It won’t be described as the upset of the century. It won’t be the most important thing to ever happen in sports.  But the decision by coach Paul Rhoads to make junior college transfer Steele Jantz the starting quarterback going into the 2011 season certainly changes the face of ISU football.

“Steele emerged from a group of three quarterbacks, as you know, by displaying the three qualities we were looking for most consistently,” Rhoads said. “And that’s decision-making, that’s throwing accuracy and that’s getting things done with his feet.”

Rhoads announced the decision with conviction, saying Jantz showed himself “clearly as the No. 1 guy.”

Questions can be raised about Jantz’s experience, having never played a down at the Division I level, but Rhoads and offensive coordinator Tom Herman believe Jantz is ready for the challenge.

“I feel comfortable [with Jantz playing at this level],” Rhoads said. “Guys come from junior college all the time and make this transition. He led a college team that has great tradition at City College [of San Francisco] into the championship game in the California junior college league and that’s not an easy challenge to do in and of itself.”

During the championship season, Jantz threw for 3,075 yards and 23 touchdowns while rushing for 601 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground.

While the numbers stand out, they were not against the likes of Oklahoma and Texas. Herman did echo his coach’s comfortability and, while the assistant said Jantz certainly has things to work on, he seems up to the task as of now.

“I think the stage is not too big for him right now, and he likes the offense; he likes playing in it,” Herman said. “He likes what we’re doing and feels comfortable with it and us as coaches need to understand what he does well and what he is still working on so that we can tailor some things to what he does well.”

Wide receiver Jarvis West was a fan of the decision and had high praise for his new No. 1 quarterback.

“He’s a good decision-maker, he’s fast,” West said. “[He] breaks the defense down as the play goes down. Nothing really more you could want out of him. He’s just good.”

Tight end Kurt Hammerschmidt echoed his teammate with praise for Jantz.

“I like how he approaches the game mentally and physically,” Hammerschmidt said. “I think he scrambles with the ball and throws the ball really well.”

Jantz beat out redshirt junior Jerome Tiller and redshirt freshman Jared Barnett for the starting position. Tiller, who was considered the favorite to win the position coming into the fall, was declared academically ineligible for the 2011 season.

That left Barnett as the backup.

Rhoads said the decision to go with Jantz was independent of Tiller’s academic status. Herman, who had worked closely with Tiller since coming to Iowa State with Rhoads in 2008, expressed disappointment.

Herman said he’d seen Tiller grow as a person, but has no choice but to deal with his situation.

“He’s got to deal with [being ineligible] and come to grips with it and be the best teammate he can be while he’s going through what he’s going through and continue to help us win in whatever fashion he can,” Herman said.

Rhoads also said Tiller could possibly change positions. He has the next 12 months to work with the scout team to figure that out.

Until then, Jantz gets his chance as the No. 1 guy for the Cyclones, who are coming off a 5-7 season and will be facing every Big 12 team.

Rhoads believes Jantz is the guy to lead his team.

“He’s got a laid-back personality that the kids have sort of taken to,” Rhoads said. “And now he’ll start to master the preparation that goes along with developing the game plan.”