Iowa State football had a lot of success in the defensive side of the ball last season statistically.
The Cyclones were top-40 defense in points allowed, rushing yards and third-down stop percentage, top-50 in yardage allowed and produced NFL talents like TJ Tampa on their way to a bowl berth and 7-6 season. All in all, those numbers alone were enough to push Iowa State to success.
However, one area prevented the Cyclone defense from turning good into great:
The pass rush.
On the year, Iowa State ranked 109th in sacks on the season, where only six power-five level programs recorded less and was 101st in total tackles for loss. So, while the pass defense had talents like Tampa and several All-Big 12 safeties in the back-end, they struggled to stay in pass coverage for long stretches. Even with all of that talent, they ranked 73rd in passing yards allowed, slightly under the top half in the nation.
The stat sheet lays it out clear as day: the Cyclones did not get to the quarterback enough. However, senior J.R. Singleton saw two silver linings.
“We were close a lot of times,” Singleton said. “But, we were young.”
For Singleton and this defensive line, they felt they were close to unlocking something special. Missed tackles, missed opportunities were left on the field for a unit that felt it was too green for the moment.
Heading into 2024, coach Matt Campbell and the rest of the staff see a unit that is ready to not only improve, but emerge as a strength.
“We were really young on that D-line a year ago, so we did take a step back,” Campbell said. “But, what I saw emerge this offseason is… we got older, we got a little bit more veteran and what you’ve seen is there was great talent in there. It’s that talent beginning to play consistently to its ability.”
How will Iowa State football fix its pass rush?
Hoping that a year of experience will spur growth from the pass rush is one thing, but what actions will be taken and who will emerge is another.
One place the defensive line continues to experiment to give opposing offenses different looks is with four-down lineman versus the traditional three-down linemen Iowa State has used under Campbell. Campbell said that last year, they used four-down lineman about 20% of the time and they will continue to implement it as a way to keep offenses on their toes/
“The ability to do that uniquely and differently I think is beneficial to us,” Campbell said. “I think it’s hard in college football to just say we’re this. I think you have to have multiplicity, you have to continue to find ways to put your players in the best situation to be successful and affect the game. We’ll continue to evolve that way.”
Along with those unique looks, Singleton said the usual suspects we saw a year ago have all taken strides in their game this offseason with additional work in the weight room and be continuing to learn opposing offensive game plans. As the veteran in the room, he’s been holding the defensive line accountable for continuing to learn more about offenses and what they do so they are prepared on Saturday’s.
While it seems like perhaps too easy of a fix for a unit that was among the worst in college football, its a unit that Singleton says has what it takes to be successful on athletic ability, but missed the little things.
“I just gotta make sure as the elder statesmen in the room to make sure they’re ready to go out there in play, because they all the ability in the world,” Singleton said.
Behind that, Singleton and the staff are hoping that the learning curve for guys like Joey Petersen, Tyler Onyedim, Trent Jones, Domonique Orange etc take the jumps they need. Particularly, Cmapbell felt that Onyedim is one of those that seems up to the task thus far.
“I think Tyler Onyedim has got a chance to be one of the great defensive linemen that we’ve had here at Iowa State,” Campbell said.
Plus, some newcomers like Louisiana Monroe transfer Kenard Snyder are receiving glowing reviews from everyone involved. His 14.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks would have not only led the team, but his tackles for loss tally would have been more than double than the next player on the team.
“I think Kenard has got a chance to be an extremely special football player for us,” Campbell said. “(Kenard) had an incredible spring, a young man that’s played meaningful snaps and has had big sack numbers in college football at the Division I level already. I think he comes in with a lot of confidence.”
For Iowa State, saying that last year’s disappointing production was a result of youth isn’t an excuse on their behalf, but rather a point of pride understanding that if they train the right way, good things will follow behind the talent they have.
Before Week One against North Dakota kicks off, they are confident they will be proven right.
“We just gotta be patient,” Singleton said. “It will come, and I think this season will really show that. We’ll learn from our mistakes. We added some really critical guys in our room, so I think it’ll show off this fall.”
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State football’s pass rush set to improve in 2024
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