Always seemingly lost in the shuffle of the Big 12 is Iowa State. Despite a 3-0 start to last season, continued inconsistent play led this team to finishing the year 3-7, and again failing to make a bowl. It has been years since this team has been competitive. Will that change in 2013?
Probably as much a mark of their inconsistency as anything else, the Cyclones still have no idea who will be starting for them at QB in 2013. It could be the mobile SO QB, Jared Barnett, or it could be the better passer, SR Steele Jantz. Both played last year, and neither stood out as particularly productive. Both showed a propensity for turning the ball over, which as we know is the quickest way to kill your chances of winning. Who ever gets the call this year, will have to show vast improvement over last year if this team is going to put points on the board. Like at QB, the RB situation last season stayed in flux for most of the year. By the end of the year, James White had emerged as the starter. He will go into this, his JR year, slated to be the starter, but he will need to become more consistent. He is quicker than he is strong, and although he never quits, he has to get better at finding holes. The receiving corp has yet again lost their leading receiver from the previous year, and it leaves Aaron Horne as the defacto go-to-guy for this offense. Horne is fast and runs good routes, but at 5-9, 178, how well will he hold up. The Big 12 has a lot of smaller corners though, so it may not be too big an issue. The o-line is loaded with question marks too. None of the projected starters on this line project out to the NFL, and although some project to develop into decent college ball players, in the Big 12, decent is not enough. Bottom line is is see no one who will be able to block players the like of Texas' Okafor and Jeffcoat, and if you can't keep the opposing defense off your QB, what type of chance will you have at scoring points?
Defensively, this unit is better than their offensive counter parts. Up front, although there are no stars, SO DE David Irving is a guy worth watching. At 6'7" he shows exceptional athleticism and strength. The only question about him is his technique. He has only been playing football for 3 years now, so if he learns the game more, and keeps building his technique, he could become the kind of player to build around in another year or two. The linebacking corp will be the strongest unit on this team, and one of the best in the Big 12. SR MLB AJ Klein is a returning all-american and SR OLB Jake Knott is another guy who could be drafted on one of the first two days of the draft next year. Both these guys are excellent tacklers, and you will find both around the football on almost every defensive play next year. The secondary is decent, but they lack star power, and they lack depth. I see absolutely no way for them to finish anywhere close to last season, especially having lost Leonard Johnson to the NFL.
Paul Rhodes has his work cut out for him this year in Iowa City. The Cyclones appear to be outmatched in a large portion of their games, and I see them struggling to even match last year's middling performance. Their two stud linebackers will both be worth watching however, and if they could help this team to a publicized win or two, they could really help their draft stock in the process.
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