With more free time this summer, Iowa State redshirt sophomore quarterback Zeb Noland spent time on one of his favorite leisure activities: fishing.

Noland — a rural guy with roots planted in Watkinsville, Georgia — hooked a lot of “nice fish” this summer. Meanwhile, the quarterback Iowa State originally plugged into the starting lineup — redshirt senior Kyle Kempt — enjoys different aspects of the outdoors.

“Kyle likes to go to the park and just walk around,” Noland said. “This summer one time, he came in [and] he got into some mosquitos, and I gave him the hardest time for at least a week.”

The differences continue beyond the preferences in nature.

Noland brings a big arm to the table and a willingness to chuck up deep passes to his weapons on the outside.

On the flip side, Kempt provides the Iowa State offense with a safer option and pristine accuracy, while utilizing a quicker passing strategy.

Kempt tallied a 114.5 passer rating on passes thrown within 2.5 seconds of the snap, placing him No. 1 among returning Big 12 quarterbacks, according to Pro Football Focus.

Passer rating collects pass attempts, completions, yards, touchdowns and interceptions, churning out a rating on a scale from 0 to 158.3 (the average NFL passer rating hovers slightly under 90).

The redshirt senior averages one interception every three starts, while Noland collected his second interception in his second career start against Oklahoma on Saturday.

“That’s one of the most important things I focus on,” Kempt said. “I think that’s one of the most important traits for a quarterback.”

Kempt showcased his accuracy in Iowa State’s 8-5 season last year with a compiled 66.3 percent completion percentage.

He excelled in standard passing plays with no play-action, logging a 115.9 passer rating according to Pro Football Focus, ranking Kempt first among returning Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) quarterbacks.

The redshirt senior looked to increase his pace, completing 15 of 21 passes in his lone 2018 game for a percentage of 71.4 percent.

Battling injury, the veteran focuses on a different role in the early parts of the 2018 season: leadership.

“Everything,” said quarterback coach Joel Gordon before the season on what Kempt provides for Noland and the other young quarterbacks. “He’s done everything. The good, he’s been at the highs of being a college quarterback even in the little bit of experience he’s had. He’s seen the side of it where he didn’t get [repetitions] for two years.

“Not just the Xs and Os, it’s probably way more than that… You’ve got to learn, and you’re going to have really hard days and you’re going to have some good days. That’s really hard to balance and understand when you’re a young quarterback or any student-athlete. His experience in that room has been awesome.”

Sidelined indefinitely with an MCL injury suffered against Iowa, Kempt adopted a role as a mentor for the week leading up to Iowa State’s game against the Sooners.

Noland quietly turned in a stellar performance in his second start, tossing the ball for 360 yards with two touchdowns and a late interception.

After Cyclone offensive possessions, Noland and Kempt convened, running through the previous plays.

“Kyle is great on the sidelines,” Noland said. “We went through it last year, and he told me what he thought he saw. We had nice, simple conversations, stayed even keel. There was nothing to really get worked up about during the game, and that’s what we talked about.

“He played like that. I’m going to play like that just because that’s who he’s created me to be.”

The mentorship stems further back than this season.

Kempt added weight in the offseason, adding more confidence to his mindset and zip on his passes.

Meanwhile, Noland added his first spring practices under his belt after suffering an injury the previous spring.

On top of the practices, Noland also absorbed knowledge from Kempt.

“I think one of the best things about Zeb is — and this was [why it was] so critical to getting Kyle Kempt back — Zeb has grown as much as anybody in the last six months our program, and a lot of it’s because of leadership from Kyle. Kyle’s taken him under his wing,” said coach Matt Campbell after Iowa State’s loss to Iowa. “Those two have really, really grown together.”

During Noland’s redshirt freshman season last year, he relieved Kempt during Iowa State’s loss to Oklahoma State due to an injury suffered by Kempt.

The following week, the Cyclones headed to Waco, Texas with Noland pegged as the starting quarterback and with Kempt once again providing insight from off the field.

“He’s made a bunch of progress,” Kempt said before the season about Noland. “It was good for him to get those [repetitions] last year. He got a full game in. He stepped in for me in the Oklahoma State game, but he’s continuing to progress. He’s learning every day.”

After Kempt officially received a sixth year of eligibility in February, all signs pointed to him earning the starting duties to start the 2018 season.

Spring provided a chance for the two to compete on the field, but the summer and fall camp marked an opportunity for Noland and Kempt to push each other while improving one another and cultivating a closer relationship. Film study provided a perfect platform.

“Oh, it’s fun,” Noland said before the season about watching film with Kempt. “He puts on a little music, and we have food. We plan to be there awhile, so it isn’t like we’re in and out. We sit there, we laugh, we cut up if we see something on our phones or see something on the screen that we think [is] funny.”

The quarterback duo alternates between who’s responsible for the snacks during film, revealing another quirky difference between the two.

“He [doesn’t] drink energy drinks, and I do,” Noland said with a chuckle. “Kyle’s pretty Plain Jane when it comes to stuff like that.”

Looking forward into this season, Noland controls the reins of the Cyclone offense while Kempt watches from the sidelines.

As Kempt heals, the only certainty right now is Kempt’s status for the Akron game. Noland gets another guaranteed crack at starting for Iowa State.

While Noland makes his impact on the field against Akron, his contributions were influenced by Kempt.

Even with different playing styles, hobbies and opinions on energy drinks, Kempt helps Noland and vice versa. Campbell reiterated this on Cyclones.TV’s radio program, Cyclone Coaches Corner.

“Zeb doesn’t happen if Kyle Kempt isn’t the leader in that room,” Campbell said.