2025 Portal Activity

[cyfan92]

Is the plan for Dylan Barrett to slide back over to Center? Trevor Buhr playing LG?

If not, we really need a center and a LT in the portal as no one on the current roster has proven worthwhile at center, especially Bonifas who was pretty rough in 23..

 

[BigTurk]

Good god, how does a program recover from all that turnover each and every year?

 

[stewart092284]

Just hoping to see the 3-3-5 hit the portal soon.

Wanting for the primary reason for our success to leave is just weird.

 

[cyfan92]

I really want a couple transfer WR's.. But we have to be honest, if the coaching staff stubbornly keeps running 12 personal when Kohlar and Chase Allan are no longer on the roster.. The offense is going to have a restrictor plate on it.

I hope the staff looks REALLY hard at the 3-3-5 this offseason and considers some major tweaks.. We have had virtally no pass rush since McDonald IV went to the NFL and there are no players on the roster with 1/2 that level of talent.. Playing a 4-2-5 with one of the DE's being a hybrid stand-up LB/RE is what most NFL teams have turned to, allowing them to either drop in coverage or rush wide on the QB and set the edge. We don't seem to have a problem at DT, it's the lack of athleticism on the edge holding us back. If we can get a pass rush with 5 DB's on the field, we will return to the 2019-2020 level of defense

 

[Cyburbbalz]

is Verdon back next year?

I know, I can look at the roster but I wasn’t sure about COVID years.

No he walked on senior night

 

[FinalFourCy]

I still can’t believe they’re keeping Sam Pittman. That makes zero sense to me.

In the NIL era it makes sense. That buyout money ($20 million) could build an elite roster

And if he wastes that talent, and falls below 0.500 winning percentage since start of 2021, Arkansas saves a lot of money

“The Razorbacks head coach signed a contract extension in 2022 following a 9-4 record in 2021 that included a victory in the Outback Bowl. In that extension, Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek inserted a clause that reduces Pittman's buyout to 50% of the money owed if he is fired without cause and his overall record — beginning with the start of the 2021 season — is below .500 as the time of his firing. As long as the record stays at .500 or better, Pittman's buyout will be 75% of his remaining base salary and supplemental compensation, which currently totals $5.25 million annually.”

 

[isucy86]

Coach Rasheed is our D line coach, I’m saying I trust him to coach up a pass rusher to get at other team’s QBs.

As far as Rocco goes, I think he should be the default choice but if Moberly has a great spring and fall camp I don’t think we should just assume it’s Rocco’s job.

Sure Moberly might improve significantly over the next 8 months, but I still don't see him being 75% of Rocco today. And gotta believe Rocco will improve in the finer details over the next 8 months based on who his dad is. Rocco will get all the help he needs to be an NFL ready QB.

And come 2026 hopefully it's a great battle between Moberly and Manske to be the next great ISU QB.

 

[isucy86]

No he walked on senior night

Is there a list anywhere of all the guys who walked on senior night. I have tried to find one and can only find a promo video on Cyclones.com.

 

[isucy86]

I still can’t believe they’re keeping Sam Pittman. That makes zero sense to me.

Didn't they turn over some assistance coaches.

My guess is they figured Sam could get paid to just do interviews and stay out of his assistants way. That's a bit of hyperbole, but maybe they figure top talent is more important than a top coach. At least the next guy might have some talent to build from.

 

[isucy86]

Will be curious how many of Broncos players follow him from NM to USU.

 

[Die4Cy]

Wanting for the primary reason for our success to leave is just weird.

ISU's defense finished the season ranked 101 out of 133 teams against the rush. Teams have adapted and understand where it's vulnerable and ISU didn't counter well.

 

[cycloneman003]

ISU's defense finished the season ranked 101 out of 133 teams against the rush. Teams have adapted and understand where it's vulnerable and ISU didn't counter well.

That’s just not true. Lots of teams use the system and do so effectively. It really is as simple as not having the personnel in the linebacker group to be successful.

 

[SolterraCyclone]

ISU's defense finished the season ranked 101 out of 133 teams against the rush. Teams have adapted and understand where it's vulnerable and ISU didn't counter well.

That’s because we were playing 3rd string, freshmen, walk-ins at LB most of the year. With good LBs, the defense is fine against the run.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

ISU's defense finished the season ranked 101 out of 133 teams against the rush. Teams have adapted and understand where it's vulnerable and ISU didn't counter well.

But, in the end, 10 teams didn't figure it out well enough to beat us. We're not built to be a team that will blow others out unless we have a significant talent advantage. Our offensive and defensive schemes complement the other and are geared to balance out some of our deficiencies.

The talking heads loved hammering our defensive rushing numbers, but our system is really designed to contain the big plays at the expense of total yards. ASU was a bad matchup against us and that game is gonna linger based on the importance and recency, but had we not had those brutal turnovers, the game would have played out close to how I imagined it would.

 

[isucy86]

I really want a couple transfer WR's.. But we have to be honest, if the coaching staff stubbornly keeps running 12 personal when Kohlar and Chase Allan are no longer on the roster.. The offense is going to have a restrictor plate on it.

I hope the staff looks REALLY hard at the 3-3-5 this offseason and considers some major tweaks.. We have had virtally no pass rush since McDonald IV went to the NFL and there are no players on the roster with 1/2 that level of talent.. Playing a 4-2-5 with one of the DE's being a hybrid stand-up LB/RE is what most NFL teams have turned to, allowing them to either drop in coverage or rush wide on the QB and set the edge. We don't seem to have a problem at DT, it's the lack of athleticism on the edge holding us back. If we can get a pass rush with 5 DB's on the field, we will return to the 2019-2020 level of defense

Feel like addressing the 3-3-5 defense is the biggest X's & O's challenge for Campbell and the defensive coaching staff this offseason. It's a defense that has been a cornerstone of ISU's success as a team during Campbell's time at ISU. Prolonged success that ISU hasn't enjoyed since the Bruce/Majors era. One doesn't have to look further than Campbell's conference win %.

But the question they need to address:

1. Have opposing OC's found weaknesses in the 3-3-5? It can't be sugarcoated, the Cyclone defense was atrocious against the run in 2024. We had RB's and QB's consistently gain big yards getting outside the tackles. Not being able to stop the run is typically a charateristic of a 4 win team, not a 10 win team.
2. With realignment and 8 new teams, are Big 12 offenses different in their approach? I feel the days of the Mike Leach/Lincoln Riley pass happy offenses are a thing of the past. Most Big12 teams take a balanced approach. If anything there is a lean toward the run game, with a bigger emphasis on QB runs.
3. How does ISU get pressure on opposing QBs. Average QB's make mistakes, but give solid QB's time and they won't make mistakes. Plus if they have time, they have time to make big plays.

I doubt ISU moves on from a 3-3-5. If there was a year to do it, it was this past season with players like Singleton, Orange, Hawk, Onyedim, Petersen and Snyder. Maybe there's 8-10 talented young D-lineman our roster, but I doubt it.

But could Heacock morph the 3-3-5 to be more stout against wide runs and get QB pressure?

 

[MeowingCows]

That’s just not true. Lots of teams use the system and do so effectively. It really is as simple as not having the personnel in the linebacker group to be successful.

DL group too. Gotta be able to get pressure and penetrate the OL to help the LBs fill behind. Both groups need improvement to get back to where we were.

 

[isufbcurt]

Feel like addressing the 3-3-5 defense is the biggest X's & O's challenge for Campbell and the defensive coaching staff this offseason. It's a defense that has been a cornerstone of ISU's success as a team during Campbell's time at ISU. Prolonged success that ISU hasn't enjoyed since the Bruce/Majors era. One doesn't have to look further than Campbell's conference win %.

But the question they need to address:

1. Have opposing OC's found weaknesses in the 3-3-5? It can't be sugarcoated, the Cyclone defense was atrocious against the run in 2024. We had RB's and QB's consistently gain big yards getting outside the tackles. Not being able to stop the run is typically a charateristic of a 4 win team, not a 10 win team.
2. With realignment and 8 new teams, are Big 12 offenses different in their approach? I feel the days of the Mike Leach/Lincoln Riley pass happy offenses are a thing of the past. Most Big12 teams take a balanced approach. If anything there is a lean toward the run game, with a bigger emphasis on QB runs.
3. How does ISU get pressure on opposing QBs. Average QB's make mistakes, but give solid QB's time and they won't make mistakes. Plus if they have time, they have time to make big plays.

I doubt ISU moves on from a 3-3-5. If there was a year to do it, it was this past season with players like Singleton, Orange, Hawk, Onyedim, Petersen and Snyder. Maybe there's 8-10 talented young D-lineman our roster, but I doubt it.

But could Heacock morph the 3-3-5 to be more stout against wide runs and get QB pressure?

10 of the 13 opposing coaches haven’t figured it out

 

[stewart092284]

ISU's defense finished the season ranked 101 out of 133 teams against the rush. Teams have adapted and understand where it's vulnerable and ISU didn't counter well.

That's kind of incredible. Have teams figured something out? Maybe. Sure. Its possible, they have good coaches and are paid so its entirely a possibility.

However, IDK if they magically would have figured it out all of a sudden.

Or is to more likely, these 3 things all happened and managed to contribute


1) Our defensive line, got dinged up and also lacked a consistent ability to create negative plays coupled with
2) Our lack of depth at LB lead to bad run fits off and on throughout the season
3) And our safeties best at aiding the run, one was playing with one arm essentially and the other literally broke his hand.

Now, I have some concerns about our current LB's when it comes to playing in space and defending the stretch. And our DL does need to get both better pash rush and also TFL's.


But to go from a regularly top half and even top 10/20 rush defense to 101st all in one season, I'll credit that more to those 3 things than after 8 years of film teams finally figuring it out.

 

[stewart092284]

DL group too. Gotta be able to get pressure and penetrate the OL to help the LBs fill behind. Both groups need improvement to get back to where we were.

Both groups need to improve, yes.

But penetrating the OL on run downs is not really the job of most defensive linemen in a 3 man front. Your job is eat up blockers, and keep the line backers clean. Its their job to fit in.

So while we need more activity from the DL, in general, I'd grade the DL especially the Peterson - Orange - JR - group and add TO in there - as over a B- to a B on the season. Most big runs, even Saturday, weren't happening because they got blown up or out of gaps.

Where we need to get better at, and its the hardest thing to do in a 3-3-5 - is shed blocks a little quicker. But that is mostly considered icing on the cake in the 3-3-5. That's why Enyi/Jaquan and Big Citrus when he's right, all special. Cause they have that twitch where they can go from being engaged, to disengaging really fast. That's what makes a good DL and man, those dudes are rare and hard to find, especially at non elite level schools.

Its a hard job to take on a double team or fill the C or B gap, but guys if they have the frame and spend the time in the gym / weight room, etc, can be coached and taught how to do it. But that rapid quick twitch to go from

"oh, I'm blocked" to "see you sucker!" in about one second ... those dudes are worth every damn penny they are paid at every level. Cause when the OL is literally allowed to hold you like a grandma hugging a 5 year old - that's a skill that's hard to teach.


Coach Rasheed or any DL can teach the bob swat, push-pull, hand replacement - it don't matter if you don't have that twitch. And those dudes that do? That's the real reason the SEC has dominated the sport. Cause they, for the last 10-15 years, have had the monoply on those guys, for the most part

 

[SolterraCyclone]

Both groups need to improve, yes.

But penetrating the OL on run downs is not really the job of most defensive linemen in a 3 man front. Your job is eat up blockers, and keep the line backers clean. Its their job to fit in.

So while we need more activity from the DL, in general, I'd grade the DL especially the Peterson - Orange - JR - group and add TO in there - as over a B- to a B on the season. Most big runs, even Saturday, weren't happening because they got blown up or out of gaps.

Where we need to get better at, and its the hardest thing to do in a 3-3-5 - is shed blocks a little quicker. But that is mostly considered icing on the cake in the 3-3-5. That's why Enyi/Jaquan and Big Citrus when he's right, all special. Cause they have that twitch where they can go from being engaged, to disengaging really fast. That's what makes a good DL and man, those dudes are rare and hard to find, especially at non elite level schools.

Its a hard job to take on a double team or fill the C or B gap, but guys if they have the frame and spend the time in the gym / weight room, etc, can be coached and taught how to do it. But that rapid quick twitch to go from

"oh, I'm blocked" to "see you sucker!" in about one second ... those dudes are worth every damn penny they are paid at every level. Cause when the OL is literally allowed to hold you like a grandma hugging a 5 year old - that's a skill that's hard to teach.


Coach Rasheed or any DL can teach the bob swat, push-pull, hand replacement - it don't matter if you don't have that twitch. And those dudes that do? That's the real reason the SEC has dominated the sport. Cause they, for the last 10-15 years, have had the monoply on those guys, for the most part

Great points. In addition to the LBs, we also didn’t have an edge who could pressure the QB. You’re right, Orange and Singleton shouldn’t be the ones counted on to pressure the QB. That edge who can get to the QB is a huge help with the 3-3-5.