Embarrassment of riches?

[AlanAldaClone]

Anyone ever remember a time when we had so many quality players at so many different positions?

Granted, a lot of the quality is still on paper, or untested, but judging from the other teams who wanted these guys, there's reason to be optimistic. There are numbers all over the place, but particularly in the skill positions:

QB- We got a 6th year starter who led us to two historic wins and an 8-5 season last year, a talented soph who showed his arm strength and ability in two games last year, a speedy true freshman who was highly regarded, a redshirt freshman, who has a big arm and an incoming freshman who Alabama and A&M wanted, plus one commit for 2019 and one for 2020.

RB- The best RB in college coming is back for his junior year, one of the fastest backs we've ever had coming off an injury year, a redshirt freshman who turned heads in practice, a junior who started to find his stride last year, an another senior who only rushed for 1,300 yards as a freshman and 2 freshmen for 2019 who might be as good as we've ever had.

WR- We have 12 scholarship WRs on the roster, only two of whom are seniors, and four more ready to sign in November. Collectively, all 16 of those receivers may be the best WR group we've ever seen at Iowa State. If they aren't the best, they certainly seem to have that potential and they are certainly the tallest. Several of them might even be NFL prospects.

TE- Three TEs (4 if you count Seonbuchner), anyone of whom we'd have been delighted to call the starter in years past, including one who's an all-Big 12 type.

There are so many bodies on the team it makes previous coaching staffs look like they played with 50 scholarship players by comparison and all of a sudden we have the full 85. There's even lots of depth on defense.

 

[Oleclonely]

Yep - things are looking good on paper. Can not wait to see additional progress this fall on the field too.

 

[FredGarvin]

Spot on AAC. It's stunning how quick Campbell and his coaches upgraded the talent.

 

[Cylent]

Yeah.
When Earle Bruce left town.

 

[rbcy]

Quality depth does wonders for a P5 football program. If some of these young kids pan out like they should, we will have some quality depth, something of a rarity with ISU football for most of the 80's, 90's and 2000's.

 

[FormerlyCyberCy]

Yeah.
When Earle Bruce left town.

Duncan was left with a stocked war chest he didn’t know what to do with or how to develop.

Earle, however, rarely had this kind of depth until the very end. The 1976 team was loaded on offense and the 1977 team was a defensive juggernaut. I remember comments (by Pete IIRC) about our first string being neck and neck with NU and OU, but we didn’t have their depth.

In 1976, our season was dashed when Stanley went down against NU. Last year we won with our third string QB. That’s depth and some damn good coaching.

 

[Cylent]

Duncan was left with a stocked war chest he didn’t know what to do with or how to develop.

Earle, however, rarely had this kind of depth until the very end. The 1976 team was loaded on offense and the 1977 team was a defensive juggernaut. I remember comments about or first string being neck and neck with NU and OU, but we didn’t have their depth.

In 1976, our season was dashed when Stanley went down against NU. Last year we won with our third string QB. That’s depth and some damn good coaching.

Bruce' most talented roster was the one he never coached,
His best class were redshirted his last year here.
Plus the guys never signed once he moved on.

 

[Herdcyclones]

I had this offered to me last night by a well placed person at ISU, Of the 100 highest rated recruits in the history of ISU football, 50 of them will be on the team in the fall of 2019.

 

[IowaCityCy]

Bruce' most talented roster was the one he never coached,
His best class were redshirted his last year here.
Plus the guys never signed once he moved on.

Well, I was under the impression that Earle walked away from the 2nd best recruiting class in the country when he left for tOSU. Maybe true maybe not... I think Campbell is building something just as strong. It is so fun beating the big boys for these highly touted kids. It is so fun watching this highly skilled coaching staff take these kids to higher levels of accomplishment than we have ever seen at ISU.... I am having fun. Goooo Coach Matty gooo.. Love this.

 

[NashvilleCy]

You know its going Great when you have to look up this year's incoming class to remember who they are. Normally wed just now be filling up the 2018 class.

This staff is Relentless at recruiting! We must keep them in Ames!

 

[FormerlyCyberCy]

I had this offered to me last night by a well placed person at ISU, Of the 100 highest rated recruits in the history of ISU football, 50 of them will be on the team in the fall of 2019.

Wow! That’s a great stat right there, Herd!

How far back do the current ratings go?

 

[Kclone]

Extremely exciting times for sure. When I think back to last year and the fact that even though we lacked depth, we were in every single game until the end. Has that even ever happened with our program? Our 2000 team was blown out 3 times. The late 70s teams had easier schedules and they still lost to good teams by a good margin. The 1976 team lost 3 games by more than 2 touchdowns, the 77' team was only blown out only once, but lost to a very bad Iowa team, and the 78' team lost 3 regular season games by 3 touchdowns or more too. McCarney's 2005 team was very competitive, all of the losses were close, that team should have probably won 10 of their 11 games. But that schedule was easier than last years and they were upset by a terrible Baylor team. So again, this coaching staff has us positioned well and I think the main reason we lost 5 games last year was depth. Our back ups at key positions just were not nearly as good or had enough experience as the starters. For example, if Montgomery doesn't go down early against KSU, that game is a win, clear and simple. This staff has built the right culture, schemes, player development, etc..recruiting talented depth is the hardest part, and they are accomplishing it as the final piece.

 

[Cylent]

Extremely exciting times for sure. When I think back to last year and the fact that even though we lacked depth, we were in every single game until the end. Has that even ever happened with our program? Our 2000 team was blown out 3 times. The late 70s teams had easier schedules and they still lost to good teams by a good margin. The 1976 team lost 3 games by more than 2 touchdowns, the 77' team was only blown out only once, but lost to a very bad Iowa team, and the 78' team lost 3 regular season games by 3 touchdowns or more too. McCarney's 2005 team was very competitive, all of the losses were close, that team should have probably won 10 of their 11 games. But that schedule was easier than last years and they were upset by a terrible Baylor team. So again, this coaching staff has us positioned well and I think the main reason we lost 5 games last year was depth. Our back ups at key positions just were not nearly as good or had enough experience as the starters. For example, if Montgomery doesn't go down early against KSU, that game is a win, clear and simple. This staff has built the right culture, schemes, player development, etc..recruiting talented depth is the hardest part, and they are accomplishing it as the final piece.

Belief is a big part.
Our guys take the field believing they will win no matter who is on the other sideline.

Certainly not true before them.

 

[fairviewfarmer]

Bruce' most talented roster was the one he never coached,
His best class were redshirted his last year here.
Plus the guys never signed once he moved on.

A friend of mine was in that last recruiting class (signed Feb of 79) of Earle's. Duncan largely ignored them after they signed. Duncan should have never been hired. End of story.

 

[fairviewfarmer]

Well, I was under the impression that Earle walked away from the 2nd best recruiting class in the country when he left for tOSU. Maybe true maybe not... I think Campbell is building something just as strong. It is so fun beating the big boys for these highly touted kids. It is so fun watching this highly skilled coaching staff take these kids to higher levels of accomplishment than we have ever seen at ISU.... I am having fun. Goooo Coach Matty gooo.. Love this.

I remember it that way too.....and like I posted a moment ago, Duncan signed them ..... and forgot about them.....

 

[Cylent]

I remember it that way too.....and like I posted a moment ago, Duncan signed them ..... and forgot about them.....

My understanding was Duncan didn't get signed a couple of guys that became AAs elsewhere that Earle had coming. Or at least thought he did..

But no way we can ever know for sure.

 

[SPECTRE]

Spot on AAC. It's stunning how quick Campbell and his coaches upgraded the talent.

I agree. Look at the roster the last year under CPR compared to now:

QB: Richardson, Rohach, Lanning. Three decent QBs. Definitely a more experienced room than we have now, but not a better one.

RB: They had Mike Warren and then a young Croney, Joshua Thomas as a big back and then Harger. We are light years ahead of that now.

WR: This is a spot where it is at least comparable. Lazard, Bundrage, Montgomery, Wesley, Daley, Epps, Medders. That wasn't a bad group, but they didn't live up to expectations like they did last year.

TE: They were nonexistent. Although, our current group needs to prove that they exist in the passing game.

OL: They had good group at the top with Dagel, Burton, Campos, Omoile, Lalk, Taiese, but a lot of those guys were hurt and there was zero depth behind them or young promising players coming up outside of Meeker and JGJ. Our current OL has a chance to be as good and the future looks WAY brighter now.

DL: I mean, they did have Demond Tucker, Dale Pierson and Jaustin Thomas, but they were depending on guys to play major snaps that would be backups at ISU now if that. Aka, Cousins, Mitchell Meyers, a young JD Waggoner. Most were undersized.

LB: Jordan Harris, Kane Seeley, Levi Peters, Brian Mills. No playmakers. Undersized guys and/or too slow.

DB: They did have KCM, Peavy and Tribune, but there was no solid depth and pretty much no competition for spots.

This staff has upped the depth and competition level at pretty much every position. It shouldn't be a surprise that they're starting to fare better late in games and later in the season when injuries pile up.

 

[ISUChip]

Duncan claimed that the previous staff left him a list of 9 top in-state prospects, and he got 7 of them. The other two were Reggie Roby and Roger Craig. For out-of-state guys, there was another Hickman Hills (KCMO) recruit that picked USC late over ISU.

1979 Signees - In State
John Arnaud (DB), Sioux City North
Marc Carlson (LB), Lytton
Jim Knuth (WR), West Marshall
Jerry Lorenzen (TB/DB), Reinbeck
Mark Nanke (FB/DE), Waterloo West
Bruce Reimers (DE), Humboldt
Jay Nieman (LB), Avo-Ha

1979 Signees - Out of State
Richard Gray (RB), Dallas, Texas [Lake Highlands]
Victor Heidelberg (RB), Gainesville, Fla.
Daryl Hobson (WR), Kansas City, Mo. [Harmon]
Rodney Hutchins (RB/LB), Joliet, Ill.
Kenneth James (DB), Gainesville, Fla.
George Jesson (DE), New Richland, Minn.
Dwayne Johnson (RB/DB), Omaha, Neb. [Northwest]
Darren Longshore (DB), Massillon, Ohio
Clint Loy (DE/LB), Kansas City, Mo. [Hickman Hills]
Dan Martin (FB/DT), Williams Bay, Wis.
Chuck Meyer (C), Omaha, Neb. [Creighton Prep]
Chuck Miller (QB), Kansas City, Mo. [Truman]
Scott Nelson (DT), Almena, Wis.
Ronnie Osborne (QB), Pahokee, Fla.
James Ransom (LB/DE), Riviera Beach, Fla.
Donald Spears (OT), Montgomery, Ala.
Ernie Thomas (RB), Omaha, Neb. [Northwest]
Robin Tubbs (LB), Pawnee, Okla.

 

[ISUChip]

And, Bruce's 1978 class...

In State
Mark Butts (DT), Des Moines North
Ted Clapper (OL), Ankeny
Mike Gannon (OL), Iowa City Regina
Dave Jackson (QB), Maxwell
Joel Jenson (LB), Armstrong
Shamus McDonough (T), Corning
Steve Meinen (LB), Fairfield
Rich Miller (P), Urbandale
Tom Roach (HB), Central Lyon
Ron Wagner (OG), Mason City

Out of State
Chris Boskey (DT), Chicago, Ill.
Joe Brown (DB), Pahokee, Fla.
Dwayne Crutchfield (RB), Cincinnati, Ohio
Dan Goodwin (RB), Omaha, Neb. [Central]
James Key (MG), Washington, D.C.
Jim Meyer (C), Wichita, Kan.
Karl Nelson (OL), Dekalb, Ill.
Ned Rasmussen (DT), Park Ridge, Ill.
Jed Shea (DB), Evergreen Park, Ill.
Jeff Stallworth (DB), Omaha, Neb. [Northeast]
Lamar Summers (WR/DB), Chicago, Ill.
Kevin Washington (RB), Minneapolis, Minn.

Junior College
Walter Grant (QB), Houston, Texas/Ellsworth JC
Rocky Hugee (OL), Washington, D.C./Ellsworth JC
Greg Smith (WR), Houston, Texas/Ellsworth JC

 

[nyclonee]

Duncan claimed that the previous staff left him a list of 9 top in-state prospects, and he got 7 of them. The other two were Reggie Roby and Roger Craig. For out-of-state guys, there was another Hickman Hills (KCMO) recruit that picked USC late over ISU.

1979 Signees - In State
John Arnaud (DB), Sioux City North
Marc Carlson (LB), Lytton
Jim Knuth (WR), West Marshall
Jerry Lorenzen (TB/DB), Reinbeck
Mark Nanke (FB/DE), Waterloo West
Bruce Reimers (DE), Humboldt
Jay Nieman (LB), Avo-Ha

1979 Signees - Out of State
Richard Gray (RB), Dallas, Texas [Lake Highlands]
Victor Heidelberg (RB), Gainesville, Fla.
Daryl Hobson (WR), Kansas City, Mo. [Harmon]
Rodney Hutchins (RB/LB), Joliet, Ill.
Kenneth James (DB), Gainesville, Fla.
George Jesson (DE), New Richland, Minn.
Dwayne Johnson (RB/DB), Omaha, Neb. [Northwest]
Darren Longshore (DB), Massillon, Ohio
Clint Loy (DE/LB), Kansas City, Mo. [Hickman Hills]
Dan Martin (FB/DT), Williams Bay, Wis.
Chuck Meyer (C), Omaha, Neb. [Creighton Prep]
Chuck Miller (QB), Kansas City, Mo. [Truman]
Scott Nelson (DT), Almena, Wis.
Ronnie Osborne (QB), Pahokee, Fla.
James Ransom (LB/DE), Riviera Beach, Fla.
Donald Spears (OT), Montgomery, Ala.
Ernie Thomas (RB), Omaha, Neb. [Northwest]
Robin Tubbs (LB), Pawnee, Okla.

Did Alex Giffords, from Arizona, sign late, not sign at all, or something else?

He started at placekicker Fall 1979. I’m pretty sure he was a true freshman.

 

[ISUChip]

Did Alex Giffords, from Arizona, sign late, not sign at all, or something else?

He started at placekicker Fall 1979. I’m pretty sure he was a true freshman.

There was no mention of him in an Iowa newspaper until September, so he must have signed extremely late.

 

[AlanAldaClone]

Duncan claimed that the previous staff left him a list of 9 top in-state prospects, and he got 7 of them. The other two were Reggie Roby and Roger Craig. For out-of-state guys, there was another Hickman Hills (KCMO) recruit that picked USC late over ISU.

1979 Signees - In State
John Arnaud (DB), Sioux City North
Marc Carlson (LB), Lytton
Jim Knuth (WR), West Marshall
Jerry Lorenzen (TB/DB), Reinbeck
Mark Nanke (FB/DE), Waterloo West
Bruce Reimers (DE), Humboldt
Jay Nieman (LB), Avo-Ha

1979 Signees - Out of State
Richard Gray (RB), Dallas, Texas [Lake Highlands]
Victor Heidelberg (RB), Gainesville, Fla.
Daryl Hobson (WR), Kansas City, Mo. [Harmon]
Rodney Hutchins (RB/LB), Joliet, Ill.
Kenneth James (DB), Gainesville, Fla.
George Jesson (DE), New Richland, Minn.
Dwayne Johnson (RB/DB), Omaha, Neb. [Northwest]
Darren Longshore (DB), Massillon, Ohio
Clint Loy (DE/LB), Kansas City, Mo. [Hickman Hills]
Dan Martin (FB/DT), Williams Bay, Wis.
Chuck Meyer (C), Omaha, Neb. [Creighton Prep]
Chuck Miller (QB), Kansas City, Mo. [Truman]
Scott Nelson (DT), Almena, Wis.
Ronnie Osborne (QB), Pahokee, Fla.
James Ransom (LB/DE), Riviera Beach, Fla.
Donald Spears (OT), Montgomery, Ala.
Ernie Thomas (RB), Omaha, Neb. [Northwest]
Robin Tubbs (LB), Pawnee, Okla.

Boy does this list bring back some memories. I don't remember half of these guys and most of them never contributed, which was probably part of the problem. But the guy who sticks out to my memory is Clint Loy. I followed recruiting even back then, and I subscribed to Blue Chip Magazine, which back then was more like a small flier printed on newspaper stock about the size of a computer tablet. I was so excited when Loy signed because he was a big DE, 6-3, 230 (which was big for a DE back then) and ran a 10.7 100 yard dash in high school. Yes, that's yards. I thought he would be something to watch for the next 4-5 years, but it turned out he was pretty much a bust and never did a thing at ISU.

 

[MOClone]

I remember it that way too.....and like I posted a moment ago, Duncan signed them ..... and forgot about them.....

I remember a guy named George Turner that just gushed over the hiring of Donnie Duncan. I am not sure how George was connected to ISU... maybe just a radio personality. At the time I was really impressed because I figured that anyone that worked for Barry Switzer at OU (Duncan was DC) had to be good. I guess the reality was that OU had a juggernaut that simply reloaded coaches along with players. Duncan was nothing special.

 

[IwasIlliniCy]

Anyone ever remember a time when we had so many quality players at so many different positions?

Granted, a lot of the quality is still on paper, or untested, but judging from the other teams who wanted these guys, there's reason to be optimistic. There are numbers all over the place, but particularly in the skill positions:

QB- We got a 6th year starter who led us to two historic wins and an 8-5 season last year, a talented soph who showed his arm strength and ability in two games last year, a speedy true freshman who was highly regarded, a redshirt freshman, who has a big arm and an incoming freshman who Alabama and A&M wanted, plus one commit for 2019 and one for 2020.

RB- The best RB in college coming is back for his junior year, one of the fastest backs we've ever had coming off an injury year, a redshirt freshman who turned heads in practice, a junior who started to find his stride last year, an another senior who only rushed for 1,300 yards as a freshman and 2 freshmen for 2019 who might be as good as we've ever had.

WR- We have 12 scholarship WRs on the roster, only two of whom are seniors, and four more ready to sign in November. Collectively, all 16 of those receivers may be the best WR group we've ever seen at Iowa State. If they aren't the best, they certainly seem to have that potential and they are certainly the tallest. Several of them might even be NFL prospects.

TE- Three TEs (4 if you count Seonbuchner), anyone of whom we'd have been delighted to call the starter in years past, including one who's an all-Big 12 type.

There are so many bodies on the team it makes previous coaching staffs look like they played with 50 scholarship players by comparison and all of a sudden we have the full 85. There's even lots of depth on defense.

My first thought was that embarrassment of riches would be a relative term, of course. Relative to our history we have more talent than maybe ever. Relative to where we want to be or to the upper echelon of programs there is still plenty of room for growth.

Then I realized that you only mentioned the offensive skill players. Our D-line this year could be the best ever, LB is strong, young and deeper than before, and we have two probable draft picks at corner. IF the safeties are above average and the O-line blossoms, this could be very special season.


Trust the process.

 

[nyclonee]

There was no mention of him in an Iowa newspaper until September, so he must have signed extremely late.

Thanks. Alex kicked a 58-yard field goal as a freshman, I think, which I believe was (and maybe still is) the school record.

Do you know, ISUChip?

Alex is a good guy. His younger sister Gabrielle is the Congresswoman who was tragically shot. I think his father was a very successful businessman in Tucson, but maybe did business in both countries.

Here is a bit more about Alex from an ISU link:

. . . I was told a wonderful story recently by former ISU sports information director Kirk Hendrix on Alex Giffords, ISU’s all-conference kicker from 1979-82. Giffords was one of ISU’s first international student-athletes, growing up in Mexico before moving to Tucson, Ariz., for his senior season in high school.

A first-team all-Big Eight kicker in 1980, Giffords was also one of ISU’s first soccer-style kickers. When his career was over, a Cyclone fan asked Giffords if he could help coach his son’s football team.

Giffords simply replied, “I don’t know anything about football. I just kick football.”

Kickers being kickers.

https://cyclonesidebar.wordpress.com/2014/10/21/kickin-it-isu-style/

 

[ISUChip]

There have been three 58-yarders:
Giffords at Oklahoma, 1979
Ty Stewart vs Oklahoma State, 1993
Stewart at Missouri, 1993

 

[Cylent]

I remember a guy named George Turner that just gushed over the hiring of Donnie Duncan. I am not sure how George was connected to ISU... maybe just a radio personality. At the time I was really impressed because I figured that anyone that worked for Barry Switzer at OU (Duncan was DC) had to be good. I guess the reality was that OU had a juggernaut that simply reloaded coaches along with players. Duncan was nothing special.

Duncan could sell snake oil.
Just sucked as a head football coach.

He obviously hired assistants that went on to good to great things in the business.

There never was and never will be a correlation between what works in Norman and what works here.

 

[SaltLakeClone]

Thanks. Alex kicked a 58-yard field goal as a freshman, I think, which I believe was (and maybe still is) the school record.

Do you know, ISUChip?

Alex is a good guy. His younger sister Gabrielle is the Congresswoman who was tragically shot. I think his father was a very successful businessman in Tucson, but maybe did business in both countries.

Here is a bit more about Alex from an ISU link:


https://cyclonesidebar.wordpress.com/2014/10/21/kickin-it-isu-style/

I met Alex a few days after the Oklahoma game, where he missed 4 field goals and left us with a tie, at Granddaddy's. He was one of the nicest people you could meet. I believe he was good friends with Ron Gallimore.

 

[SaltLakeClone]

Duncan could sell snake oil.
Just sucked as a head football coach.

He obviously hired assistants that went on to good to great things in the business.

There never was and never will be a correlation between what works in Norman and what works here.

I used to go to the Memorial Union every Monday to listen to Donnie speak regarding the previous game. He would answer questions and advised his plan of attack for the next week. He came out and said, the week of the Oklahoma game, during his first season, that ISU didn't have the DL to complete with the elite DL of the Big 8 or Iowa for that matter! He said he was coaching the defense to bend and not break. As the son of a college defensive lineman, and my high school football coach, this never sat well with me. He had an easy demeanor and was likeable but had very little confidence in our team IMO. I was friends with many of the players on Donnie's teams. I'm not sure I ever heard anything good said about him as a football coach.

 

[Cylent]

He had absolutely zero confidence in his backups.

His offense had twenty some formations. Only ran two plays from any of them.
A six year old could figure it out.

I went to those Union things some.
Eventually he sent assistants.
He could talk a good game.
Couldn't back any of it up.

He had some DL.
His teams continually got worse as he ran out of Bruce guys.
Had enough guys to win.

 

[CloneForever]

I love what is being built. But it is only starting. There are still 4 Big 12 ahead of us. And we are likely closer to done than many. Just need to keep on taking steps. A break through season would help. But I do love the momentum.

 

[nyclonee]

I met Alex a few days after the Oklahoma game, where he missed 4 field goals and left us with a tie, at Granddaddy's. He was one of the nicest people you could meet. I believe he was good friends with Ron Gallimore.

I knew Alex, and I knew Ron Galimore, the world-class gymnast. I didn’t know they knew each other.

I don’t recall where I first met Ron, but it might have been Towers, where I lived and knew many of the players listed — as friends, classmates, friends of friends, acquaintances and such. None super close, but, for many, more than just recognition and knowing that they were on the football team.

My roommate and I used to play Alex and his roommate, Jim Knuth, in foosball.

Like Alex, Knuth started as a true freshman at split end. His last name was pronounced ka-nuth — and for completeness, Giffords was gEE-fords, in Alex’s thick accent . I also knew Jerry Lorenzen, perhaps better than everyone else listed, a classmate of mine, who I think also started some as a true freshman at tight end.

Alex and Jim were good at foosball. We played on a brown top, which is more conducive to ball control and probably more consistent with Alex’s soccer background, than a green top — like they had at That Place. A green top is faster and favored a quicker response (though more sloppiness maybe also). Knuth was tall, and usually played goalie, and (like my teammate) could whack it in from the back if the opportunity presented itself. Alex and I usually played in the middle. I certainly wasn’t the best, but kind of came into my own. I had quick hands and played a smothering defense, which often kept the ball in our favor with my front men.

There, my go to shot was to move and pass it laterally to myself — which would open up either a direct shot to the goal, or instead a shot more at an angle across the field to the other side of the goal. At varying speeds. Or, alternatively, with Knuth looking for a pass (and/or an angle shot) I wouldn’t pass. And instead slide it just slightly and hit it directly into the goal (rather than at an angle), also at varying speeds — sometimes moving it so slightly, and so direct — fast or slow, it seemed a little ridiculous.

That’s my story anyway.

Foosball is fun and kind of a confidence game, sometimes with a lot of banter back and forth. But with Alex and Jim, we mostly just focused on what we were doing. It was a good release from everything else.

I agree that Alex was one of the nicest people you could meet. Just being himself he was also kind of a personality. The article I linked finished “Kickers being kickers” but it could just as easily finished “Alex being Alex.” He was true to himself, well-liked and popular to everyone that knew him.

PS: I remember the ladies in the Towers commons area lobbying to have the stadium named after Jack Trice (who I would otherwise then have known nothing about).

I agree that Duncan wasn’t a great coach. In many ways ISU football was at an all-time high in Fall 1979 — as in attendance and the enthusiasm carried over from the Earle Bruce years. If I recall correctly, the 1979 team started something like 6-0 and finished more like 6-5.

Cheers to Coach Campbell and everyone else involved with Cyclone football.

 

[AlanAldaClone]

I knew Alex, and I knew Ron Galimore, the world-class gymnast. I didn’t know they knew each other.

I don’t recall where I first met Ron, but it might have been Towers, where I lived and knew many of the players listed — as friends, classmates, friends of friends, acquaintances and such. None super close, but, for many, more than just recognition and knowing that they were on the football team.

My roommate and I used to play Alex and his roommate, Jim Knuth, in foosball.

Like Alex, Knuth started as a true freshman at split end. His last name was pronounced ka-nuth — and for completeness, Giffords was gEE-fords, in Alex’s thick accent . I also knew Jerry Lorenzen, a classmate of mine, who I think also started some at tight end as a true freshman.

Alex and Jim were good at foosball. We played on a brown top, which is more conducive to ball control and probably more consistent with Alex’s soccer background, than a green top — like they had at That Place. A green top is faster and favored a quicker response (though more sloppiness maybe also). Knuth was tall, and usually played goalie, and (like my teammate) could whack it in from the back if the opportunity presented itself. Alex and I usually played in the middle. I certainly wasn’t the best, but kind of came into my own. I had quick hands and played a smothering defense, which often kept the ball in our favor with my front men.

There, my go to shot was to move and pass it laterally to myself — which would open up either a direct shot to the goal, or instead a shot more at an angle across the field to the other side of the goal. At varying speeds. Or, alternatively, with Knuth looking for a pass (and/or an angle shot) I wouldn’t pass. And instead slide it just slightly and hit it directly into the goal (rather than at an angle), also at varying speeds — sometimes moving it so slightly and so direct — fast or slow, it seemed a little ridiculous.

That’s my story anyway.

Foosball is fun and kind of a confidence game, sometimes with a lot of banter back and forth. But with Alex and Jim, we mostly just focused on what we were doing. It was a good release from everything else.

I agree that Alex was one of the nicest people you could meet. Just being himself he was also kind of a personality. The article I linked finished “Kickers being kickers” but it could just as easily finished “Alex being Alex.” He was true to himself, well-liked and popular to everyone that knew him.

PS: I remember the ladies in the Towers commons area lobbying to have the stadium named after Jack Trice (who I would otherwise then have known nothing about).

I agree that Duncan wasn’t a great coach. In many ways ISU football was at an all-time high in Fall 1979 — as in attendance and the enthusiasm carried over from the Earle Bruce years. If I recall correctly, the 1979 team started something like 6-0 and finished more like 6-5.

Cheers to Coach Campbell and everyone else involved with Cyclone football.

Ahh foosball. It takes me back. I won several foosball tournaments when I was younger. I liked playing offense, but if there was someone who was better at offense who wanted to partner with me, I'd play defense. My favorite play on offense was what we called the roach, where the defensive guy on the other team had the ball and would try to slam it past you, but you'd stuff it right back down his throat and score with a satisfying THWACK!

On defense, I was a very offensive-minded goalie. I tried to score from the back row every chance I got. I'll never forget walking into a bar where I didn't know anyone and seeing a crowd gathered round the foosball table. I put my quarters down on the table and had to watch for quite a while because there were other quarters ahead of me. This one team kept winning all the matches and had won 5-6 in a row before my quarters came up. I picked someone out of the crowd who wasn't playing, not knowing if he was any good or not. He played goalie for me, but he rarely touched the ball. The other team had a defensive guy who had been scoring a lot of points from his back men, but every time he tried it on me, I roached him. I hit 5 in a row in on him like that and we won the game. We held the table pretty much the rest of the night until I got bored and went home.

I had a friend who came over from Vietnam and he claimed he had never played foosball before. But he was lying. He was lightning fast, much faster than I was, which is hard to admit when you think you're a good foosball player because quickness is one of the keys to the game. But he and I used to team up with me playing defense and we were practically unbeatable.

This was all around my home town, but when I moved away for a job to the Iowa Great Lakes Region, the only foosball table in the whole region was one of those with the hard plastic feet as opposed to rubber ones. In other words, crap. The game everyone played there was pool. I wasn't much of a pool player, but I became pretty good because I played a lot. I even joined two pool leagues while I was there. I got so good at pool that I was probably the second-best player in the places I frequented where they played pool. One guy could beat me pretty regularly, but by the end when I moved away, he was only beating me bout 6 out of every 10 times we played. I could put quarters down and play all night if that guy wasn't around.

Alas, pool, unlike foosball, requires constant practice to remain good and when I moved away from there, I got married and my pool hall/foosball days were pretty much over. I can't play pool now to save my life, but I still play a pretty mean game of foosball.

 

[Kclone]

I knew Alex, and I knew Ron Galimore, the world-class gymnast. I didn’t know they knew each other.

I don’t recall where I first met Ron, but it might have been Towers, where I lived and knew many of the players listed — as friends, classmates, friends of friends, acquaintances and such. None super close, but, for many, more than just recognition and knowing that they were on the football team.

My roommate and I used to play Alex and his roommate, Jim Knuth, in foosball.

Like Alex, Knuth started as a true freshman at split end. His last name was pronounced ka-nuth — and for completeness, Giffords was gEE-fords, in Alex’s thick accent . I also knew Jerry Lorenzen, perhaps better than everyone else listed, a classmate of mine, who I think also started some as a true freshman at tight end.

Alex and Jim were good at foosball. We played on a brown top, which is more conducive to ball control and probably more consistent with Alex’s soccer background, than a green top — like they had at That Place. A green top is faster and favored a quicker response (though more sloppiness maybe also). Knuth was tall, and usually played goalie, and (like my teammate) could whack it in from the back if the opportunity presented itself. Alex and I usually played in the middle. I certainly wasn’t the best, but kind of came into my own. I had quick hands and played a smothering defense, which often kept the ball in our favor with my front men.

There, my go to shot was to move and pass it laterally to myself — which would open up either a direct shot to the goal, or instead a shot more at an angle across the field to the other side of the goal. At varying speeds. Or, alternatively, with Knuth looking for a pass (and/or an angle shot) I wouldn’t pass. And instead slide it just slightly and hit it directly into the goal (rather than at an angle), also at varying speeds — sometimes moving it so slightly, and so direct — fast or slow, it seemed a little ridiculous.

That’s my story anyway.

Foosball is fun and kind of a confidence game, sometimes with a lot of banter back and forth. But with Alex and Jim, we mostly just focused on what we were doing. It was a good release from everything else.

I agree that Alex was one of the nicest people you could meet. Just being himself he was also kind of a personality. The article I linked finished “Kickers being kickers” but it could just as easily finished “Alex being Alex.” He was true to himself, well-liked and popular to everyone that knew him.

PS: I remember the ladies in the Towers commons area lobbying to have the stadium named after Jack Trice (who I would otherwise then have known nothing about).

I agree that Duncan wasn’t a great coach. In many ways ISU football was at an all-time high in Fall 1979 — as in attendance and the enthusiasm carried over from the Earle Bruce years. If I recall correctly, the 1979 team started something like 6-0 and finished more like 6-5.

Cheers to Coach Campbell and everyone else involved with Cyclone football.

in 1979 they finished 3-8. They had a ton of injuries, and that could have been from Duncan's lack of having a viable strength and conditioning program. It was 1980 they started out 5-0. Ended at 6-5 but I think the official record is now at 7-4 because one of the teams that beat us had to forfeit games because they got caught cheating.

 

[ketelmeister]

Anyone ever remember a time when we had so many quality players at so many different positions?

Granted, a lot of the quality is still on paper, or untested, but judging from the other teams who wanted these guys, there's reason to be optimistic. There are numbers all over the place, but particularly in the skill positions:

QB- We got a 6th year starter who led us to two historic wins and an 8-5 season last year, a talented soph who showed his arm strength and ability in two games last year, a speedy true freshman who was highly regarded, a redshirt freshman, who has a big arm and an incoming freshman who Alabama and A&M wanted, plus one commit for 2019 and one for 2020.

RB- The best RB in college coming is back for his junior year, one of the fastest backs we've ever had coming off an injury year, a redshirt freshman who turned heads in practice, a junior who started to find his stride last year, an another senior who only rushed for 1,300 yards as a freshman and 2 freshmen for 2019 who might be as good as we've ever had.

WR- We have 12 scholarship WRs on the roster, only two of whom are seniors, and four more ready to sign in November. Collectively, all 16 of those receivers may be the best WR group we've ever seen at Iowa State. If they aren't the best, they certainly seem to have that potential and they are certainly the tallest. Several of them might even be NFL prospects.

TE- Three TEs (4 if you count Seonbuchner), anyone of whom we'd have been delighted to call the starter in years past, including one who's an all-Big 12 type.

There are so many bodies on the team it makes previous coaching staffs look like they played with 50 scholarship players by comparison and all of a sudden we have the full 85. There's even lots of depth on defense.

Nice analysis

 

[Cylent]

in 1979 they finished 3-8. They had a ton of injuries, and that could have been from Duncan's lack of having a viable strength and conditioning program. It was 1980 they started out 5-0. Ended at 6-5 but I think the official record is now at 7-4 because one of the teams that beat us had to forfeit games because they got caught cheating.

KU.
Should have, Would have won it on the field IF DD could coach.

 

[Cylent]

Foosball??
I really sucked.

A couple times in the right drunken stupor I was okay...
But mostly I was a Swiss cheese goalie.
When I tried compensating for my slow hands it got worse.

Any of you that were players undoubtedly kicked my ass sometime!

Pool?
I probably had you.

 

[fairviewfarmer]

I knew Alex, and I knew Ron Galimore, the world-class gymnast. I didn’t know they knew each other.

I don’t recall where I first met Ron, but it might have been Towers, where I lived and knew many of the players listed — as friends, classmates, friends of friends, acquaintances and such. None super close, but, for many, more than just recognition and knowing that they were on the football team.

My roommate and I used to play Alex and his roommate, Jim Knuth, in foosball.

Like Alex, Knuth started as a true freshman at split end. His last name was pronounced ka-nuth — and for completeness, Giffords was gEE-fords, in Alex’s thick accent . I also knew Jerry Lorenzen, perhaps better than everyone else listed, a classmate of mine, who I think also started some as a true freshman at tight end.

Alex and Jim were good at foosball. We played on a brown top, which is more conducive to ball control and probably more consistent with Alex’s soccer background, than a green top — like they had at That Place. A green top is faster and favored a quicker response (though more sloppiness maybe also). Knuth was tall, and usually played goalie, and (like my teammate) could whack it in from the back if the opportunity presented itself. Alex and I usually played in the middle. I certainly wasn’t the best, but kind of came into my own. I had quick hands and played a smothering defense, which often kept the ball in our favor with my front men.

There, my go to shot was to move and pass it laterally to myself — which would open up either a direct shot to the goal, or instead a shot more at an angle across the field to the other side of the goal. At varying speeds. Or, alternatively, with Knuth looking for a pass (and/or an angle shot) I wouldn’t pass. And instead slide it just slightly and hit it directly into the goal (rather than at an angle), also at varying speeds — sometimes moving it so slightly, and so direct — fast or slow, it seemed a little ridiculous.

That’s my story anyway.

Foosball is fun and kind of a confidence game, sometimes with a lot of banter back and forth. But with Alex and Jim, we mostly just focused on what we were doing. It was a good release from everything else.

I agree that Alex was one of the nicest people you could meet. Just being himself he was also kind of a personality. The article I linked finished “Kickers being kickers” but it could just as easily finished “Alex being Alex.” He was true to himself, well-liked and popular to everyone that knew him.

PS: I remember the ladies in the Towers commons area lobbying to have the stadium named after Jack Trice (who I would otherwise then have known nothing about).

I agree that Duncan wasn’t a great coach. In many ways ISU football was at an all-time high in Fall 1979 — as in attendance and the enthusiasm carried over from the Earle Bruce years. If I recall correctly, the 1979 team started something like 6-0 and finished more like 6-5.

Cheers to Coach Campbell and everyone else involved with Cyclone football.

Jim Knuth, now there is a name blast from the past. Jim was born in Harlan and went to school in Walnut. IA. until Jr. High I believe...... In the 90's, I worked for Jim's Aunt and Uncle at their service station in Harlan. They never had kids of their own, so they treated Jim like the kid they never had. He would stop in every once in while at the station to spend a few hours with them whenever he was passing thru Harlan with his job at FCSA. I ran into Jim again about 7-8 years ago at the FCSA tailgating tent on tent row, but I haven't seen him since. I assume he has to be near retirement from FCSA if he hasn't retired already. (for those that don't know, FCSA = Farm Credit Services of America)..... Btw, Maybe Jim is still on Cyclone Report?

 

[nyclonee]

Jim Knuth, now there is a name blast from the past. Jim was born in Harlan and went to school in Walnut. IA. until Jr. High I believe...... In the 90's, I worked for Jim's Aunt and Uncle at their service station in Harlan. They never had kids of their own, so they treated Jim like the kid they never had. He would stop in every once in while at the station to spend a few hours with them whenever he was passing thru Harlan with his job at FCSA. I ran into Jim again about 7-8 years ago at the FCSA tailgating tent on tent row, but I haven't seen him since. I assume he has to be near retirement from FCSA if he hasn't retired already. (for those that don't know, FCSA = Farm Credit Services of America)..... Btw, Maybe Jim is still on Cyclone Report?

I didn’t know all that. I saw him quoted in the paper once or twice, like a few years ago saying something like high prices would cure high prices, in regards to Iowa farmland values. Isn’t (or wasn’t) he high up, like CEO or something?

And if he is on Cyclone Report, I didn’t mean to single him out. Talking about my go-to shot, I deleted “(or anyone)” because it read better.

 

[nyclonee]

Ahh foosball. It takes me back. I won several foosball tournaments when I was younger. I liked playing offense, but if there was someone who was better at offense who wanted to partner with me, I'd play defense. My favorite play on offense was what we called the roach, where the defensive guy on the other team had the ball and would try to slam it past you, but you'd stuff it right back down his throat and score with a satisfying THWACK!

On defense, I was a very offensive-minded goalie. I tried to score from the back row every chance I got. I'll never forget walking into a bar where I didn't know anyone and seeing a crowd gathered round the foosball table. I put my quarters down on the table and had to watch for quite a while because there were other quarters ahead of me. This one team kept winning all the matches and had won 5-6 in a row before my quarters came up. I picked someone out of the crowd who wasn't playing, not knowing if he was any good or not. He played goalie for me, but he rarely touched the ball. The other team had a defensive guy who had been scoring a lot of points from his back men, but every time he tried it on me, I roached him. I hit 5 in a row in on him like that and we won the game. We held the table pretty much the rest of the night until I got bored and went home.

I had a friend who came over from Vietnam and he claimed he had never played foosball before. But he was lying. He was lightning fast, much faster than I was, which is hard to admit when you think you're a good foosball player because quickness is one of the keys to the game. But he and I used to team up with me playing defense and we were practically unbeatable.

This was all around my home town, but when I moved away for a job to the Iowa Great Lakes Region, the only foosball table in the whole region was one of those with the hard plastic feet as opposed to rubber ones. In other words, crap. The game everyone played there was pool. I wasn't much of a pool player, but I became pretty good because I played a lot. I even joined two pool leagues while I was there. I got so good at pool that I was probably the second-best player in the places I frequented where they played pool. One guy could beat me pretty regularly, but by the end when I moved away, he was only beating me bout 6 out of every 10 times we played. I could put quarters down and play all night if that guy wasn't around.

Alas, pool, unlike foosball, requires constant practice to remain good and when I moved away from there, I got married and my pool hall/foosball days were pretty much over. I can't play pool now to save my life, but I still play a pretty mean game of foosball.

Yeah, I could similarly keep the ball in the front court a lot. I got to be pretty good, and kind of rose through the ranks, but there were a lot of good foosball players at that time and place.

Neither was I that great at pool. And similarly I can still play a mean game of foosball, but the competition typically isn’t like it was then.