There are a lot of unsung heroes on the Iowa State football team this season. But one player stands out among them all. Senior long snapper Dale Rowley has been as consistent as a deep snapper could be.

Rowley, a Knoxville native, came to Ames in 1991 to play collegiate football. Rowley walked on and was redshirted in his first season. Rowley later proved to be one of the most reliable players on the team with long snapping ability that has been crucial to ISU football. He holds the longest current playing streak for Iowa State. This Saturday will be his 43rd consecutive start for the Cyclones.

“I’ve been snapping for the past four years at Iowa State, and it has given me an opportunity to play Division I football,” Rowley said. “It’s definitely a type of position that never gets any credit. But just to be part of the turnaround in ISU football that started with Coach McCarney, it’s just a great thing to experience and to be involved in.”

In 1992, Rowley earned a scholarship and has kept it up until this season.

“I haven’t had a snap that has resulted in a blocked punt. There’s been a punt blocked, but it’s probably due to protection. It takes a lot of repetition and technique, being able to get confidence in your snap. It’s great on punts if you can snap without looking and pick up your blocks,” Rowley said. “This will be my 43rd game at Iowa State, hopefully my 44th when we play Missouri.”

But Rowley has been excelling long before he came to ISU. Rowley was an honorable mention all-state selection as a senior by the Iowa Newspaper association, first-team all-South Central Conference selection on defensive line where he recorded 49 tackles and was selected as a first team all-conference center as a junior.

Rowley also excelled at track, throwing the shot put and the discus for the 1993 Knoxville track state championship team.

Saturday’s game with Kansas State will be the last time Rowley will get to long snap on Jack Trice Field. The chapter will be closed on truly one of the best, if not the greatest snapper in Cyclone football history.

“This will be our last two games of the season for the seniors, it will put a punctuation mark on the season. I take pride for the seniors in expressing the future of ISU football after the season,” Rowley said.