ISU football coach Matt Campbell and his staff have already started to implement their changes to the offense, even just two weeks into spring practice. 

And one of the biggest changes coming in the new season will be using the tight end in a little different manner than Iowa State has been used to. 

The Cyclones plan on using the tight end in the flex position. This means putting the tight end in roughly three different spots based on the formation: on the line, in the backfield and out on the flank next to the receivers. The key is to try and get tight ends in space while also putting them in a position to block, said ISU tight end coach Alex Golesh.

“They line up everywhere and between the passing game and the running game — we pass it to those guys a whole lot,” Golesh said. “It’s a really critical position in the offense.”

That’s a big change from former coach Paul Rhoads’ philosophy with tight ends. Last season, the position combined for six receptions over all 12 games, and was hardly seen on the field. 

“The biggest difference is the up-tempo offense,” said tight end Justin Chandler. “We catch a lot more balls. Like, we get balls thrown to us more. And then it’s like, there’s more blocking, but it’s not that much blocking.”

When Campbell was at Toledo, Michael Roberts, now a redshirt senior tight end, finished fourth on the team in receiving yards with 234 yards as a second string. The first string tight end, Alex Zmolik, finished 10th on the team in receiving yards, but was used in more of a blocking role.

The only problem for the coaches at Iowa State, though, is that there is no set tight end to take advantage of the flex role. All of the tight ends on the roster have focused more on being a receiver or an offensive lineman, never both.

The coaching staff’s challenge is to adjust them to a role as an all-around tight end.

“Ultimately, the dream situation is to have guys who can do all of those,” said coach Matt Campbell. “We may have a couple of guys who can do that and we might have guys coming in who might be able to do that. In a perfect world, you’d rather have a guy so the defense [doesn’t] know what your doing based on your personnel formation.”

If the Cyclones can’t find someone for the all-around role before the fall, they may be forced to substitute players in and out, like they did last season at Toledo. Campbell doesn’t want to force a player to play a position he is uncomfortable playing, but he does want to adjust the formation to the players on hand. 

“If they’re not that guy, then we segment them,” Campbell said. “Some guys play this position and some guys play this position. Again, it’s our players and who do you have.”

But Iowa State may be looking forward to some of its incoming recruits to take a larger role. Tight end Chase Allen, a three-star incoming freshman, could be someone tailored to that position since he was recruited by the new staff.

Another player is Cliff Fernandez, a mid-year transfer who is already practicing with the team. The problem with Fernandez, though, is that he is two years removed from playing quarterback and is unfamiliar with the tight end role. He also played wide receiver at Southwest Mississippi Community College.

“Cliff is not afraid, he just has no idea,” Golesh said. “So for him, everything is brand new. The good thing is that he’s not afraid. He’s not scared. That’s your biggest fear is when you take kids like that, is when you take skill position guys and make them something else. That’s what makes you nervous.”

Golesh added that Fernandez has the “want” to become a better tight end.

Some tight ends on the spring practice roster are also impressing early on. Chandler, a redshirt senior who transferred in a couple seasons ago, is one of those guys. 

Chandler played in 11 games, but wasn’t showcased much in the statistic column, only catching two passes for 39 yards. He said he felt like he was slightly overlooked last season, but added that it “just comes with playing football.” 

Now that his name has been thrown out, he is ready to make an impact for the Cyclones. 

“I just came in here and kept working hard and just try to make them notice me,” Chandler said. “That’s it.”

Coaches also threw around redshirt sophomore Cole Anderson’s name as an interest. Anderson was a guard out of high school but moved to tight end last season before an injury kept him out. 

If Campbell could have his way and grab anyone for his roster, there are a couple of other players he would like to have.

“I like Gronk (Rob Gronkowksi for the New England Patriots),” Campbell said. “If you’ve got Gronk, he’s tough to find.”

“In the perfect world, you’d have someone with that skill set kind of the power forward,” he added later. “I think there’s a pretty good basketball player who’d be good, if we could get him out to do it.”