Players To Watch For Iowa State

We looked at what to expect from Iowa State’s offense and defense earlier so let’s take a gander at some players to keep an eye on.

Running Back Mike Warren, No. 2

Talk about the one that got away, the Lawton, Oklahoma native wasn’t featured much as a junior when offers tend to roll in for recruits but rushed for 2,512 yards and 26 touchdowns as a senior. He was reportedly recruited late by the Sooners as a backup plan but no reports of the Cowboys offering (note: the Cowboys were secure in a four-star running back from Broken Arrow in the class).

Warren is a three down back with breakaway speed and has ran for 100+ in the last two games after a Freshman All-American season. He’s averaging 4.24 yards per run and 77.2 yards/game currently, and will most certainly be a focal point in a run heavy offense. Even more impressive about his monster freshman year, he didn’t start until the third game of the season.

Wide Receiver Allen Lazard, No. 5

At 6’5 and 225 pounds is a prototype possession receiver and one of the highest rated recruits to come into Ames in recent years. The son of a former Cyclone captain from the early 90’s, he’s a tall, solid receiver with sticky hands that’s consistently leading the team in receptions and receiving yards regardless of the defense focusing on him.

Lazard has 328 yards and a couple of scores on the year and has gone 28 games with a reception, behind only KD Cannon in the Big 12. Lazard chose the Cyclones over Notre Dame, Nebraska, Stanford and Cal and it would be a surprise to everyone if he’s not playing in the pros before too long.

Quarterbacks Joel Lanning, No. 7 and Jacob Park, No. 10

Junior QB1 is Joel Lanning, an impact player for the Cyclones since he took over the job last Halloween who has started ten games since then. The former all-state high school wrestler isn’t huge but is a runner in the style of General Walsh, quick, tough and effective. Behind Lanning is is sophomore Jacob Park, a consensus top 15 quarterback in the class of 2014. Park stands taller and looks to get the ball downfield more. When asked about Lanning as a quarterback, Coach Gundy couldn’t deny his productivity and spoke highly of the offensive co-captain.

Nose Guard Demond Tucker, No. 97

The redshirt senior is a gap plugging nose guard that has a penchant for getting into the backfield.

He blew up the Baylor interior for eight tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks last week, exactly matching his output against OSU last year (both earned him Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week). He chose Iowa State over Texas A&M, Ole Miss, TCU and Louisville out of junior college where he was the NJCAA Defensive Player of the Year. They always say a juco player makes big strides in his second year and that’s a scary thought with the former Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year.

Safety Kamari Cotton-Moya, No. 5

The 2014 Defensive Freshmen of the Year is a standup guy and the leader of a solid ISU secondary.

Third on the team in tackles, KCM will step into the box and help out with the run game. He had a great freshman year then started off well as a sophomore before a hamstring injury shut him down after six games. He racked up 77 tackles and eight pass break ups as a freshman and as a junior is being leaned on to lead a talented young secondary that could be the strength of the defense.

Cowboy Connections

• Offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich could have plenty to talk about with Iowa State coach Matt Campbell, both played for division three legend Larry Kehres at Mount Union in Ohio. Yurcich transferred out before Campbell came along, but they did grow up about an hour apart from each other in Ohio as well. Yurcich hails from Euclid, just outside of Cleveland and Campbell is from Massillon, just outside of Canton.

• Cyclone quarterback Jacob Park and Mason Rudolph have quite a history, as they played in South Carolina state title game in 2013. Long story short, Mason won the state title and Park won South Carolina’s Mr. Football award.

• While it was super disappointing when freshman wide receiver Dillon Stoner was lost for the season, he’ll get to see another Jenks Trojan alum catching passes at Boone Pickens on Saturday when Cyclone wide out Carson Epps takes the field.

• The Kolar family from Norman will enjoy not having to choose sides in this game for one last year, as son John is a backup quarterback for the Cowboys but younger brother Charlie is committed to playing tight end for the Cyclones in the class of 2017.