Hard work, determination and desire are all traits that cannot be taught to athletes. For Iowa State defensive back and special teams player Preston Rhamy, those traits have taken him to where he is today.

Rhamy came from Avoca, a small town in southwest Iowa, where he started at linebacker, running back and even saw some time as a quarterback. Even then, at 5’8″ 165 lbs, Rhamy had to work harder than the bigger and faster teammates and opponents. But the hard work paid off as Rhamy earned third team All-State honors from the Des Moines Register as his team made it to the state championship.

“I played offense and defense in high school. I was a small town boy. When I came here I just looked to do the best I could do at any position that I could,” Rhamy said.

Avoca lost to Madrid in the state final and many believed Rhamy’s career was over. Rhamy then packed it up and headed to Ames where he walked on and was later redshirted.

“Basically I wanted to be an engineer and this was the best place to come. They recruited me a little bit and asked me if I wanted to walk on. So I decided to try that out and everything ended up real good,” Rhamy said. “Smaller schools recruited me but I didn’t have any chance of getting a Div. I scholarship. Being from a small school, I wanted to go to a university and see what it was like.”

Rhamy saw some action on special teams his redshirt fresh-man year, but the step up finally came this season. Rhamy earned a scholarship this year and has seen considerable time at the defensive back position, along with being on several specialty units.

“Special teams basically got me where I am right now. It got me a scholarship. I take a lot of pride in special teams. They’ve taken care of me. I have a lot of fun going down there and getting the chance for a big hit,” Rhamy said. “It’s a totally different mindset. You have to go down there looking to take somebody’s head off.”

The big payoff for Rhamy came last Saturday when he blocked a punt in the fourth quarter against Oklahoma. The punt was then picked up and run in for a touchdown by Kevin Hudson to give the Cyclones a 26-23 lead.

“We knew they had a weakness. I knew I would have a pretty good chance to block it if we ran the block. We did run it — it was in our game plan the whole time. I came through pretty clean and I wasn’t too surprised. So I just went and got the ball,” Rhamy said.

“It was the most amazing feeling that I’ve ever had. I can’t begin to describe it.”