About a week after coach Matt Campbell was hired at Iowa State, he called former ISU quarterback Sage Rosenfels.

Campbell was particularly interested in the history of the football program. Who better to ask than one of the better quarterbacks in the Dan McCarney era of ISU football? 

“I think he really wanted to learn, ‘What’s the history of Iowa State football?'” Rosenfels said. “‘What is the history of the program?’ So I tried to lay out that for him. I tried to lay out what the situation was. I tried to give him as much information as possible so he could use it as he wants.”

That conversation was one of many Campbell has had with former players and coaches. A couple of weeks ago, Campbell invited McCarney to practice and to speak in front of the team. 

And at the spring game Saturday, Campbell invited a long list of former players and coaches back. Former quarterback Seneca Wallace, former linebacker A.J. Klein and Rosenfels topped off the list. 

The outreach makes former players feel like they’re a part of the Cyclone family, Rosenfels said. Rosenfels added that it was something that was lacking in the past few years.

“It really hasn’t been here,” Rosenfels said. “It hasn’t really been that strong. I think it’s something that has been underlying, but I think it’s something that Campbell really wants to bring to the forefront.”

Rosenfels also believes that Campbell can bring back the winning mentality to ISU football. The Cyclones have won eight games in the past three seasons. 

“They’ve been losing the past four years, and it hurts us as former players,” Rosenfels said. “We want to be known and be involved in a school with a winning tradition and also does things the right way. We have Matt Campbell. Not only will he do things the right way, but he’ll bring wining back to Iowa State.”

Other former players echoed that sentiment. Campbell reached out to Wallace within the first week of being hired, Wallace said.  

“I was a little surprised, but he is a man of his word,” said Wallace, who coached the Cardinal team in the spring game. “He’s a stand-up guy and that’s huge. It speaks a lot about a coach that is coming into a tough situation. He might not know the past history of it, but he did his homework when he got the job.”

Not only do the former players have a chance to rub off on current players by being around the team, but it also gives them a chance to reminisce on their careers. 

Such was the case with Wallace, who stood in front of a picture of “The Run,” which is the defining play of his ISU career, while being interviewed Saturday. Wallace went all the way back to the 32-yard line all for a 12-yard touchdown against Texas Tech in 2002. 

“The run? Yeah, man,” Wallace said. “That’s one thing that I‘ll always talk about. It doesn’t’ matter where I‘m at. That’s one play that I‘ll talk about it. It’s exciting to talk about it with the fans.” 

Klein, who played from 2009-12, is just coming off a Super Bowl loss with the Carolina Panthers. Klein had four interceptions for touchdowns in his collegiate career, which tied an NCAA record at the time. 

Klein first met Campbell on Friday, he said. He was particularly struck by Campbell’s presence. 

“He has this presence about him,” Klein said. “He controls the room. He controls the conversation. I like that confidence. He knows where he wants to get this program.”

Campbell has repeatedly said his goal is to get this program to compete for national bowl games every year. The consensus among the players was that Campbell has the ability to do that. 

“He knows that he needs to come here and win,” Wallace said. “I believe wholeheartedly that he will do that.”