Spring showcases are always difficult to get a read on. Some people take way too much away from the showcase and some people take nothing at all. When the offense scores a touchdown is it because “This is the year,” or because the defense is Swiss cheese?
What can be seen is the culture of the team and the early shaping of position battles.
An early combination that is worth noting is quarterback Jaylen Raynor and returning receiver Dominic Overby.
Overby will be tasked with some heavy lifting in the receiver room, and any sparks he can show with Raynor are a wonderful sight. The six-foot-five receiver had 87 yards and two touchdowns in his freshman season, but had a few big chances where he created enough space but just could not bring in the difficult contested catches. If he can take a couple steps forward into a certified, reliable top-two receiver this year, it would be a massive weight off of Raynor’s shoulders.
The talk of the town was the “Midnight Alley” drill. Iowa State certainly did not invent the drill, but the excitement stems because the previous staff treated open practices much differently.
In the words of defensive lineman Zaimir Hawk, “Midnight Alley is who’s got the biggest nuts.” The drill is a three-on-three battle with a lineman, a lead blocker and a ball-carrier against three tacklers on a thin runway.
I’ll leave the player and coach discussions of the drill to the unmatched Rob Gray’s article. The question is why has a simple drill become the unanimous takeaway from the showcase?
I think that boils down to the drastically different culture from this roster and staff and the previous. Two things about Matt Campbell’s teams were they did not say too much in the press conferences and they did not do many fun drills when the fans and press were there. I think, between Midnight Alley and Hawk saying nuts, it’s safe to say this team has a different feel. Winning seasons are winning seasons, but if fans had a choice between 10 wins and a fun feel or 10 wins and strictly business, I think I know who would win.
Big 12 Champs
Iowa State women’s golf won its first conference title in school history over the weekend. The Cyclones beat Houston by six strokes to get the win.
Nichakorn Pinprayoon also became the school’s fifth individual champion, scoring a 71-71-67 to tie for the win.
NCAA Regionals are May 11-13, where Iowa State will look to continue the historic season. Placements are announced Wednesday.
Big Citrus highlights NFL Draft
Domonique Orange was picked in the third round by the Minnesota Vikings. The addition of Orange was an interesting one, as Minnesota also selected interior defensive lineman Caleb Banks out of Florida with the 18th pick.
The two could turn out to be an unstoppable force inside, as the two are a couple of big fellas with freakish talent.
Five Cyclones signed with teams after going undrafted. Offensive linemen Dylan Barrett (Green Bay), Jim Bonifas (Miami), Tyler Miller (Denver) and James Neal (Houston) joined tight end Tyler Moore (Carolina) in singing deals directly after the weekend draft.
