMES — Iowa State Head Coach Matt Campbell announced today changes to his coaching staff which includes a familiar name returning to Ames from the professional ranks, his reconnection with a college teammate who has significant Power 5 Conference coaching experience and several promotions, and position group and duty adjustments.

Tom Manning, who coordinated ISU’s offense from 2016-17, will rejoin the Cyclone staff after one year with the Indianapolis Colts.

Campbell has also added Matt Caponi, who most recently directed the defensive backs at West Virginia (2016-18), to work with the secondary. A college teammate of Campbell at Mount Union, Caponi has been a full-time assistant with both the Mountaineers and Arizona previously.  The addition of Manning and Caponi are pending successful background checks.

Nate Scheelhaase, who was Iowa State’s running backs coach in 2018, will shift to wide receivers beginning this spring. He replaces Bryan Gasser, whose contract was not renewed. Quarterbacks coach Joel Gordon has been promoted to passing game coordinator and special teams coach Joe Houston will move to an off the field position.

“I am very excited with the changes we made with our football staff,” Campbell said. “We brought in coaches who are familiar with our program, our league and our culture. I also made some adjustments internally which will better serve our student-athletes.”  Manning was tight ends coach with the Colts last season, helping the team advance to the divisional round of the AFC playoffs and a 10-6 record. Manning was instrumental in tutoring Eric Ebron into a Pro Bowl selection. Ebron was second on the team in receptions (66) and receiving yards (750) and broke the club’s record for touchdown catches by a tight end with 13.

Manning’s work as offensive coordinator in his first stint at Iowa State (2016-17) produced two of the most-prolific seasons in school history. The Cyclones averaged 27.7 points in 2016 (ninth-best in school history) and 29.2 points in 2017 (third in ISU annals).  ISU averaged 421.6 yards of total offense in 2016, the fourth-best mark in the ISU record book. The Cyclones established the top-two passing offenses in the program history (272.9 in 2017 and 258.8 in 2016) with Manning calling plays.

Manning former FootballScoop.com Offensive Line Coach of the Year when he was an assistant at Toledo working for Campbell.

“We are thrilled to have Tom return as a valuable member of our staff,” Campbell said. “He is familiar with our program and played a big role in helping establish our culture here. He is an excellent coach and brilliant offensive mind, has been a highly successful play caller and he already has respect within our walls. He did a fantastic job with Indianapolis and we can’t wait to have him back as a Cyclone.”

Caponi, who has 15 years of collegiate coaching experience, is reuniting with Campbell. The two Mount Union graduates were teammates as players and colleagues as coaches at that Division III power. Caponi comes to Ames after serving as defensive backs coach at West Virginia the last three seasons when the Mountaineers were one of the top defensive teams in the Big 12. He coached the safeties at Arizona (2013-15) before going to WVU.  In 2018, Caponi mentored four players who earned All-Big 12 recognition. That list included Kenny Robinson Jr., who was First-Team All-Big 12 after tying for third in the league in interceptions (4) and ranking 14th in tackles (77).

The 2017 Mountaineer defense ranked No. 16 nationally in most defensive three-and-outs per game and No. 24 in best third-down defense. Kyzir White, who was drafted in the fourth round of the NFL Draft by San Diego, was an honorable mention All-American and a Second-Team All-Big 12 pick.  “Matt is a rising star in this profession,” Campbell said. “I’ve watched him grow as a player and coach, and he will be a great asset to our defense. He understands the game, is a hard worker and will have an excellent rapport with our student-athletes. Matt also brings with him an excellent track record of success at the highest level of collegiate football.”

Scheelhaase and Gordon had impressive debut seasons in Ames. Scheelhaase coached a productive group of tailbacks, including All-American David Montgomery. The junior rushed for 1,216 yards, becoming just the eighth Cyclone in school history to record multiple 1,000-yard seasons. Gordon navigated through the loss of a starting QB in the first game and tutored true freshman Brock Purdy through a terrific rookie season. Purdy’s 169.91 QB passing efficiency was sixth nationally.  “I could not have been more impressed with Nate and Joel in their first seasons as full-time assistants at Iowa State,” Campbell said. “They are excellent coaches, superb teachers and understand our process. Each has an outstanding future and our offensive room and our players benefit from their dedication, knowledge and enthusiasm.”

Spring practice for the Cyclones starts March 12.

https://cyclonefanatic.com/2019/01/release-tom-mannings-return-to-the-isu-football-staff-is-official/

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How Iowa State became CFB's leader in defensive innovation

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ARLINGTON, Texas – Iowa State’s football facility saw more than its usual trickle of traffic this offseason. Matt Campbell estimates 35-40 college and pro teams passed through Ames on a defensive pilgrimage of sorts. The Cyclones, entering Year 4 of Campbell’s regime, have become a unexpected testing ground of defensive innovation.

Faced with the task of stopping the Big 12’s daunting group of Air Raid behemoths, Campbell and his defensive coordinator, Jon Heacock, started to experiment early in the 2017 season. The result is, perhaps, the future of defensive football in an era where offenses dominate with speed and exploited matchups in space. 

“The petri dish model has come from a conference where the offense challenges you every week and trying to find an answer when you don’t have maybe the exact same skillset of some of the elite teams in your conference,” Campbell told 247Sports. “I think that’s where, for us, we had to go to work and figure out how do we give ourselves a chance to be successful. We had to do that in a short period of time and then had the ability to take that model and really build off it and grow off it.

“The conference is what forced it to happen.”

Iowa State’s system is somewhat hard to define, and that’s by design. Schematically, the Cyclones ran a 4-3 or a 4-2-5 when Heacock arrived with Campbell in 2016. Following a ho-hum non-conference stretch the next year, the Cyclones all but threw out their defensive playbook. Heacock’s directive was to get his best players on the field. The result: A 3-3-5 that put three defensive linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs in the lineup.

In this alignment Iowa State’s third safety served as a robber of sorts, a defender that could hunt in the middle of the field or act as a extra middle linebacker when called upon.

The transformation worked – quickly.

Texas sputtered to just 312 yards of offense when the Cyclones debuted the defense following its bye week. The rest of the Big 12’s struggled to catch up in the time since. Iowa State hasn’t exactly stymied the league’s Air Raid maestros, but it's held most of them well below their scoring averages.

The Cyclones’ defensive alterations so profoundly resonated throughout the league that Texas defensive lineman Malcolm Roach, a sophomore at the time, remembers his defensive coordinator, Todd Orlando, “adopting their style a bit” the next week. Orlando borrowed the concept of the middle safety to help create Texas’ lightning package.

Campbell said his defense is built with an offensive mindset. In other words, the Cyclones look to create matchups that put their defenders in the best position as opposed to reacting to what the offense does. This can be accomplished in several ways, but Iowa State’s efforts largely center around two positions – their third safety and SAM linebacker.

Labeled a STAR in Iowa State’s system, a position which will be manned in 2019 by preseason All-Big 12 selection Greg Eisworth, the extra safety can play everything from nickel to middle linebacker to robber. Eisworth is a defensive back with linebacker-like tendencies. The SAM linebacker is viewed in similar fashion. That defender must be athletic enough to occasionally cover in the slot while also retaining the physicality to  spin down and provide Iowa State the option of a four-man front when called upon.

Given that pair’s flexibility, the Cyclones can realistically line up with anywhere from two to four linebackers on any given play. That allows Iowa State to constantly have eight capable defenders against the pass from down to down, as opposed to a four-man front that limits a team to at most seven.

The Cyclones are additionally advantaged since the offenses often won’t know which defender(s) will commit to attacking the run. Iowa State’s linemen are able to stunt, twist and loop on most plays because Heacock can send a number of different linebackers as the team’s fourth gap stuffer. It can cause havoc on an opponent’s blocking scheme, while allowing the Cyclones’ free linebackers to either plug gaps or flow over the top.

“It allows us to create matchups in our favor,” Campbell said.

Iowa State’s system is an odd combination of pressure and a bend-but-don’t-break attitude. The Cyclones finished 30th nationally in tackles for loss and 39th in sacks last season. Much of that production came from Iowa State’s linebackers, which are allowed to attack aggressively if sporadically – Heacock mixes who comes from down to down. Iowa State’s starting linebackers finished second, third and fifth on the team in tackles for loss. The SAM, which was Willie Harvey a season ago, also finished second on the team with 3.5 sacks.

It helps that the Cyclones excel at stopping the run. Iowa State finished ninth nationally in yards allowed per rush last season, thanks in large part to a dominant defensive line and a scheme that can flummox quarterbacks given that Iowa State can show five people in the box and realistically come with seven on any play.

That element of unexpectedness allows Iowa State to get away with a smaller third safety instead of an extra lineman. The additional athleticism on the back end, plus a pair of deep safeties, is a big reason why Iowa State finished 26th nationally allowing just 14 plays of 30-plus yards. Only one other Big 12 school (Kansas State, 41st) ranked within the top 65 in that category.

Baylor put up 505 yards of offense against Iowa State last year, outgaining the Cyclones by 150 yards. But the Bears sputtered in the red zone and left Ames staring at a 28-14 loss.

“I think Coach Heacock is one of the great defensive coordinators in college football,” Baylor head coach Matt Rhule told 247Sports. “That defense is designed in a way where they’re taking away the big run play as well. The robber safety is always showing as an extra defender. People are having a hard time trying to find a way to run. I think if people could run the ball against them they’d have a lot of success.

“Nobody’s found a way to do it.”

Iowa State hasn’t finished among the top half of the Big 12 recruiting rankings since Campbell arrived in Ames. Yet entering the 2019 season, the Cyclones led the Big 12 with four defensive preseason All-Big 12 selections.

One of those players, linebacker Marcel Spears, said a big part of the defense’s success is that the Cyclones “don’t have like a major player.” Everybody in Iowa State’s system must work in concert for the team’s offensive coordinator-stumping system to function. Spears has seen teams adopting some of what the Cyclones do defensively. He called it a “compliment.” But fellow preseason All-Big 12 teammate, JaQuan Bailey is quick to point out not everyone has a coach like Heacock: “That dude is like a genius.”

Campbell doesn’t mind sharing. Among Iowa State’s visitors this spring were Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables, fresh off a national championship. Yep, Iowa State is out front in the defensive world of college football.

Just don’t expect anyone to ever fully copy the Cyclones’ magic.

“We’re not a defense you can minor in,” Campbell said. “We’re a defense you have to major in with some of the adjustments and what we’ve got to do. It’s been flattering that we’ve got a lot of questions in it. But we’re unique.”

 

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28 minutes ago, mulletpelini said:

That defense they're describing sounds a lot like what Pelini was running 10 years ago.  Works great in the B12, not so much in the B1G when a team like Wisconsin will just stomp all over your shit and your sucking wind by halftime.  

Yep, proven by the fact that Campbell hasn't beaten Iowa yet...

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