by Paul Clark
Junior tackle Jake Campos will be Iowa State’s lone returning starter on the offensive line in 2016.
And yes, even though he is not participating in full spring practice drills, Campos will be returning, said Cyclone head coach Matt Campbell.
“A lot of what we’re doing right now is precautionary,” Campbell explained. “When you have a young man like him that’s played so many reps, I don’t think it’s worth the risk of trying to get him back too fast. It’s not something any of us are worried about.”
Campbell said that Campos had off-season surgery to clean up minor damage in his hip. The ISU head coach said the minor surgery went well and now Campos is doing everything but working out at full speed with the rest of the team.
“He’s around all the time, I appreciate that about him,” said Campbell. “He and Coach Manning have developed a great relationship. I challenged him with this injury to get [his] upper body strength to where it needs to be for us to be capable and for [him] to be the best [he] can be.
“If you look at him, he’s a different guy than he was eight weeks ago,” Campbell added. “He looks the part and is getting bigger and stronger. You can only control what you can control, and he’s got to be able to do that right now and get really good mental reps. He’s played a lot of snaps, which is great for him, but now it’s a matter of the nuances it takes to be an elite offensive lineman. It’s great to see him out there working and grinding through it right now.”
Campos’ activity on Monday include spring across the Bergstrom Football Complex practice field sideline to sideline as well as standing with his arms extended and holding a sledgehammer in each hand.
The West Des Moines Valley product has 23 career starts under his belt over the past two seasons after moving onto a number one line at tackle as a redshirt freshman. The Cyclones only have one other career start (Nick Fett) among all the rest of their offensive linemen going into the 2016 season.
Junior tackle Jake Campos will be Iowa State’s lone returning starter on the offensive line in 2016.
And yes, even though he is not participating in full spring practice drills, Campos will be returning, said Cyclone head coach Matt Campbell.
“A lot of what we’re doing right now is precautionary,” Campbell explained. “When you have a young man like him that’s played so many reps, I don’t think it’s worth the risk of trying to get him back too fast. It’s not something any of us are worried about.”
Campbell said that Campos had off-season surgery to clean up minor damage in his hip. The ISU head coach said the minor surgery went well and now Campos is doing everything but working out at full speed with the rest of the team.
“He’s around all the time, I appreciate that about him,” said Campbell. “He and Coach Manning have developed a great relationship. I challenged him with this injury to get [his] upper body strength to where it needs to be for us to be capable and for [him] to be the best [he] can be.
“If you look at him, he’s a different guy than he was eight weeks ago,” Campbell added. “He looks the part and is getting bigger and stronger. You can only control what you can control, and he’s got to be able to do that right now and get really good mental reps. He’s played a lot of snaps, which is great for him, but now it’s a matter of the nuances it takes to be an elite offensive lineman. It’s great to see him out there working and grinding through it right now.”
Campos’ activity on Monday include spring across the Bergstrom Football Complex practice field sideline to sideline as well as standing with his arms extended and holding a sledgehammer in each hand.
The West Des Moines Valley product has 23 career starts under his belt over the past two seasons after moving onto a number one line at tackle as a redshirt freshman. The Cyclones only have one other career start (Nick Fett) among all the rest of their offensive linemen going into the 2016 season.