A few things have changed in the world of college sports since Matt Campbell and members of the Iowa State football team last spoke with the media.

No fall sports in the Big Ten and Pac-12. No Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk football game this fall. High-profile college football players using their platforms to advocate for a college player’s association. New COVID-19 testing protocols in the Big 12.

The Iowa State football program had a lot going on outside its walls (or bubble if we want to use updated terms) as the 2020 season approaches. And yet, amid all of the chaos and confusion that will go hand in hand with this college football season, Iowa State is pressing on and is making a point of focusing only on what the players and coaches can control.

Forget about what the Big Ten and Pac-12 are doing. Don’t think about the possibility of the season being postponed even more. Will there be a full football season? Who knows?

Despite those looming questions, it was made clear Friday the top priority right now for Iowa State football is making themselves better and preparing for a season like it is any other.

Head Coach Matt Campbell, tight end Chase Allen and defensive back Greg Eisworth spoke with the media Friday (over Zoom call as per the usual in 2020). Campbell and his players touched on focusing on the in-game details in order to take the next step as a program, as well as the excitement they all have for the amount of talent on both sides of the ball.

Learning from the close losses

If there was a word to describe the 2019 football season for Iowa State, it would be “close.”

From a close overtime call by a referee in Norman, Oklahoma, to a near-disaster start to the season against Northern Iowa, Iowa State usually found itself on two sides of the spectrum every week: Way-too-close victories or not-close-enough to the top-tier teams.

And now with the 2020 season offering a fresh start and an opportunity to learn from the mistakes of last season, Iowa State is ready to right the ship.

Senior tight end Chase Allen said the main focus for Iowa State this offseason has been harping on details and adjusting quicker than normal.

“It’s the inches, it’s the detail that we have been stressing in the offseason,” Allen said. “This is a hard time to stress detail but I think we have the right group in place and we are taking advantage of this and I think we are going to see this year that we are going to win that inch in places where we didn’t last year.”

Allen said Iowa State is adding a term called “accelerated vision” to beating those fundamentals in. The term is a way for players to be able to process and react to situations in real time and be able to know the right move. Things happen fast on the field, and Allen said Iowa State wants the players to become masters of their position. 

It comes down to execution, awareness and being aware of what your job is for Allen and fellow senior Greg Eisworth.

Eisworth said the offseason has been a reminder in detail and precision, knowing everyone’s checks and adjustments down pat.

With many losses as well as some wins that could have flip-flopped for the Cyclones in 2019, Eisworth said he hopes the offseason work pays off.

“Hopefully this year will be a different result.” 

Excited for what is to come in the tight end room

There’s a lot to like about Iowa State’s 2020 roster.

A tight end room with plenty of experienced names, a defensive line with veteran leadership and a developing offensive line, Iowa State is excited at the possibility these positions and more can bring.

Campbell is ready to see what the whole tight end group can bring to the offense this season, giving Campbell room to reflect on where the position was just a few years ago when Campbell first arrived.

“You go back four or five years ago and there’s no scholarship tight ends on the roster and for all our position groups there is no short, quick fix,” Campbell said.

As a senior leader in the tight end group, Allen said watching young guys have just as much growth as he did when he was younger leads him to be optimistic of the production from the group in 2020.

“We are super excited about the group of tight ends we have,” Allen said. “We look around the room now and we are like, ‘Wow there are some playmakers in here,’ everyone looks like a tight end and we’re ready to roll.”

One of the biggest pieces of that tight end room is junior Charlie Kolar, who set multiple Iowa State tight end records in his breakout sophomore season in 2019. Kolar and Allen are both picked as preseason All Americans and Allen couldn’t hide his love for his fellow tight end.

“Charlie’s a physical freak and he’s a mental freak,” Allen said. “He’s one of the smartest guys I’ve ever met and I love him.”

Eisworth has had fun going up against each tight end Iowa State has to offer, saying “Iron sharpens iron.” 

Each tight end brings their own style and abilities to the table, making each rep a good challenge for Eisworth. Eisworth said the tight end room has so many body types, route-running abilities and different formations to keep track of, it can be hard to find consistent success against them in practice.

“One day you can have a good rep and the next day they kind of embarrass you,” Eisworth said. 

College football players showing unity

In early August, high-profile players like Trevor Lawrence, a front-runner for the Heisman Trophy this fall, posted an image of player unity and a call of action to the Power Five Conferences they wanted to move forward and play football this fall.

Lawrence’s post started to trickle down to other members of the Power Five and caused hundreds of players to tweet out the image and ask their respective conferences to play football this fall.

Among the calls to continue forward and have a fall football season, the graphic shared by the players asked for a future seat at the table when it comes to decisions made about their health and safety. The graphic also demanded players have representation from all Power Five leagues at future meetings involving player safety and testing protocols, which would turn into forming a College Football Players Association down the road.

Allen liked the idea of forming a union of some kind for college players, but said the real-world applications of it would be hard given how many players move around after each season. Allen said he was proud of the Big 12 for reaching out to players to hear their thoughts on playing this fall.

Eisworth showed more hesitation than his teammate when it came to supporting the #WeWantToPlay movement.

“I would have to have more information about it for me to have a true ‘yes’ or ‘no’ opinion on that,” Eisworth said.

While Eisworth said he was in total support of college players coming together, there are too many unknowns when it comes to supporting the movement. He was not against the movement itself but had questions that still needed to be answered before he would be ready to come out in full support.

Campbell was glad to see players with big platforms speak out on issues they care about and said he hopes to see more players realize how much they can change. Campbell said it was rewarding to see what has taken place over the last couple weeks.

“I’ve always believed that players should have a voice,” Campbell said.