There’s some noticeable growth going for Iowa State’s defensive line.

Not necessarily on the physical side, mind you. Most players will put on or lose weight at some point during their eligibility, and even though that can occasionally be difficult, players’ bodies will usually fluctuate greatly throughout their time on a college football roster.

Changing your personality and work habits, however? That can be significantly more difficult.

Some of the team’s defensive linemen know this well, but maybe none perhaps more than Jamahl Johnson, who last year had coaches down to their final straw due to a lack of commitment on the practice field and in the classroom.

“He saw the end of the road,” defensive line coach Eli Rasheed said. “This is a program built on doing things right, and if you continue to do things the wrong way you’re not going to last in our program. He saw those down to the last thread and got his act together.”

Johnson often performed when he actually got on the filed during games, but the problem for Johnson was that his inconsistent practice habits meant that the coaching staff didn’t trust him in games.

On top of that, Johnson said that he didn’t put much effort into his academics, and that the “dumb” stuff that he was doing was starting to add up. With nudging form his teammates and coaches, Johnson realized that he had to get things together.

“I just wasn’t there 100 percent with the team,” Johnson said. “I took a lot of time to myself to really excel in my education and off-the-field things that I was doing. I’m really, throughout the spring and the whole summer, a completely changed person.”

For Johnson, he says things really started changing once he turned his academics around. He said that he increased his grade point average from a 2.2 at the beginning of last spring all the way to a 3.2, and that once he got his grades in order, things started started to fall into place everywhere else.

Johnson also fixed the practice habits that were driving coaches crazy, which has given him plenty of confidence heading into this season.

“I was practicing not as well and then playing pretty doggone good when I got into the game,” Johnson said. “But now I’m practicing very well and I’m just very excited to see what I can do this year.”

Another playing making similar strides is on the defensive line is junior end JaQuan Bailey.

Bailey is showing maturity by taking on more of a leadership role in his third season with the team.

After getting ringing endorsements from players and coaches during media day, Bailey’s teammates and coaches continued to speak highly of his leadership abilities during media availability.

“I think JaQuan is starting to step into a leadership role,” Rasheed said. “J.D. Waggoner was that guy for a while, and when he graduated, it’s been a collective effort. But (Bailey’s) taken that role, not just with talk, but with action and that’s what I’m more proud of him for.”

Bailey’s fellow defensive end, senior Spencer Benton, said that he’s noticed the growth in Bailey over the past two years.

Benton acknowledged that the media and fans may have a different view of Bailey because of the things he’s done on the field, but that the locker room holds him in very high regard because of the type of person he is away from games.

“He’s really grown over these past couple of years into a great person on and off the field” Benton said. “Off the field, he’s just always there with the guys and always helping out. I think it’s one of those things, more of like a locker room type thing, that people may not always see.”