It’s finally official. The last of this year’s recruiting class has been cleared to play this season, Dan McCarney announced yesterday at his weekly press conference.

McCarney also said that Mike Dorise has returned to the team after leaving Ames for two weeks to take care of personal business.

The Cyclones will have their hands full on Saturday, as they have had to prepare for both an option and a drop back offense.

TCU also has two outstanding running backs in Basil Mitchell and LaDainian Tomlinson.

McCarney also said to look for more depth in this year’s Cyclones.

“We are more physical and faster than we were last year,” McCarney said. “We plan on playing between 22 and 24 players on defense. We have more faith in the two deep that there will be no drop off when the back-ups come in. In the past we have had our problems at the end of the second and fourth quarters. With no clear cut starters at many positions, it is important that we see how they react to game situations.”

McCarney said he plans on playing everyone on the two-deep roster and that everyone is healthy.

“When you use a lot of kids it improves the morale of the team,” McCarney said. “I feel real good about everyone. We’re not going to be holding our breath when we send them out there.”

On offense, McCarney feels confident that his inexperienced offensive line can stand up against TCU’s talented front four.

“(TCU) has a basic four man line, but we expect to see some nine man fronts,” McCarney said. “They have excellent speed. The strength is their front four. They will give our line a real test right out of the box.”

McCarney also said that he will likely be playing freshmen Mike Banks and Atif Austin on offense, and that transfer player Ennis Haywood would see playing time in the Cyclone backfield.