Receiver Eli Green working out in fall camp. Photo courtesy of Iowa State Athletics Communications.
AMES — Eli Green bet on himself twice.
First, he joined North Dakota State’s wide receivers room as a walk-on in 2021.
Second, the 5-10, 185-pound junior from Farmington, Minn. entered the transfer portal this spring and decided to reunite with his former position coach, Noah Pauley, at Iowa State.
Now Green’s eager to carve out a role in the Cyclones’ deep and dexterous receiving corps — and it would be unwise to bet against his ongoing efforts.
“I bring another elite route running (element) into this role,” said Green, one of three ISU receivers who totaled 800-plus receiving yards last season. “And having six of us out there if we want to go tempo, if we want to speed up a team that plays only one group of (defensive backs), it’s going to be really tough for them with all the options and substitutions that we can make, with all of us being able to go make plays.”
Green said he never planned to leave the Bison program, but offseason staff changes in recent years prompted him to consider a change. He’d learned a lot under Pauley — who joined the Cyclones’ staff last season — and continuing to grow under him became too alluring an option to pass up.
“He pushed us each and every day to be the best player we could be, holding us accountable to every standard you can think of,” said Green, who racked up 1,005 all-purpose yards last season and scored three touchdowns. “Getting to learn from him — I had two full notebooks full of notes. I learned something new every single day in that receiver room and having that back, that’s something I’m super-excited about it.”
Green can excel in the slot, but also is capable of making plays down the field. He averaged 19.3 yards per catch at NDSU last season and scored all of his touchdowns during the team’s postseason surge to the FCS title game.
“(He’s) coming into a room that’s loaded right now,” said Pauley, who returns his top two receivers, Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, this season. “And he’s gone in there and he’s confident, which has been cool to see, whether it’s his one-on-one with team reps — all those things he’s competing on. So it’s not as if he’s far behind. Now, a little bit of terminology here or there, we’ll get him, but he is a student of the game. He’s caught up pretty fast.”
Adding another big-play receiver to a room filled with them both excites and vexes Pauley. He’s working on compiling a solid top-six as fall camp unfolds, but it’s not an easy task. Talented 6-4 freshman Beni Ngoyi redshirted last season and caught a 46-yard pass from Cyclone quarterback Rocco Becht in the Liberty Bowl loss to Memphis. Army transfer Isaiah Alston, who was slowed by an injury this spring, averaged over 20 yards per grab in the Black Knights’ run-heavy offense. Sprinkle in a healthy Daniel Jackson (16 catches, 260 yards, two touchdowns last season) and ISU should have at least six explosive options in the passing game — and that’s not even including talented tight ends such as Ben Brahmer.
So the competition for catches will be fierce, but the camaraderie remains strong.
“This is exactly where I want to be, matched with the people here,” Green said. “Just their support, the good character (guys who) are here made it pretty easy for me to settle in.”
