The much maligned ISU defense could receive a huge boost this week.

Starting safety James Smith has been upgraded to questionable and might be available for Iowa State’s game against Northern Iowa.

Smith, who was the team’s starting safety coming out of spring practice and was scheduled to start, has missed Iowa State’s first four games with a broken ankle.

With his rehab proceeding ahead of schedule, Smith is inching closer to a return to the field.

“James could be back this week, it could be another month. I just don’t know,” said coach Dan McCarney. “I know he’s making progress, he’s running and jogging. He’s clearly the starter when he’s healthy.”

Smith would help solidify a defensive secondary that has struggled mightily so far this season.

Iowa State is last in the Big 12 in pass defense, giving up 276 yards per game through the air. That’s 39 yards behind second-to-last Colorado, which allows 237 yards per game.

The Cyclones have given up 1,105 passing yards in four games, ranking them 113th out of 119 teams playing Division I football.

Iowa State is also last in the Big 12 in scoring defense, letting teams score nearly 30 points per game. Its 388 total yards allowed per game is also last in the conference.

“We have a lot of young guys, and they’re making steps and improving every week,” senior defensive end Shawn Moorehead said. “We’re just waiting for them to put it all together and everyone have a complete game and finish strong.”

Even though Northern Iowa is a I-AA team, the game will be no easy task for the Cyclones.

The Panthers are averaging 35 points per game, putting up nearly 400 yards on average.

That has the attention of Iowa State.

“We haven’t played good enough to take anyone lightly yet this year,” said ISU quarterback Bret Meyer.

Smith at safety would go a long way toward solving some of Iowa State’s defensive woes.

“He’s a starter,” McCarney said. “He has zero experience because he redshirted last year, but he was clearly our best. That’s why he was the No. 1. Right now we’re playing with one guy back there who should have been a backup.”

Jon Banks and Caleb Berg are the current Cyclone starters at safety and both have struggled.

The two have had a hard time replacing Nik Moser and Steve Paris, two-year starters who graduated last year.

Moser and Paris combined for 299 tackles and 11 interceptions during their junior and senior seasons. Big shoes to fill.

So far this season Berg and Banks have 54 tackles, one tackle for loss and no interceptions.

“They need to play better, and they know it and they need to start this week,” McCarney said. “They’re playing solid but we need to be better than solid.

“There’s a major drop-off from a year ago at safety. There’s hope for the future, but there is a major drop-off from where we were last year. We have to make plays on the ball, be better tacklers and be more consistent.