This off-season, the ISU football team says goodbye to its quarterback of the last four seasons, Bret Meyer. The loss leaves a gaping hole in the Cyclones’ offense and creates a question as to whom will become Iowa State’s next quarterback.

Don’t worry – Iowa State may have the man with just the skills to plug that hole.

He’s a freshman and a physical specimen, but it’s neither No. 4 Austen Arnaud nor No. 8 Phillip Bates. Rather, it’s a player who wears a number not quite fit for a quarterback.

Here’s the catch: The new quarterback weighs in at 306 pounds.

Meet No. 63 Ben Lamaak, of the offensive line.

OK, so Lamaak isn’t actually up for the job as Iowa State’s next quarterback, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have the experience or the athleticism.

“I know a lot of some other guys on the team who played quarterback in the past, and they doubt my skills,” Lamaak says with a laugh. “But sometimes I have to go out there before practice and show them how it’s done.”

In high school at Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Lamaak, who then weighed about 250 pounds, switched from tight end to play quarterback for the final six games of his senior year. He threw for 848 yards and seven touchdowns, while rushing for another six en route to a first-team All-Conference selection and an appearance in the Iowa Shrine Bowl.

The move to quarterback gave Lamaak barely any time to prepare for the position and shocked him and his father, Charles Lamaak, with its strangeness. Charles, however, remembered Ben taking the position in stride, and recalled a classic example in a game against Linn-Mar H.S. where Ben’s value and determination shined brightest.

“He took a hit, they thought they had him sacked, and he still got the pass off last-minute and completed it,” Charles said. “Most people probably thought he was down and out, but he was able to somehow complete the pass to the receiver. Somebody snapped a picture of it and gave it to him at his high school football banquet and, looking at the picture I still can’t figure out how he completed the pass.”

For Ben, the transition to quarterback was really nothing new – he has been switching positions from the moment he began high school football. His high school career saw him play at right tackle, tight end, defensive end, wide receiver, fullback and quarterback. Ben didn’t limit himself to one sport either. He played baseball and basketball and ran track throughout his youth, all of which contributed to the amazing amount of athleticism displayed by a man with a size that isn’t always mentioned in correlation with the word.

“He is definitely a freak of nature when it comes to athletics,” said Arnaud, who roomed with Lamaak this year. “Over Veishea, we played in a three-on-three tournament in basketball, and he was just eating guys up.”

All the switching positions in high school, which didn’t leave Lamaak the chance to focus on just one position, could have hurt him when it came time to play college football.

Yet, through it all, he never complained.

The perseverance he learned and the willingness he displayed to accept change would once again come in handy when he was tested with another position change at Iowa State.

Former ISU coach Dan McCarney recruited Lamaak, who then redshirted his first season at tight end.

After the off-season coaching change, however, the Cyclones faced a problem with talent on the offensive line. Offensive coordinator Robert McFarland brought Lamaak his latest position change.

Four months later, Lamaak was the starting right tackle, and that is where he remained for all 12 games of his freshman campaign, making a statement to McFarland of the true uniqueness he possessed.

“You see quarterbacks out of high school make the transition to either running back, fullback or wide receiver, and even then tight end, but I can truly say this is the first one in my 22 years of coaching that I’ve seen one make the transition from quarterback to offensive line – especially at the Big 12 level,” McFarland said.

When Lamaak was asked to make the change from tight end, he just reverted back to the only thinking that has ever made sense to him when it came to sports.

“In high school they moved me to quarterback and I just really wanted to help the team out,” Lamaak said. “When they told me I was going to move to offensive line I said ‘Hey, I’ll do whatever I got to do to get on the field.'”

The transition from tight end to right tackle went smoothly for Lamaak and, according to his counterpart at right guard, junior Tom Schmeling, he was a quick learner with a lot of natural ability. His coaches agreed, and that’s why they asked him to make the switch.

“I think Ben possesses some athletic ability maybe that other guys don’t have,” McFarland said. “When you take someone that could have been a quarterback or a tight end, compared to someone that has maybe been an O-lineman their entire lives, you take somebody on that can do some special things with his feet. He was a high school basketball player as well too, so he has some skills for a big man that most don’t have, and we’re working to hone those skills and strengthen him up.

“He has the potential to really be one of the great players here.”

One of the biggest benefits he gained from all the switching around was the knowledge and ability to understand exactly what other positions on the football field are dealing with. Lamaak’s time at tight end, which can have duties similar to a tackle, was a huge advantage for him when he was in the process of making the switch.

“You can tell that he has a good relationship and understanding with the tight ends,” Schmeling said. “Obviously, he used to play there, so he knows how to fit with those guys on double teams and stuff like that, so he doesn’t even work with me on that. Being a tight end, and working with the tackle, he had experienced fitting in with offensive line, so we clicked pretty quick.”

Even his time at quarterback has given Lamaak an understanding about the position that he never would have had otherwise. Along with being able to take away some leadership skills, he learned what it’s like to have all the eyes in the stadium glued to his every move. But perhaps the thing that left the largest impact on Lamaak was exactly that – feeling the impact of a hit.

“It almost makes me want to play even much harder than I’m trying to play because I know, I’ve been back there, I know what it’s like – I know getting hit,” Lamaak said.

“I know getting blindsided hurts. It almost makes me feel that when they get hit out there.”

Lamaak has much to work on as he heads into the off-season, and he’s focused on bulking up, improving his conditioning and improving his run blocking.

One thing is for sure – he will only be focusing on one position – right tackle. After years of moving around, he finally has a position – a home – and despite having loved the opportunity to play everywhere, that is a welcome relief for him.

“It’s really weird,” he said. “You just got to sit down and look at myself and say, ‘Hey, I’m going to be playing this position, so what can I do to keep making myself better? I’m going to play in this position probably for the rest of my life.'”

Then again, with Ben you just never know. A quarterbacking role might be just around the corner.

“I mean, I switch positions so much, you know if we have an opening at quarterback it wouldn’t be a surprise to me,” Ben says with a smile.