One thing free safety Jacques Washington has learned in his three years in the ISU secondary is that communicating and making sure he is on the same page with his teammates might be the most important part of the position.

With the fresh faces Iowa State will put on the field in the secondary in 2013, that communicating may be even more important now than ever. Washington said redshirt sophomore cornerbacks Kenneth Lynn and Sam Richardson have progressed well but do have time to work on certain things.

“Right now, Ken really hits the playbook and Sam’s is just developing his craft and learning what he can do and can’t do and he’s doing a really good job right now,” Washington said. “He’s really aggressive and he’s been making a lot of plays this spring.”

When cornerback Jeremy Reeves exhausted his eligibility for the Cyclones and Jansen Watson was ruled out from spring ball due to shoulder surgery, ISU secondary coach Troy Douglas realized he would have to dig deeper into the roster to prepare players for the fall.

Douglas has begun to develop Lynn and Richardson into viable options at cornerback this spring and with the help of more experienced safeties like Washington and strong safety Deon Broomfield, he feels some progress has been made.

While Richardson has made strides in his quickness and press techniques in coverage, Douglas recognized Lynn as perhaps the most talented player in his position group. With Lynn, it will be a matter of him “wanting to” be the player at cornerback and the light turning on for him.

“It will turn on; he’s still a relatively young kid that hasn’t played a lot of snaps,” Douglas said. “And really he was productive in the minimum snaps he got last year. It’s just a matter of putting two days together, back-to-back, great.”

Broomfield is joining Washington as a full-time player at safety in 2013 after playing the nickelback position in the past two seasons. Broomfield has recorded 76 career tackles and will replace All-Big 12 strong safety Durrell Givens as a starter.

Givens picked up three interceptions and had six fumble recoveries in 2012, a style of play Broomfield will try to sustain in the coming season. It’s a task that doesn’t bring a sense of pressure to Broomfield, however.

“Being in the right spot and not forcing plays,” Broomfield said on how he will attempt to force turnovers. “When the play comes, you’ve got to take advantage of it. If not, you’ve got to play your assignment. We do a lot of ball drills and work on strip techniques and always catching the ball in individual drills.”