Reggie Hayward was recognized as the Big 12 Player of the Week after his monstrous game against the University of Iowa.

Hayward ended up with five tackles, a forced fumble and a sack in the 27-9 pummeling of the Hawkeyes, which represented the first win over the cross-state rivals since 1982.

Hayward also had a solid opening game against TCU, where he recorded three tackles and a sack.

The 6-5, 237-pound defensive lineman from Dolton, Illinois came to Iowa State as one of the highest recruited athletes in the Dan McCarney era, and the reasons for that are becoming very clear.

Hayward’s numbers in the Iowa game were not indicative of the way that Hayward and the rest of the defense completely dominated the line of scrimmage.

However, the voters for the award were quick to recognize the Herculean efforts of the sculpted sophomore from the Land of Lincoln.

“That’s my first college honor, and I’ve just been basking in the glory for this whole week,” said Hayward.

However, he was quick to point out that he was not the only one who would enjoy the award.

“It belongs to the defense. We were all running to the ball, I just happened to get to it a little quicker this week,” said Hayward.

According to the high school All-American, the performance of the defensive line was a precursor of things to come.

“I think we can play that way every week, as long as we cut down on our mental mistakes and play hard.”

Another reason the defensive line is much improved is the depth that a number of players have helped provide.

“Depth is really important,” Hayward said. “If one of us is tired, we can get a blow for two or three plays, and somebody else can come in and get a few plays to get into the flow of things and get some experience.”

However, Hayward is not ready to rest on his laurels and call it a successful season after the huge win.

“I’m not going to let the award get to my head. This week we have really been concentrating on Ball State and really working hard and getting ready for them.

“I don’t know if we’ve gotten the respect that we ultimately want. I mean, this game was only one out of many. I think if we play Ball State the way we played Iowa, then maybe we will get some respect.”

Hayward was not one to forget about the people that he plays for —the Cyclone fans.

“The fans were really great. When we came back the two hours from Iowa City they were already outside waiting for us. It was a great feeling to see all the fans banded together for us. It’s a lovely feeling.”

There has been excitement for the football team around the ISU campus that has not been here for quite a long time, and this feeling is certainly not lost on Hayward.

“I really think the crowd is going to be ready to go on Saturday. This is a new tradition. We’ve turned this program around — we’ve started winning and the fans are behind us 100 percent.”

Despite the two completely contrasting outcomes, Hayward says that the goals and philosophies for the two games were the same.

“We had the same goals for TCU as for Iowa. We wanted to come out and control the ball and control the line of scrimmage, and we didn’t do that for TCU.

“But we came back and were able to get that accomplished against Iowa, and everybody saw the results.”

Reggie Hayward and the rest of the Iowa State defense is finally starting to earn the respect of not only its fans, but the public and the press as well.

Now that this respect has been earned off the field, the goal of Hayward and others is to earn it on the field.

With the way they played last week, they are well on their way to earning it.