With starting experience at nearly every position, head coach Dan McCarney said the ISU football team is entering the 2000 season with high hopes and expectations. The Cyclones’ playing experience has prompted talk of the first winning season since 1989 and a possible bowl bid. With all the positive talk concerning his team, McCarney is taking an attitude of optimism. “I’m not going to set a minimum or maximum goal for the season. We just need continued improvement,” McCarney said. “We’ve built this thing the right way, and I think a lot of people recognize that and are pulling for us.” With 23 seniors returning, one strength for the Cyclones will come from the senior leadership. The seniors lead summer workouts when the coaches aren’t present. “We love the leadership that those guys provide, especially during the summer when we’re not here. I know that this team is stronger and in good shape from all the hard work they’ve put in this summer. That shows the commitment,” McCarney said. The Cyclones are coming off a 4-7 season, but that record can be deceiving since the Cyclones dropped four games by a combined 17 points. Three of those losses came to ranked teams. You have to learn from tough losses. We went down to the wire against ranked teams last year and losing hurts, but as long as you can learn from it, then it’s helpful,” McCarney said. Quarterbacks

The Cyclones have what is considered to be one of the better quarterbacks in the league with senior Sage Rosenfels. Rosenfels had a solid junior season, throwing for 1,781 yards and 10 touchdowns. Rosenfels also was a threat to run, rushing for 225 yards and four scores. Last season, the Cyclones had a solid backup in Derrick Walker, but Walker has since switched to defense. Redshirt freshman Gerrin Scott is listed as the backup. “I’m not satisfied with our depth at quarterback. We have to protect Sage, but we’re not going to walk on eggshells with him; we can’t afford to. The backups need to keep improving because they’re always one play from being a starter,” McCarney said. Running backs

While the Cyclones boast experience at a number of positions, this is not the case in the offensive backfield. Ennis Haywood will get the nod at tailback after waiting his turn behind standout Darren Davis. Haywood saw limited time last season, finishing with 278 yards and an average of 5.1 yards per carry. Haywood’s style will be a change from the flashy moves that Troy Davis and Darren Davis possessed. “He’s got pure speed – he’s faster than both Troy and Darren Davis were. He’s more of a straight-ahead runner. He won’t do all the spins that made you dizzy watching Darren last year,” McCarney said. Other players battling for playing time at tailback are redshirt freshmen Hiawatha Rutland and Michael Wagner. Freshmen Frank Garcia and Joe Woodley are listed on the two-deep as candidates to start at fullback. Receivers

Rosenfels will have a variety of targets to throw to. Returning at split end, senior Chris Anthony offers a threat of a possession receiver. Anthony has racked up 79 receptions over the last two seasons. Last season, starting wide receiver J.J. Moses hauled in 296 receiving yards and scored two touchdowns. At tight end, Mike Banks will start for the second straight year. The 6-foot-4-inch, 254-pound junior, nicknamed the Tasmanian Devil, has earned high praise from McCarney. “Mike Banks is tenacious. Nobody will outwork him and this year he’s taken it to a whole new level,” McCarney said. Offensive line

The Cyclones received a huge boost when offensive linemen Marcel Howard and Ben Beaudet were cleared to play. The duo suffered season-ending concussions “Having those two on the field will be a great help to this team. I don’t need to see a lot of scrimmages to see that they can play winning football. They both feel great, no headaches. We’ve had a real good doctor working with them,” McCarney said. Howard will start at right tackle and Beaudet will go at left guard. Cory Hannen, Zach Butler and Ben Bruns round out the starting offensive linemen. Defensive line

McCarney is touting this year’s defense as possibly his best during his tenure, and it all starts with the defensive line. The Cyclones bring back three starters on the line, and there’s been strides made in strength and conditioning. “We like the size and strength gains – it had to happen. We weren’t physical enough at the line of scrimmage in the past. The trenches in the Big 12 are tough, and we’ve gotten bigger and stronger on both lines so we feel real good,” McCarney said. Leading the list of returnees is senior defensive end Reggie Hayward who earned all-conference honors last season. Hayward completed the 1999 season with 68 tackles, including four sacks. Senior defensive tackle James Reed and senior nose guard Ryan Harklau return to help Hayward anchor the defensive line. Kevin DeRonde will occupy the other defensive end position. “This should be one of our best defensive lines, and it has to be. I think we have the chance to be a very good defense. We have a pretty tough measuring stick compared to other great defenses in our conference like Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas State,” McCarney said. Linebackers

The second phase of the Cyclones 4-3 defense will be helped by two returning starters at linebacker. Chris Whitaker is back at middle linebacker and Ab Turner at one outside linebacker. The Cyclones finished 10th in the Big 12 against the run and 99th in the nation. Obviously this is a concern for McCarney, who is counting on strong play from his linebackers. ‘”We have to be better at stopping the run and at the same time we need to create more turnovers,” McCarney said. Battling for time at the other outside linebacker are Derrick Walker and former Cyclone basketball star Stevie Johnson. Secondary

The Cyclones’ secondary finished eighth in the conference in stopping the pass last season, and McCarney said they are aiming for improvement. The improvement process should be helped immensely by the hiring of Bob Elliott as the new secondary coach. Elliott was a member of the coaching staff on several successful University of Iowa teams during the 1980s and 1990s. “Bob was a fantastic addition to our staff. We go back 30 years and I like having him on my side. Bobby is one of the best secondary coaches in the nation and he’s already made tremendous contributions,” McCarney said. Returning starters Dustin Avey, Atif Austin and Ryan Sloth will be joined in the secondary by Doug Densmore. Special teams

One area that McCarney has made sure to make one of his top priorities is the special teams unit. The special teams was the Cyclones achilles heel last season, as the kicking unit missed six field goals, and the return game made four turnovers. “Special teams is a major emphasis for us this year. We were 10th in the league in field goal percentage last year and we also had four turnovers which is absolutely inexcusable,” McCarney said. Carl Gomez will handle the punting duties while there’s a battle going on between junior Mike McKnight and freshman Tony Yelk for the starting kicker spot. McKnight was 7-of-13 in field goals last year. “Every day Mike and Tony step on the field, we’ll chart every kick. It’s been a real good battle between them. Yelk could punt too,” said McCarney. Moses will take care of returning punts and kickoffs. Moses averaged 22.6 yards per return last year and earned pre-season first-team all-Big 12 pick. Schedule

Despite criticism that the Cyclones have a soft non-conference schedule, McCarney feels every game will be a challenge. The Cyclones play home games with UNLV and Ohio University and travel to Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes. “Our schedule is tough. UNLV has a lot of new faces, and there’s no question that Iowa will be better. Ohio University will all be a challenge,” McCarney said. “We respect all the teams on our schedule.” In the Big 12, the Cyclones start with a home game against powerhouse Nebraska. Other conference rivals that will come to Ames are Missouri, Kansas and Texas A&M. The Cyclones will make road trips to Baylor, Oklahoma, Kansas State and Colorado.