Iowa Hawkeyes’s quarter Cade McNamara (12) passes the ball around Iowa State Cyclones defensive line J.R. Singleton (58) during the first quarter in the Cy-Hawk series at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa. © Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Triobune / USA TODAY NETWORK
AMES — He might point at the Jack Trice Stadium crowd to elicit a reaction. Or look to the sideline with a mischievous grin. Iowa State defensive tackle, J.R. Singleton, doesn’t have a sack dance per se, but each time he takes down a quarterback, he has a strategy to make the tackle for loss mean much more than mere yardage.
“Just a little flex, a little yell,” said Singleton, who hopes to create more havoc in the backfield in Saturday’s 6:30 p.m. (FOX) Big 12 home opener between No. 16 Iowa State (4-0, 1-0) and Baylor (2-3, 0-2). “That’s kind of just what I try to do, you know, get the crowd going, get the sideline going.”
Singleton — a 6-2, 305-pound fifth-year senior from Gurnee, Ill. — entered the season with 3.5 career sacks, but he’s nearly doubled that number by striking for a team-leading three sacks in four games. The Cyclones have pressured opposing quarterbacks more frequently and effectively this season, averaging 2.25 sacks after ranking 11th in the Big 12 in 2023 with an average of 1.62.
What explains the marked uptick?
A combination of defensive coordinator Jon Heacock’s well-crafted schemes, a more experienced and explosive line, and — perhaps most importantly — a skilled and disciplined secondary that’s tied for 10th nationally with seven interceptions.
“It definitely helps the defensive line to have an elite secondary like we do,” Singleton said. “It gives us probably half a second more to get to the quarterback.”
That split second can contain the play of the game, or at least a spark that helps determine the outcome. Heacock combines “affect” and “effect” to flummox opposing quarterbacks and set the stage for takeaways and/or sacks.
“I just think there (are) two different concepts there,” the veteran coach said. “You’re trying to physically disrupt him, get him off his spot, sack him, pressure him, and then mentally, you’ve got to be able to affect him and get into what is the coverage when the ball’s snapped? What are they playing? What are they gonna play? You’re trying to just get to him mentally and physically. That’s who you’re competing against. When you coach defense, you’re always competing against the quarterback.”
Enter Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson, who’s made three straight starts after dynamic Toledo transfer Dequan Finn sustained a shoulder injury. Finn remains out this week, but Robertson is similarly skilled as both a thrower and a rusher. The 6-4, 220-pound junior from Lubbock compiled a career-high 324 passing yards and four total touchdowns in last week’s 34-28 loss to No. 17 BYU, but he also threw two interceptions while absorbing three sacks.
“Everybody knows, (who) watches film on them, that they’re a really good team,” said ISU safety Jeremiah Cooper, who snared his seventh career interception in last week’s 20-0 win at Houston. “They come out and they play really hard. They’ve got great skill positions, a great quarterback, so it’s gonna be a great test for us.”
So far, the Cyclones have furnished all the right answers en route to their first 4-0 start since 2000. Especially on defense, where that blend of press coverage and amped-up pressure despite deploying a three-man front has placed ISU among the top five teams in FBS in points allowed per game (fourth, 7.3) and average passing yards yielded (second, 102.5).
“They’re going to make it so you have to have the discipline to put a 10-play drive together, where you’re not forcing a ball, or you’re not putting the ball at risk trying to get it forward, or you’re not having a holding call, or a false start,” Bears head coach Dave Aranda said in his weekly news conference. “I think that philosophy has treated them well, so they kind of choke you out slowly.”
Enter Singleton and his fellow pass rushers, who are more than happy to apply those constrictive maneuvers when the chance arises.
“Yeah,” Singleton said with a grin. “I think we can be pretty dynamic.”
