The 1997 Cyclone defense put up some alarming numbers.

Coach Dan McCarney’s troops were ranked last in the Big 12 and 107th in the nation (of 112 Class 1A college football programs) in pass efficiency defense. Opposing quarterbacks managed 2120 yards over the course of the season and maintained a QB rating of 153.5.

The Cyclones were even worse when it came to scoring defense, ranking last in the Big 12 and 110th nationally. They gave up 493 points in 1997, over 100 more than Baylor, the 11th team in the Big 12.

Total defense wasn’t much better for Iowa State, which gave up 439.7 yards per game. This total was good enough for last in the Big 12 and 101st in the nation.

However, when it comes to major concerns for McCarney and his defensive line, the following statistics are the hardest to handle.

Iowa State ranked 11th in the Big 12 (ahead of Baylor) in rushing defense and 106th nationally by giving up 247 yards each game on the ground.

McCarney, who was a defensive line coach at the University of Iowa and at Wisconsin from 1979 until taking over Iowa State’s program, still has deep ties to the defense’s interior.

“It tears my gut and my heart out to not be able to put a good defensive line on the field,” McCarney said.

“We have got to slow down the running game, cut down giving up the big plays, as well as improve on turnovers and tackles for loss.”

McCarney, though, is optimistic about this year’s defense and his line, in particular.

“Our team speed on defense will be better and we do have half a dozen kids who have played on the defensive line. We’ve had a tremendous nucleus of kids here all summer.”

The 1998 Cyclone defensive line returns mostly intact from last season. Senior starter Greg Schoon is the only major loss. Last year’s Arthur Floyd Scott Award winner (for the team’s outstanding linemen), Schoon’s 65 tackles and two sacks will be missed.

The rest of the line, however, is back and one year bigger and better.

James Reed returns at defensive tackle after a career season as only a redshirt freshman. Reed was named the Cyclone’s defensive player of the year after racking up 43 solo tackles (71 total, four for losses) and six sacks (a team high).

Backing up Reed is another redshirt freshman, Ryan Harklau. The 1996 defensive scout team player of the year, Harklau contributed as a backup last year and is excited about what he sees this season.

“There are things I wasn’t prepared for last year that I am this year … but I can already tell that there is more size up here this year than last year.”

At the nose guard position, Clyde Sanders, a transfer from Sac City Community College of Sacramento, California, may have a slight advantage over redshirt sophomore Nigel Tharpe.

Sanders, who was named the Super Prep West Coast Defensive Player of the Year out of high school, turned in some big numbers at Sac City and, according to McCarney, has “brought some maturity and certainly some ability to the team.”

Tharpe, who, along with Sanders, boasts major college football size, was an important recruit out of Detroit two years ago. He picked Iowa State over Kansas and Michigan State, among others.

Penciled in at the end positions before the beginning of two-a-days were a pair of 6-foot-5, 240-pound second-year players from the Midwest. Besides these similarities, Reggie Hayward and Iowan Kevin DeRonde aren’t much alike.

Hayward, a sophomore out of Dolton, Illinois, was one of the most highly touted prep recruits ever to come to Iowa State. The Super Prep All-American totaled 303 tackles, 14 sacks and 24 tackles for loss in his three-year high school career.

Hayward said he is eager to begin the season.

“We have more experience this year,” Hayward said. “I have more experience this year. We were pretty young last season and now we’ve learned a lot. It was my first season of college ball and I’m a lot more comfortable and confident now.”

Discussing his goals for the year, Reggie gets quickly to the point.

“I’m looking for some big sack numbers and I want to cut down on mental mistakes,” he said. “I want to truly dominate.”

His counterpart on the other side of the defense is DeRonde. The redshirt freshman out of Pella was one of the top recruits in the state of Iowa two years ago. His 110 tackles in 1996 garnered him first-team all-state honors as well as the distinction of Iowa Newspaper Association Class 3-A Player of the Year.

DeRonde seemed far more interested in discussing the improvement of his team than of his own development.

“What we have this year is depth,” DeRonde said. “Guys don’t have to play 60 minutes anymore. We also picked up a couple of 300-pound JUCO’s to pick up the load. Competition for spots will be pretty intense.”

Also in the hunt for a starting spot at defensive end is senior Chin Achebe. His 67 tackles (including a team-high seven for losses) and three sacks make him a leading candidate for a spot in the rotation.

Other players with reasonable shots at playing time include junior college transfers Robert Brannon and Mike Dorise.

Brannon, who led San Bernadino Valley Community College in tackles and sacks last year, was the anchor of a defense that gave up less than 70 yards per game on the ground.

Dorise, a transfer from Butte Community College of California, was an all-state JC selection last year as a sophomore. He harassed quarterbacks to the tune of 23 sacks, including eight in one contest.

Also competing for playing time will be redshirt freshman Jared Bucksa and junior Antonio Mays.

The 1998 Iowa State line will be a little bigger than the 1997 version and a lot more experienced. The Cyclones still lack the size to compete with big-time offensive lines, but hopefully their skill and speed will help make up the difference. With the addition of big bodies like those of Sanders and Brannon, there isn’t nearly as much ground to make up as in seasons past.