Football is right around the corner, and every day means another step toward Iowa State beginning its highly anticipated 2021 season.

Iowa State Head Coach Matt Campbell kicked off Iowa State’s first day of fall camp by addressing the media, with the seventh-year head coach talking through the Cyclones’ COVID-19 vaccination rate, the whirlwind of Big 12 realignment and what he’s seen from the offensive line. 

Health outlook and COVID-19

Campbell’s first round of questions Monday concerned COVID-19 and the rise of the delta variant across the U.S. and Iowa over the last three months. Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby spoke at length about the Big 12’s thoughts on vaccinations at Big 12 media days July 15, saying teams will be rolling the dice if they don’t work to get a large portion of their rosters vaccinated.

Bowlsby said unlike the 2020 schedule, the Big 12 has not and won’t include an extra week on the schedule if teams don’t have enough eligible players on a given Saturday. No make-up games, no rematches. It’s a forfeit if teams have too many players in COVID-19 protocols.

“Frankly, anyone not getting vaccinated is taking unnecessary and unwarranted risks, and that’s not just student-athletes — that’s anybody in our society,” Bowlsby said at Big 12 media days.

Back in June, Campbell estimated that 85 percent of the Cyclones had been vaccinated. As the Cyclones begin fall camp, he said that number has increased. 

“We’re well over 90 percent [vaccinated] as a team,” Campbell said Monday. “All you can do is continue to take the education and guidelines and make the best decision for everybody involved.”

Campbell would not offer specifics on what he’s heard from players and staff who aren’t vaccinated yet, but he said family values or feelings of potential health risks have come up. Iowa State cannot require COVID vaccinations, but Campbell plays a role in informing players on their options.

“My responsibility is, ‘Man, here are the facts, here’s what we know and then you make the best decision for you and your family,’” Campbell said.

What does Big 12 realignment mean for the Cyclones?

From the time Campbell left Big 12 media days in Arlington, Texas, in July to where he stood answering questions from reporters Monday, the landscape of the Big 12 and college football has faced massive news. The University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma formally applied for membership into the SEC on July 27, plunging the Big 12’s future into a murky mess.

Based on the media rights agreement between the existing 10 schools in the Big 12, Oklahoma and Texas would have to wait until 2025 to officially leave the conference. But after the two schools went forward with their unexpected announcement, nothing is certain about where things stand for the rest of the league before then.

So where does that leave Iowa State? Campbell has taken the approach of controlling what he and the Cyclones can control in his time in Ames, but he didn’t shy away from talking about the topic Monday.

“I have no idea,” Campbell said when asked about what Texas and Oklahoma’s eventual departure means for Iowa State. “My focus has been on zero of that. To say it doesn’t matter or ‘I don’t care’ is probably wrong, but to say I’ve thought about it once is probably right. My focus is solely on our kids and our football team and making sure we continue to do what we need to do in the present.”

Iowa State Athletic Director Jamie Pollard and Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen released a video message to fans July 26 on the news of Oklahoma and Texas wanting to leave the Big 12, urging donors and supporters of Cyclone athletics to stay patient and to not panic as the situation develops.

“This is not going to be solved anytime soon. The next four years will be a long, bumpy and challenging road for everybody in college athletics,” Pollard said in the video. “As we learned, Oklahoma and Texas intend to honor their grant of rights through 2025. If that remains the case, we know the Big 12 is going to stay viable, the Big 12 is going to continue to win national championships and be competitive in NCAA Championships and all 10 members are going to continue to receive their full media shares.”

Campbell was asked about how the uncertainty moving forward will impact recruiting and what he should tell recruits concerned about the Big 12 possibly losing its pedigree. He had a simple answer.

“I’ve always said the recruiting piece is ‘win,'” Campbell said. “When you win, people want to play for winners, and when you want to have success, people want to be around a program that’s having success.”

Offensive line impressing

Iowa State managed to make it through the challenges of the 2020 season with very few health concerns, but one of the losses a season ago was in Trevor Downing. Downing, the only returning starter from 2019, went down with a season-ending leg injury in the season opener Sept. 12. But the offensive didn’t miss a beat.

The Cyclones turned to new faces to fill the guard spots in 2020 with Derek Schweiger and Darrell Simmons Jr. Schweiger is a former walk-on who waited his turn, earned a scholarship and made All-Big 12 Second Team honors in 2020. Schweiger started all 12 games in 2020, seeing time at both guard positions and filling in at tackle in the Fiesta Bowl.

Simmons entered the season behind Downing and Schweiger, but when Downing went down, Simmons was immediately thrust into the starting lineup. Simmons started the final 11 games of the season, earning Second Team Freshman All-America honors by The Athletic and was an Honorable Mention All-Big 12 performer. 

“As we go into camp, I feel like there’s 11 guys that could or have the ability to start on our football team,” Campbell said.

The fierce competition and expectations are new for the offensive line, a position group Campbell said has never been a strong suit for the Cyclones until recently. But Iowa State is bringing back seven linemen with a combined 93 starts, giving Campbell optimism of what the group can accomplish.

Iowa State will also return three tackles who started at least five games in 2020 in Sean Foster, Jake Remsburg and Joey Ramos, along with veteran center Colin Newell to fill out the developing group. 

“You better bring it every day, or you might not play,” Campbell said.