There’s no shortage of optimism in central Iowa this fall as the new college football season approaches.

Not that there ever is at this time of year. But in 1999, head coach Dan McCarney swears it’s different.

“I’ve never heard a coach on press day say, ‘It’s a bad class’ or ‘It’s an average class,'” McCarney told reporters. “But this year, there’s more genuine enthusiasm behind our excitement.”

What, you may be asking yourselves, is the cause for this “genuine enthusiasm?”

In four seasons at the ISU helm, McCarney’s numbers don’t exactly speak for themselves.

With an overall record of 9-35 and returning most of last year’s 3-8 squad, you’d think it would be hard to get excited about the Cyclone gridiron.

Maybe Coach Mac’s enthusiasm stems from having so many veterans back on the team.

The Cyclones return 21 players with starting experience and several dozen who are at least game-tested. This is compared to a squad last year full of newcomers.

In addition, where only nine of last year’s projected starters had done so before, the ’99 Cyclones anticipate lining up only three players without starting experience to kick off each game.

“We’ve brought back a lot of guys with experience,” tailback and team captain Darren Davis said. “It pays off when you have 18 to 20 starters coming back. We can’t say we’re young anymore — now it’s time for us to step up.”

Maybe the coaches are optimistic because their linemen are bigger than ever.

The offensive line is, on average, eight pounds heavier than last season, and the defensive line has packed on about 12 pounds per man.

McCarney, for one, is thrilled with the added bulk.

“[James] Reed, our 220-pound lineman, is now at 280. Reggie Hayward’s gonna be 245, and we’ll try to get some weight on him during two-a-days. [Ryan] Harklau’s 280 pounds instead of 240. [Kevin] DeRonde’s up to 250 pounds, and he can run and he’s athletic.”

In fact, some of the players made a competition out of gaining weight.

“Josh Rank is up to 280 pounds,” McCarney said. “He and Harklau had some good contests while they were roommates this summer. They had eat-a-thons, and now they’re both over 280.”

Despite the size increase, most of McCarney’s players feel they haven’t experienced a decline in agility, due primarily to their summer conditioning.

“We lifted four days a week, and we ran each day before workouts,” defensive end DeRonde said. “It kept us busy, and we had a good time.”

Even if the size doesn’t translate into wins, McCarney’s glad the extra pounds are there.

“At least we’ll look better getting off the bus,” he said.

However, what may have the ISU staff members licking their chops is the pair of talented ball-carriers in their backfield.

“We’ve got two backs right now that I wouldn’t trade with anybody as a pair in Darren Davis and Ennis Haywood,” McCarney said. “That’s a great pair of backs, and we have to do all we can to get those guys opportunities.”

Davis turned in another very solid year in ’98, pacing the team with 1,166 yards and seven rushing touchdowns, both career highs. He also accounted for 242 receiving yards and a pair of receiving touchdowns last year, two more career highs for the elusive back.

Haywood made an auspicious debut last season, gaining more than 200 all-purpose yards in limited duty and averaging an exceptional 5.9 yards per carry.

Most critics will point to quarterback as a weak spot for the ’99 Cyclones, but this may be the position that has McCarney smiling.

In junior Sage Rosenfels or junior college transfer Derrick Walker, ISU will have its first truly mobile quarterback in several years.

Rosenfels, a four-sport all-state standout in high school, may be one of the best pure athletes in Cyclone history.

In addition to dominating eastern Iowa football, basketball and baseball, Rosenfels was a state qualifier in track.

He finished fourth on the Cyclone squad last year in rushing yards, despite only carrying the ball four times.

“I’m going to go out there and work my butt off,” Rosenfels said. “I’m going to lead this team, take control of the huddle, be a coach on the field and make big plays.”

His competition for the starting quarterback spot is the 6-2, 228-pound Walker, another great athlete. Using a combination of speed and passing savvy, Walker piloted the Blinn junior college team the last two seasons.

“Quarterback is wide open,” McCarney said. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see both of them play in the first game and maybe all season long.”

These may be some of the reasons McCarney is eager to kick off the ’99 campaign.

Or maybe it’s returning a linebacking corps led by captain Jesse Beckom and his 76 tackles and 3.5 sacks.

Perhaps, though, the Cyclones are really thrilled with a defensive backfield that features all four returning starters and 1998’s leading tackler in safety Jeff Waters.

It may even be the talented group of receivers that started out as last season’s question mark and quickly became a team strength.

Whatever the reason, or reasons, McCarney and the Iowa State Cyclones are ecstatic about their prospects for ’99.