Dan McCarney knows there is work to be done on his team’s offensive line. The encouraging thing for the ISU football coach is the improvement he already sees.

Injuries and inexperience on the offensive line proved fatal for the 2003 Cyclones as they limped to a 2-10 record and failed to win a conference game for the first time in McCarney’s nine seasons at the helm.

“We were inconsistent; we weren’t physical; we weren’t very good; we weren’t good on goal line; we weren’t a good first-down offense because we got dominated up front so much,” McCarney said in summarizing his front line’s weaknesses from a season ago.

“There isn’t anything that we don’t have to make vast improvements in.”

A new line coach, Barney Cotton, and an entire offseason dedicated to strengthening weaknesses have given the unit a new sense of optimism, McCarney said.

“We are making improvements, and those kids are doing a good job,” McCarney said.

“I like the competition, and we’re starting to build a little bit of depth.”

Four starters return from last season, giving the Cyclones an experienced group in the trenches. The team is also growing deeper up front, adding a pair of transfers to the position.

“Scott Stephenson [from the University of Minnesota] will definitely help this program, it’s just a matter of when,” McCarney said.

“Fabian Dodd will help the program this year, there’s no doubt about that.”

Dodd is also switching positions, coming in on the defensive line before being moved across the line this summer. Although the same core of players is back, it will be guided by newcomer Cotton, who is also the offensive coordinator.

Cotton comes to Iowa State from Nebraska, where he helped lead the Cornhuskers to a 10-3 record and a win over Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl last year. He also brings a new fire to the position, said senior center Luke Vander Sanden.

“He brings a relentless attitude and that’s what you need on the offensive line. If you don’t have attitude up front you’re not going to win many games,” Vander Sanden said.

“You can be coached technique all you want, but if you’re not coached to bring attitude to the game, you’re not going to get much accomplished,” he said. “I think that’s the biggest aspect of change we’ve been working on this year.”

The team has spent a long time fixing what was broken last year.

“[We had to] re-evaluate how we go about things and what our main goals are,” sophomore guard Seth Zehr said.

“When you have a losing season, it’s a gut check, and it forces you to evaluate things. We’ve done that, and we’ve put it behind us, and we’re ready to go win some ballgames.”

The Cyclones will get their first chance to redeem themselves on Sept. 4 when they host Northern Iowa.