AMES, Iowa — The Iowa State football team is about a month away from the season opener.
Members of the media got to hear from the team today as they get ready for fall camp.
The Cyclones have made it clear that they have high expectations this season.
Even though they lost several key pieces like Brock Purdy and Breece Hall, the team is confident that they have players capable of stepping up to fill those voids.
"You don't really think about it, but only practicing for two years is different. I mean actually getting on the field on Saturdays is gonna be a huge thing for me, but, leadership wise, it's just knowing that we lost a bunch of older guys. It's just having younger guys stepping up and really taking the vocal part over is really something that we gotta take part of," said quarterback Hunter Dekkers.
For wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson, the season will be one of growth.
"It's gonna open up opportunities without Breece Hall, opportunities for the receivers to make more plays down the field, to be more big play makers so for running backs obviously, still to come in. I mean, we still have great running backs here that can prove themselves so it's gonna be really fun to watch this offense grow," Hutchinson said.
So when it comes to figuring out which guys are ready to take on a bigger role, Head Coach Matt Campbell said there are two main things he looks at trustworthiness and the ability to do one's job.
Campbell explained that they need to be able to trust players on and off the
field is just as important as their actual performance.
He also emphasized that a player's ability to do their job on a consistent basis
is a big part of the team's success, so that's something they look for as well.
"Things like the ability to make a play in the system, the ability to be healthy and available, those are some factors as you go. But, I'd say one, the ability to be trusted, and number two, to be able to do your job and show the ability to do your job with great consistency," Campbell said. "We've been better and we've been at our best when we have the 11 guys representing our team on the field... the ability to consistently do their job, that's when we play great football here."