ISU quarterback Steele Jantz can add one more title to his resume, other than “big man on campus.” The junior college transfer was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week following his performance against Iowa on Saturday.

“When the game was done, I figured he’d probably have an opportunity just because the numbers went along with a very big win,” said coach Paul Rhoads.

Jantz led the Cyclones to their 44-41 triple-overtime victory against Iowa on Saturday. He went 25-of-37 with 279 yards and four touchdowns through the air, and added 42 yards on 16 carries on the ground.

It was a change from the first game of the season for the quarterback. Jantz, by his own admission, struggled through much of the first three quarters in the opener against Northern Iowa. He went 18-of-40 for 187 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.

But Rhoads, in defense of his quarterback, believes Jantz had shown his ability prior to the final few minutes in which Jantz led the Cyclones to a comeback 20-19 win against the Panthers.

“I would say he’s played a lot better football than just the last five quarters,” Rhoads said. “He made a couple bad throws that were bad turnovers [against Northern Iowa]. I don’t think that means the rest of those three quarters he was playing bad football. I think he’s played pretty good, the supporting cast around him picked up their game a little bit in the last five quarters as well.”

That supporting cast may have had as much to do with Jantz winning the award as he did.

Running back Shontrelle Johnson rushed for 108 yards on 16 carries. Receivers Darius Reynolds and Aaron Horne also contributed their own, with Reynolds catching six passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns and Horne adding four catches for 94 yards.

Jantz, his teammates and his coaches all credited an improved play of the offensive line, which saw the return of Hayworth Hicks, who missed the first game against Northern Iowa.

“I feel like he played with great confidence and our line gave him a lot of time,” Reynolds said. “So that was the difference between this week and last week, is that he actually had the time back there and he could look down the field and make all the reads this time.”

The biggest thing that helped Jantz, Rhoads believes, is his ability to make plays with his feet and keep the play alive when it otherwise might have been dead.  On a few occasions, Jantz scrambled out of trouble and got the ball to his receiver either for a touchdown or big gain.

“You go into a game as a defensive coach and you say, ‘This guy’s going to scramble to throw,'” Rhoads said. “You go into other games, ‘This guy’s going to scramble to run.’ But Steele’s going to do both. That escapability, combined with that athleticism, combined with the decision-making in the process, makes that hard to defend.”