Mike McKnight and Tony Yelk took part in a summer-long competition for the starting kicking spot on the ISU football team. Experience overcame youth as McKnight narrowly edged Yelk out for the job. McKnight, a junior, was the starting kicker for the Cyclones last season while Yelk entered summer practice as a true freshman who hadn’t taken a college course yet. According to ISU special teams coach Mike Woodley, the experience McKnight gained last season was invaluable in retaining his job for at least the first game of the season. “It’s been a real good battle between Tony and Mike all through two-a-days. We charted every kick and kept track of accuracy, distance and what we call get off time, which is working the holder to make sure the kick don’t get blocked,” Woodley said. “Statistically, Mike probably has the edge in all three categories and he’s going to do our field goal extra point kicking. He has great experience and hopefully that will carry over.” While McKnight will handle the field goal chores, Yelk will take care of kickoffs. Woodley thinks it will be a helpful experience for the freshman. “We’re going to let Tony kind of get his feet wet, so to speak, and hopefully between the two of them, we should have a good kicking game,” Woodley said. The kicking game for the Cyclones struggled somewhat last year as McKnight finished 7-for-13 in field goals, which included two blocked. While McKnight received some heat for his performance at times, Woodley points out that the junior kicker helped the Cyclones pick up two of their four season wins. McKnight kicked a 43-yard field goal with five minutes left to give the Cyclones a 24-21 win over Missouri, and hit from 39 yards out in the final quarter to help the Cyclones preserve a 17-10 win over arch-rival Iowa. “In my opinion, Mike kicked two field goals that won us two games last year. He had one or two blocked here or there and that might not have been entirely his fault. It was his first year doing it and I thought he held up all right,” Woodley said. While McKnight is an experienced veteran, Yelk will play the role of the rookie who will get his first taste of Division I football Saturday. “I feel like I’m ready. As ready as I can get without having any Division I college football experience. Practices have gone well and I hope that if I get an opportunity Saturday, I’ll be able to respond and help the team,” Yelk said. While he was brought in to help out the Cyclone’s kicking game and push McKnight for the job, Yelk maintains that it was positive competition and both players will benefit. “I think we’ve done real well, the competition has really helped both of us. The bottom line is that we’re teammates and that needs to come first. We just need to do what it takes to get the job done and help this football team,” Yelk said. Yelk earned several honors as a prep kicker in Arlington, Wisconsin and came to Iowa State highly regarded. Yelk was first team all-state last season and was ranked as the fourth best kicker in the Midwest by Prepstar magazine. Now at the Division I level, Yelk has noticed a big change but said he feels it’s a good challenge. “It’s a big difference. Guys are a lot bigger, stronger and faster at this level. Practices have been real intense, a lot more than high school. You got to take the bull by the horns, and I’ve stepped up to meet the challenge the best I can,” Yelk said. “I’m real excited. There’s nerves, but I was nervous before every high school game. The thing is once you get into the game, you’re so focused that, believe it or not, the crowd noise doesn’t really affect you.”