The Iowa State football team’s spring practices came to an end on Saturday with an indoor scrimmage due to the cancellation of the spring game. 

The nasty weather that was forecasted came through, but head coach Matt Campbell was happy with what he saw from the Cyclones regardless. Former Iowa State players spoke before the practice about the future of the program under Campbell.

Some notes and tidbits from the final Cyclones spring practice:

Colin Newell is ‘special’

Not often at the Power Five level does a redshirt freshman get a chance to start on the offensive line. Colin Newell is making a strong case for himself, however. 

Playing at Iowa State has long been a dream for Newell. The Ames native and third-generation Cyclone — who has been watching games since Todd Blythe and Bret Meyer were leading the charge in the early 2000s — has been impressing offensive coaches during spring practices. Campbell has named him in his group of the top four offensive linemen, and he said Saturday that Newell was “a special young man”. 

Newell has had to beef up since arriving at Iowa State. He’s gone up from 255 to 290, and he said it was necessary for him to be in the spot he is now. 

“It’s hard to play college football at 255 pounds on the offensive line,” Newell said. “I have to continue to get bigger and get stronger.” 

Newell has been moving across the offensive line during practices, but he said most of his work has been done at center and guard. He’s had to do “a lot of extra film” and has learned a lot from his veteran counterparts. Julian Good-Jones is someone Newell singled out as a “big brother” and Newell credits Good-Jones with teaching him a lot about the center position.

Campbell said that, given how hard he is on the offensive linemen, it says something about Newell that he’s worked his way into the picture so quickly.

“I think it says a lot about what his ability level and his talent level is,” Campbell said. 

Safeties update

The Cyclones still don’t know for sure what the situation is at safety heading into the summer. At least, that’s what Campbell said on Saturday afternoon.

“I think there was a lot of growth in some of those areas,” Campbell said. 

Greg Eisworth, a redshirt sophomore from South/Trinity Valley Community College, has stood out through the spring, and Campbell even said Saturday that Eisworth would be his pick for defensive MVP over the 15 practices. 

After Eisworth, though, the safety depth chart gets a little hazy. Campbell said Braxton Lewis has improved, but that Keontae Jones has to “get bigger and stronger over the next 10 weeks.”

There’s also uncertainty in the star position, as Campbell said there was an “electric tic group of guys” in the running. De’Monte Ruth and D’Andre Payne were mentioned as players who could step into the star spot, but Campbell said that who plays there might depend on which package the Cyclones line up in and what the game plan dictates week by week.

There’s a lot left to be decided on the back end of the Cyclones’ defense heading into summer practices, and the safeties group could end up being a fascinating position battle as football season approaches.

Quarterback room ends spring on a positive note

Kyle Kempt went into spring ball as “the guy” for the first time in his collegiate career, and the sixth-year senior led a strong showing from the quarterback room at the Cyclones’ Saturday scrimmage. 

Campbell said that Kempt went into spring having to “understand who he is” and figuring out what he does when he performs at his best.

Kempt completed 66 percent of his passes in 2017, throwing for 1,787 yards and 15 touchdowns in nine games.

Campbell said Kempt had a good showing, but that he was followed closely by redshirt sophomore Zeb Noland. 

Last spring, Noland wasn’t able to go during spring ball due to his ACL recovery, and Campbell said that he’s made “the most strides” out of any quarterback through the past four weeks. 

“Last year he really didn’t get any live reps,” Campbell said. “Now he gets a whole spring and his growth was really good to see.”

Campbell also mentioned true freshman Re-al Mitchell, an electrifying early enrollee that has excited Cyclone fans, saying that it was important for him to get 15 practices to make mistakes and learn. 

Campbell said that the Cyclones’ staff now feels it can tailor its offense to the top three quarterbacks and be prepared to “rock and roll” for the regular season.