Winning a bowl game to cap off last season is no reason for the Cyclones to rest on their laurels.

The Cyclones return even deeper at the running back position, led by senior Alexander Robinson and receivers primed to make a big impact in 2010.

Alexander Robinson was the second leading rusher in the Big 12 last season, behind only Kansas State’s Daniel Thomas. Robinson rushed for 1,195 yards on 232 carries.

Robinson is entering his senior campaign with more focus and a new routine that adds to his already strenuous workout regiment.

“I actually have a ‘yoga for beginners’ DVD,” Robinson said. “I just threw it in my DVD player and tried to do the stretches and poses with them.”

Robinson got the DVD from his parents and has been doing yoga for about a month, and he said he is doing it to help prevent and cut down on the injuries like those he suffered last season.

“It hasn’t really been contact injuries,” Robinson said. “It has been more freak injuries that I’ve had.”

Robinson is expecting to get between 15 and 20 carries per game this season, and likes coach Paul Rhoads’ spread offense.

“It allows you to see your holes a lot quicker, and it spreads the defense out and makes the defense cover the receivers as well, so the holes are a lot bigger,” Robinson said. “I think it’s a good fit for myself and the other running backs because it kind of expands your vision for you.”

Running backs coach Kenith Pope has been impressed by Robinson’s performance throughout the team’s off-season practices and workout sessions, and senses Robinson’s comfort level with the offense, this being his second year in the system.

Robinson is coming off an impressive season, and Pope wouldn’t be surprised to see him have another highly productive year if he can stay healthy.

Robinson’s mental preparation is going to be beneficial for the Cyclones as they take on arguably one of the nation’s toughest schedules.

“He’s a student of the game, and he’s always trying to find a way to make himself a better football player,” Pope said. “He wants to please you. He’s trying to do everything right every time, and that’s why a year ago he played so well: because he did a good job of making himself a better football player each week, and if he continues to do that for us, he will have another outstanding year for us.”

Pope stressed Robinson has attributes that set him apart from some of the other running backs in the Big 12, including the fact that he thinks about more than just the running game and wants to know the entire offensive game plan.

However, the biggest attribute that sets Robinson apart is his knowledge of the game through extra preparation. Although the team technically has Mondays off, Robinson isn’t one to recline at home all day.

“He’ll come in on Monday and look at film and try to get an advantage for us,” Pope said. “He’ll try to get an idea of what the blitz package is going to look like. That’s the type of guy he is, and he’s always going to do a good job of taking care of himself physically. He does all the little things right, and that’s what you like in A-Rob. You know what you’re going to get every day he comes to practice.”

Robinson is not the lone threat for the backfield, as freshman Jeff Woody earned a scholarship on the practice field.

Rhoads described Woody as extremely consistent, and a guy who comes to work every day and does a good job of knowing his assignments and doesn’t try to do too much.

“He runs hard, he knows his style and he doesn’t try to be something he’s not,” Rhoads said. “He plays about three positions on our offense and he’s a special teams contributor. He’s actually farther ahead as an offensive player than he is as a special teams player, and that’s where the scholarship has been earned.”

Sophomore Beau Blankenship and freshman James White are also candidates to get carries in the Cyclones’ backfield this season.

“It’s very heated,” said assistant coach Tom Herman. “Jeff Woody, as of two days ago, is on scholarship. So that’s incredible for Jeff, with all the programs that passed him up and now he’s getting a preferred walk on just because of how he works. With James White, Shontrelle Johnson, Duran Hollis and Bo Williams, there’s a lot of guys who we can give the pill to and expect good things.”

When the Cyclones decide to go to the air, they have an improved Austen Arnaud, who returns with receivers who can produce points and make big plays through the air.

Senior Jake Williams, along with juniors Darius Darks and Sedrick Johnson, lead the Cyclones receiving crew that will try to improve on their ninth-ranked pass offense in the Big 12 last season.

Williams had 403 receiving yards last year with five touchdowns. Darks ended the season with 261 yards and three touchdowns.

“These are the least selfish receivers that I’ve been around,” Herman said. “I’ve been around some guys that want the ball all the time; and rightfully so. They’re receivers. They want the ball and they want to make plays. These guys know their role, and they know they’re starting to get to a point where they know what I’m looking at as a defense.”

The coaches had seen the receivers go through a spell of dropping balls that should have been routine catches during off-season practices, but are confident that that is starting to improve as the season approaches.

“It’s continually gotten better,” Rhoads said. “I don’t know if it was nerves, if it was timing, if it was the fact that we were going live for the very first time for an extended period of time that first scrimmage, but we had seen them in practice and knew what they were capable of, and we came out and kind of laid an egg in that first scrimmage. From that point on, they’ve steadily come up and made big plays for us.”

Rhoads stressed that the receivers making plays allows the quarterback’s confidence in his receivers to rise. Even when they are in a jam, the quarterback will have confidence in the receivers to make the play.

Johnson struggled with injuries last season, and the improvement coaches have seen in him now that he’s healthy has them excited for the upcoming season, and they wouldn’t be surprised to see him do big things for the offense.

“He’s a lot better,” Herman said. “He’s a lot better at adjusting to plays, he’s catching the ball a lot better and he’s playing with a lot more confidence. He knows what he’s doing, he’s running faster routes, he’s competing. He’s a lot better than last year.”