The 2004 ISU football team consisted of 60 underclassmen on a roster of 85. That should be music to the ears of Cyclone faithful across the country. For the most part, it is — until you start thinking about losing crowd favorite and team leader Ellis Hobbs.

Hobbs wasn’t only the best player on the team last year, he was also the most charismatic. He wasn’t only charismatic with the crowd, though — he was charismatic with his teammates. He was a true leader who could take over a game all by himself.

Now during spring ball and heading into the fall, the question has to be asked: Who is going to fill his shoes?

Senior safety Nik Moser is one candidate. Last year, Moser led the Cyclones in tackles and had three interceptions on top of that. Junior DeAndre Jackson is another possibility. Jackson has played extensively during his two years as a Cyclone and will be one of the top players on the defense in the fall.

My pick, though, would have to be the 2004 Big 12 Conference Defensive Newcomer of the Year — Tim Dobbins. Dobbins has the strength to stop the run but also has a lot of speed at the linebacker position.

Speaking of speed at linebacker, redshirt freshman Adam Carper has been moved from safety to outside linebacker this spring, where he is impressing coaches. Look for Carper and another redshirt freshman, Nick Frere, both to step up and get quality minutes for the Cyclones.

I think the key to this defense will be team speed. Playing in the weak Big 12 North, though, it won’t be as obvious, but the Cyclones need more speed everywhere on the defensive side of the ball to compete with teams like Iowa, Texas A&M and 2006 opponents Texas and Oklahoma. With this year’s speed on defense, I’d like to see a lot more blitzing. Get to the quarterbacks and put pressure on them early.

Though the loss of Hobbs will be huge, I am prepared to make this extremely bold statement: The 2005 season will be the most successful season in the history of Cyclone football.

Here is why I say that: Simply look at the schedule. Away games against Army, Nebraska, Missouri, Texas A&M and Kansas. I don’t think Iowa State will beat A&M, but there is no reason why they should lose to any of the others. Nebraska scares me a little bit, but it has basically the same team as last season. They had a great recruiting class, but most of those guys will redshirt, and I’ll take our sophomores and juniors with experience over a couple of good freshmen playing for Bill Callahan.

I hate to break it to you, but I think the Cyclones will lose to Iowa in a close game at home on Sept. 10. The Hawkeyes will have too much team speed and depth for the Cyclones. With that, Texas A&M and Iowa are the only losses I see on the schedule.

A simple goal for the 2005 team should be to win the Big 12 North outright this year and play in the Big 12 championship game.