With this being Homecoming Week at Iowa State, I delved into the memory bank to think of former Cyclones who I would like to see back in ISU gear. This was supposed to be a light-hearted attempt to comment on fun names from the past like Chin Achebe, Jamarcus Powers and Bob Utter.

I was perusing through the media guide, when I came across Ennis Haywood’s name. A name that has been forgotten way too soon.

Ennis was perhaps the hardest-working Cyclone in history and quickly became a favorite of his teammates, coaches and the Cyclone faithful. He arrived in Ames as an unheralded running back out of Dallas – his only big-time offer was from Iowa State, because of an injury during his senior year of high-school.

When he stepped on campus, the Cyclones were the laughing-stock of college football. The previous year they had gone 1-10 and support for the program was in severe trouble. Coach Dan McCarney had worn out his welcome and Troy Davis was no longer around to give fans false hope. But, thanks to players like Ennis Haywood, the tide began to turn.

I was in attendance for Ennis’ first touchdown, a 56-yard gallop as a freshman against Ball State in 1998, Iowa State’s longest run of the season. Right away, his love of the game and nobody-works-harder-than-me attitude sparked the Cyclones. Although they only won three games in ’98 and four more in ’99, Ennis led a resurgence that brought respect back to Iowa State and set the stage for great things to come.

In 2000, Iowa State won nine games, played in its first bowl game since 1978 and won a bowl game for the first time ever. That year Ennis led the conference in rushing.

But, he wanted to get better.

In 2001, he cemented his place in Cyclone lore. A week and a half after Sept. 11, Haywood turned in his most memorable performance.

In the first Cyclone game since that tragic day, Haywood churned for 219 yards and a game-icing 66-yard touchdown at Ohio. No Cyclone has reached the 200-yard mark since.

It sounds hokey, but when I think of that awful time for our country, Haywood’s uplifting three-hour show comes to the front of my Cyclone-themed mind.

Listening to Pete Taylor call Haywood’s run down the sideline gave me a reason to be excited again.

He finished 2001 as the leading rusher in the conference for the second time, scoring 14 touchdowns.

I was there to see his last carry as a Cyclone in the Independence Bowl in 2001.

Fittingly, he ran for a tough six yards and a first down.

He would finish his career as the fifth-leading rusher in ISU history.

Shockingly, Ennis tragically passed away in 2003 just hours after hearing he had made the Dallas Cowboys, his hometown team.

He was only 23, leaving his wife, who was his high-school sweetheart, and two children.

I will forever remember the heartbreaking loss against Alabama in the 2001 Independence Bowl, and with no cameras around, Ennis saluting the Cyclone crowd – me in the middle. He received a standing ovation and jogged into the locker room, leaving few dry eyes in the house.

He left holding his helmet high in the air, as if to say, “I will always be a Cyclone.”

If only we could have him back.

– Brent Blum is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Urbandale.