AMES — Iowa State’s offense came back from the dead in 2023 to be the driving force in a successful bowl game season, but the Cyclones are not content yet.
The instant success of redshirt freshman quarterback Rocco Becht and a talented support cast of receivers and tight ends paired together to create an offense to be reckoned with. Now that spring ball has started up, Becht and company want to work with the new offensive coordinator, Taylor Mouser, to continue improving.
“We have high expectations, and we know we can be better than last year,” Becht said.
For Becht, it comes down to precision and detail, which is what led to the turnaround from the 2022 season.
Spring camp will provide a good opportunity to dial in what it will take to get the most out of the offense.
“Get better at those areas and produce good football in the fall,” Becht said.
The passing game will be the main emphasis for the upcoming season. With the running game finding issues gaining steam throughout the season, the passing game stole the show.
“We’ve got the guys now to be able to stretch the field,” Becht said.
The Cyclones have stretched the field in the past and want to return to those days. Becht said there is hope that the current group of receivers can replicate the past.
When Iowa State’s offense was at its best, the passing game was explosive. Players like Hakeem Butler and Allen Lazard brought speed and size that made the Cyclones a deep-ball threat.
“We’ve been here at times in our past,” Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell said.
Stretching out the field and adding more deep plays will keep opposing defenses on their toes. Not knowing where the ball could end up will force defenses to stretch thin as well.
“The more you can be explosive and dynamic at the receiver position, the more you certainly force people to defend the whole field,” Campbell said.
Iowa State’s two-star receivers, Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins, and freshman tight end Benjamin Brahmer worked together to move the offense down the field in 2023. With all three returning, among a handful of other players, there is more reason to believe the past can be repeated.
Along with the core group of returning receivers, Campbell and Becht mentioned the significance of Daniel Jackson returning and Beni Ngoyi being a year older. Jackson showed flashes of elite playmaking at times, while Ngoyi showed how good he could become in his performance in the Liberty Bowl.
Becht also brought up Jason Essex, a redshirt sophomore who has been working on his hands and playmaking abilities.
However, the talk of the town was Isaiah Alston, a wide receiver transfer from Army. With the instant success that Higgins saw transferring a season ago, there were high hopes from the coaching staff that Alston could follow a similar path.
Alston stands at 6-foot-4-inches and led Army in receiving the last two seasons. In 2023, he averaged nearly 30 yards per catch.
“He was able to make some incredible plays down the field,” Mouser said. “That was an emphasis for us this offseason is we want to push the ball downfield a little bit more.”
Alston will be another deep-ball threat Becht can look for in the upcoming season. Alston adds more size to an already large receiver room. Alston has a similar build to Ngoyi and Higgins, and all three stand at 6-foot-4.
With Noel’s speed, the receiving room is looking to do some damage in the air.
“Those guys are going to help us win a lot of football games. I think we can push the ball down the field a little more for those guys,” Mouser said.
According to Mouser, the goal is to move the ball in the air more. Mouser said he wanted to up the tempo and create more opportunities in the passing game.
“That’s the plan—more passes and more deep balls,” Becht said.
With Becht and the receivers buying into the new coaching staff’s ideas, the spring season will act as a test run for a potentially explosive offense.
The last few seasons have caused the team to rely on defense to win games. Now, the offense is ready to put up a fight too and further improve from the strides it made last season.
“I can’t wait to be able to go to practice this week and see what kinda damage that we can do,” Mouser said.
