One of the biggest question marks for Iowa State’s football team entering the ’99 season is at the kicker position.

Over four seasons as the Cyclone starter, Jamie Kohl hit 106 of 113 PAT attempts and drilled 37 of 58 field goals, including decisive 54- and 47-yarders to defeat Kansas last year.

Head coach Dan McCarney has a trio of young kickers at camp,vying for the opening.

“We have a lot of positions that are wide open and kicker is certainly one of those,” McCarney said. “We’ll start out every practice with six PAT and field goals. We want to make sure we get the right guy on the field.”

One of the early favorites for the position has to be redshirt freshman Mike McKnight, Kohl’s backup for the 1998 season.

McKnight was a second-team all-state pick out of Fort Dodge where he kicked for three seasons, punted for two and played a little nose guard his senior year.

McKnight, who wears a nose guard’s number (96), displays a sense of aggression inconsistent with his position.

“I’m supposed to play safety now on kickoffs,” McKnight said, “but I’d prefer to go lay a hit. I don’t like to stay back and watch everything.”

The 6-foot-3-inch, 207-pounder says he finds himself sneaking downfield sometimes, nonetheless.

“I have to watch that, though,” he said. “I don’t need to get in trouble.”

One of McKnight’s major competitors for the vacated slot is another redshirt freshman, Steffen Nass from Clinton.

Nass, who drilled a 49-yard field goal in the ISU spring game, was a second-team All-Mississippi Athletic Conference selection as a senior. He connected on 7-of-21 field goal attempts during high school.

In addition to kicking, Nass will serve as a capable backup punter, a position where he earned first-team recognition while in high school.

The final competitor for open slot is freshman Rocco Rinaldi of Palatine, Ill.

Rinaldi set school records by connecting on 95 percent of his field goal attempts and kicking a record 46-yarder.

He was chosen as a Daily Herald all-area selection and listed among the top 100 players in the Chicago area.

“I like the range on all three of them,” McCarney said. “They’ve got some real strong legs, but none of them has ever kicked the ball in a pre-game warm up or during a game.”

“It’s pretty much a tie at this point,” McKnight said entering preseason practices. “Whoever comes out of two-a-days on top will get the first shop, but if he falters, we’ll rotate the other guys in.”

There isn’t nearly as much deliberation at the punter position, where junior Carl Gomez has done a more than adequate job the past two seasons.

After a sterling high school career in Miami, Fla., Gomez picked up where he left off right away in college.

After averaging 41.6 yards per kick in ’97, his average dropped to 40.0 in ’98, but Gomez didn’t allow a blocked punt all season, dropped three kicks inside Cyclone opponents’ 5-yard lines and 11 inside the 20.

Another major departee on special teams was deep snapper Cory Kluver, who was consistent at the position for four full seasons.

In ’99, sophomore Jason Lyftogt figures to be his replacement.

“Jason is our best deep snapper right now on punts,” McCarney said. “We also have some guys in camp that may make pretty decent short snappers, too.”

Converted flanker J.J. Moses highlights this season’s return corps.

The diminuitive return man combines great speed with a repertoire of elusive moves to beat defenders on both punt and kick returns.

With only 218 yards of return experience so far, Moses looks forward to the opportunity to perfect the position and excel this fall.

In ’98, he returned seven kicks for an average of 23.3 yards and three punts for an average of 11 yards.

“Returning kicks gives me the chance to run in the open field and make the big play,” Moses said. “It gives me a chance to show everybody what I have.”