IMO our roster is fine from a talent & experience perspective. There are a couple key position groups where guys need to emerge:
- QB. Dekkers appears to be the guy, but who knows. I do think we will see a different type of QB with more deep completions and Dekkers in the run game.
- WR. This might be the position group that has the most room to grow. It is hard to judge the young talent because we played so much 2 TE plus FB formations the last 3 years. We need some game breakers from the WR group.
- DE. We need to find a stud pass rusher among the young guys. I like Blake Peterson's motor in the snaps he got.
- K/P. Going to be tough to replace Mevis. He was All Big12 this last season. Plus he was solid as a punter.
That said, the bigger issue for me this off-season is evaluation of approach:
- Our 3-3-5 has been very successful. Are opposing coaches are learning how to exploit it? In our 7 wins, the Cyclone defense gave up an average of 11.7 points. In our 5 losses, the defense gave up an average of 33 points. Why such a Jeckyl & Hyde defense? Opponent Speed or Strength, Opponent Offensive Philosophy? Home vs. Road?
I struggle with Heacock's tendency to only rush 3 guys. The best pass defense is a pass rush. Only bringing 3 pass rushers creates bigger windows for the QB to see downfield. With graduation of Rose, Hummel & Vance- does it make sense for ISU to move to a 4-2-5 defense? I believe Campbell ran a 4-2-5 at Toledo. If we stay with the 3-3-5 defense, I would love to see development of a 6'3"/240lb hybrid LB who is a stand-up DE and pass rusher on most pass plays. I love watching aggressive defenses like Okie State, Michigan and Wisconsin.
- On offense our o-line needs to gel in September. Not sure why UNI and Louisiana gave our offense so many issues the last 3 years. IMO ISU should be run all over the Panthers. There is something wrong with how our O-line is being developed in fall camp.
- On offense more big plays. With Purdy, Hall, Allen & Kolar it made sense to leverage our talent to be a ball control offense. With guys like Noel, Jackson, Porter, Sanders, Townsend, etc.- I am hopeful to see us stretch defenses vertically.