As the warm spring temperatures continued outside in Ames, a storm began to brew inside the Bergstrom Football Complex on Tuesday. 

The ISU football team hosted its first spring football practice of the 2016 season Tuesday. The spring season will extend through the spring football game on April 16.

Tuesday was also the first formal practice for new ISU coach Matt Campbell and company.

Here are the four takeaways from the first day: 

Thin offensive line takes first reps

One of the toughest challenges on the field for Campbell’s team going into the spring is the lack of experience and depth on the offensive line. The team graduated all but one of its starting offensive linemen from last season. 

The only remaining starter, redshirt junior Jake Campos, is sitting out spring drills because of a hip injury. 

“I think it’s a matter of starting from square one,” Campbell said. “It’s ironic because we kind of did the same thing a year ago at Toledo. We’ve been down that road and [we’ve got to] just take it one day at a time. The key for us is go as that offensive line goes in terms of how we install plays, and that’s OK.”

The offensive line experience isn’t completely barren, though. Nick Fett and Jaypee Philbert Jr. both played sparingly last season. The staff also brought in junior college transfer Karson Green at the mid-year signing period.

The key for the offensive line moving forward is versatility. That is, making sure all offensive linemen have the ability to play all five positions on the o-line. 

“Anybody should be able to play all five spots,” Campbell said. “I think that’s big and we’ve already talked about it through the winter with our young men.”

Some offensive linemen have impressed Campbell through winter training and on the first day of spring practice, but Campbell declined to detail who those players are.

“There are some guys that have stood out, but to give some names I think is unfair until we start practices,” Campbell said. “But until we get guys into pads and until we get through practices, I’ll have some better names for you once we get through those. But yes, some guys have certainly stood out.”

Quarterback intrigue

Although returning quarterback Joel Lanning is the favorite for the starting job going into next season, a few other quarterbacks could make a case for playing time. 

The team is about five months away from the start of the season, but incoming quarterback Zeb Noland and Dominic De Lira, who is coming off a redshirt season, have been interesting. 

De Lira has especially impressed the coaching staff.

“Dominic is someone that we’re all excited about,” Campbell said. “I’m going to be honest, he’s been a surprise over the past four or five weeks. He had a great winter. Really proud of him and really proud of his attention to detail.”

Iowa State also welcomed the addition of preferred walk-on Kyle Kempt from Ohio. 

Even if the quarterback battle doesn’t amount to anything in terms of moving Lanning from the starting job, it still could push Lanning to maximize his ability. 

“Now, it’s a matter of can [Lanning] be comfortable and get continuing strain to grow as quarterbacks have to,” Campbell said. “I think he’s taken that personal and [has] done a great job in terms of leading and growing within our offense now.”

Mike Warren continuing to grow

Redshirt sophomore Mike Warren is coming off one of the best freshman seasons in ISU history. 

But this season, that could change. Campbell said Warren will go from the “hunter to the hunted.” 

“That’s a big change,” Campbell said. “The expectations rise, and that’s what hard about having success early in a career, is do you have the mental capability to get better week in and week out, and Mike is under that microscope right now.”

Campbell said defenses will come more prepared for Warren’s play going into games. 

“I think a lot of it starts off the field. How do you study football?” Campbell said. “How do you prepare? Having a knowledge of the expectations that are around you. Do you have the mental capability to understand and adapt in a game to those things?”

Health updates

One of the biggest question marks going into spring football is the health of safety Kamari Cotton-Moya. Cotton-Moya missed half of the season last year because of a hamstring injury. 

“That was a tough go today,” Campbell said. “That was a long, long day, and I don’t think that he missed any reps. He really did a great job through winter. We’ve got to be smart with him.”

In other injury news, offensive lineman Jacob Dunning and defensive back Quan West are also taking medical hardships this season. They are in school but not with the team.