Iowa State tight end Benjamin Brahmer (18) celebrates a first down during the game against the Texas Longhorns at Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2023 in Ames, Iowa. © Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK
AMES — Every time the ball flew Ben Brahmer’s way, he made a big play.
The date: Nov. 22, 2022.
The scene: The Nebraska Class C high school championship game between Pierce and No. 1 Aurora.
Brahmer’s record-breaking stat line for Pierce: 11 catches on 11 targets for 249 yards and three touchdowns.
So the 6-7, 250-pound Iowa State sophomore’s been an excellent pass catcher for quite some time, but now Brahmer’s eager to deliver bruising blocks alongside his game-changing grabs.
“I’ve been focusing on being a lot more physical this camp,” said Brahmer, who broke the Cyclones’ freshman tight ends record with 352 receiving yards as a true freshman. “That way I can be more versatile for the team, and that way I’m able to be out there whether it’s two-minute (offense) or a third-and-short situation.”
Brahmer stands front and center in a room that’s stockpiled talent throughout head coach Matt Campbell’s eight-plus season tenure. When the talent is there — and it is right now, the Cyclones often trot out two- and three-tight-end sets. That’s where Brahmer’s added ability to be an every-down player becomes crucially important alongside reliable fullback-tight end hybrid Stevo Klotz.
“I’m always gonna just do my part and do what’s asked of me,” said Klotz, a former walk-on who garnered second-team all-Big 12 honors as a fullback last season. “If the ball comes to me, great. If not, great.”
That workman-like attitude earned Klotz a lot of trust and respect.
“Stevo’s been exceptional — a great football player,” Brahmer said. “(From Cedar Rapids Prairie standout Gabe Burkle’s) been really good. He’s a smart guy, knows everything that everybody’s doing out there, so it’s really fun playing with all those guys.”
That group also includes a pair of talented true freshmen: Cooper Alexander and former Linn-Mar star Keaton Roskop. Alexander’s father, Stephen, starred at tight end for Oklahoma from 1994-97 and carved out a 10-year NFL career.
“We have a big brother-little brother kind of set up and I’m (Alexander’s) big brother,” Brahmer said. “So I’ve been helping him get through this camp and he’s obviously a great player. Coming in as a freshman, he should get some playing time, which is awesome for him. He’s being really physical. (He’s) a really talented player.”
As for Roskop, who served as a two-way player for the Lions?
“He’s really physical, too,” Brahmer said. “(In a practice earlier this week), he had a great block and he’s getting more reps now because he just goes out there and puts his head down and hits people.”
That word — physical — embodies the highest praise for Brahmer because he’s working so hard to play with that hard-nosed edge, while not being too hard on himself.
“I started camp a little slow, but I take to the coaches and got my mind right and it’s been great since,” Brahmer said. “Just going out there playing physical, playing free, and having fun just playing football.”
First-year offensive coordinator and longtime tight ends coach Taylor Mouser said Brahmer had a good reason for a slow start this fall.
“He was coming off a little bit of an injury,” Mouser said of Brahmer, who was tabbed a first-team freshman All-American by the Athletic last season. “Sometimes it can be easy for a young guy, and for anybody, to get in your head a little bit. Self-doubt creeps into everybody and for him to come back and just work through stuff and for me to remind him of who he is and why he fell in love with the same of football — it’s no different than it was for him in high school. Just go out there and fun. Don’t think so much and don’t try to be perfect.”
That’s easier said than done for a record-breaking coach’s son, but Brahmer’s rapidly freeing himself from the grip of self-criticism.
“I’ve just been focusing on my mental side and being confident in myself that I can go out there and make any play that I want to, whether it’s in the run game or the pass game,” he said.
