AMES — All eyes were on Hunter Dekkers as he took the field in his first snaps as a starter.

With the pressure on, Dekkers got to work. In brief, Dekkers was electric.

After years of success under Brock Purdy, Iowa State fans were left wondering if someone could step up and fill his shoes. For half a year, Dekkers has been thinking the same thing.

The first game gave Dekkers the opportunity to start off on the right foot, as he led the Cyclones to a 42-10 win over Southeast Missouri State. Not only that, he played a near-perfect game.

To start, Dekkers came out guns firing completing his first seven passes. He ended with 25 completions on 31 attempts. To add to that, he was knocking on the 300-passing yard door, finishing the day with 293 yards.

His yards and completions in the air weren’t the big storylines of the day. It was how easily he found the endzone.
Dekkers ended the game with four passing touchdowns to only one interception. All of those came in the first three quarters.

In a crowded Jack Trice Stadium, Dekkers could do no wrong. From the jump, it seemed as though he was cool as a cucumber.

“I expected to have some sort of nerves going into this game,” Dekkers said. “To be honest, I really didn’t.”
Dekkers knew right away on the first snap that he was going to have a good day. As he lined up under center, he wasn’t nervous one bit.

On that first drive, Dekkers led the charge down the field 85 yards for the first of many Xavier Hutchinson touchdowns. More drives proceeded to shed the same results.

Even Head Coach Matt Campbell praised Dekkers for his poise throughout the game.

“I thought he handled the flow of the game really well,” Campbell said.

No matter who Dekkers targeted, they were delivered a ball right where it needed to be. The only blemish on an otherwise perfect day came late in the second quarter.

Just before the half, Southeast Missouri State marched down the field for a touchdown to close the lead. With time running out, all Dekkers had to do was keep the ball in his possession.

Of course, that was easier said than done. His lone interception of the day came to a ball that was just short of his target and into the hands of a waiting cornerback.

“Corner made a really good play on it, to be honest. I kinda forced the ball a little too far inside,” Dekkers said. “I really wasn’t too worried. I had faith in our defense to get a stop there.”

The defense only let up a field goal, which was the best-case scenario in that situation. Going to the locker room, Dekkers wasn’t stewing on that pick but instead was looking to the future.

He came back out in the second half to finish out a game that will go down in history. Dekkers’ 293 passing yards and four touchdowns was the best performance by a first-time starter in decades.

The way Dekkers handled that adversity was exactly what Campbell was looking for during this season. It was reminiscent of his big game against Oklahoma last year.

“He’s going to have to continue to grow,” Campbell said. “Again, I mean, one game doesn’t define a season; it’s who you become through the entirety.”

It does seem early to overreact, but Dekkers did give Cyclones fans something to look forward to. Coming off the Purdy era, it’s not expected that another quarterback will be as good as he was.

But who really knows?

At the end of the day, Dekkers’ game didn’t raise any eyebrows from those close to him. Campbell noted how it would be rude to say he was surprised since he’s been on the Dekkers train since the start.

“January, February, March, April, May, June, July, and August, man, I could have told you I really felt confident that he would play well today,” Campbell said.

Dekkers has the talent, and he has the winning experience. The Dekkers’ story is anything but an underdog story.
His natural athleticism and arm talent catapulted him to great recruitment looks. Dekkers also went down as one of the best, if not the best, athlete in his high school.

There was a reason he turned heads when he was just a junior.

“I really have great faith in Hunter Dekkers,” Campbell said. “I fell in love with Hunter Dekkers from the first day I saw him in camp.”

With everything on the table, Dekkers needed to prove himself, and he did just that.

Now that the game’s over and the stadium has cleared, Dekkers can focus on his next step. Southeast Missouri State was a small taste of success.

Now Dekkers is prepping for the Hawkeyes next. The Cy-Hawk Series will be the true first test for the new starter. If he excites as he did against Southeast Missouri State, then the sky is the limit.

The win on Saturday is important, but the team knows it’s just one of many. The Cyclones are back, and they are ready for what’s ahead.

Dekkers said it himself.

“It just shows we’re back to playing football.”