The first suggestion hit Austin Flynn by surprise.

Should he transfer? Was he staying at Iowa State? Could he take two more seasons as a backup?

“A lot of it came from the media and people speculating, almost telling me that I was leaving,” Flynn said. “And that was before the season ended.

“I hadn’t even thought about it before the season ended. It hadn’t even crossed my mind.”

Flynn, a sophomore quarterback who started much of the 2003 season for the ISU football team, was beaten out by Bret Meyer for the job last season. After splitting duty behind center for the first five games, Meyer cemented himself into the starting spot.

While Meyer was leading the Cyclones to their second bowl victory in school history, and earning Independence Bowl offensive MVP honors, Flynn stood on the sidelines.

In eight games in 2004, Flynn completed 24 of 59 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns. As a freshman, Flynn saw action in 11 games, throwing for 1,238 yards and five scores.

With two years of eligibility remaining, many from the stands thought Flynn would benefit from taking his talents somewhere else.

“I’m not going to say it never crossed my mind after the season,” Flynn said. “It was more people talking than it was me thinking about it. I want to be here.

“You will see me in cardinal and gold next year.”

With Meyer the front-runner at quarterback, the ISU coaching staff is faced with a decision.

“Austin has to be on the field more,” head coach Dan McCarney said. “As a quarterback, wide receiver, I don’t know. What are you going to do? Bench the offensive MVP from the bowl game?

“I want Austin’s input, and we will talk with the offensive coaches. We’re not going to make any snap decisions, but the bottom line is in 2005 he has to be on the field more.”

Quarterbacks coach Todd Fitch said he also sees Flynn’s importance.

“He’s a competitive guy. He’s a good athlete and he helped us win games this year,” Fitch said. “We think he can be a valuable asset as a quarterback, as a receiver or possibly as a special teams player. We’re going to try to find a way to work him into the system and get him on the field.”

Flynn said he would welcome a position change that would place him on the field.

“I would love to play,” Flynn said. “I want to be on the field no matter what. Maybe I can move somewhere and play, I don’t care if it’s special team or anything. I’m excited for the spring to see what they decide and if I can handle it.

“It’s a new challenge for me. Life comes down the road and there’s a bump in the road. I’m not going to go around it or turn around and go somewhere else.”

Even though a season on the bench was hard, the quarterback said he never got down on the situation or his team.

“It was a tough season for me as an individual,” Flynn said. “I think a lot of people think that I’m bitter about it or mad about it, but our team was winning and Bret took the reins and he won the spot. That’s what it’s all about. It’s not about what I want to do individually, it’s about the team, and ultimately I couldn’t be happier about that.”

He also said he knew he was an injury away from reclaiming the starting spot.

“That was really my driving force. I had to be ready,” Flynn said. “I had to go into every practice and every workout thinking that I was the starter, just in case the team needed me. I didn’t want to let the team down if they did need me.”