Lying immobilized on a stretcher in the back of an ambulance, Kamari Cotton-Moya wasn’t quite sure how he got there or what was ahead. The ISU defensive back was at practice at the Bergstrom Football Complex when coaches say he went to make a hit and then went to one knee and started trembling.

An ambulance was called as players and coaches watched and waited, not knowing the extent of the injury and not knowing if Cotton-Moya would ever step foot on a football field again. It’s a moment defensive backs coach Maurice Linguist will never forget.

“I’ve never been a part of anything that traumatic. I mean, he’s two feet from me and you want him to be OK, first,” Linguist said. “I wasn’t even thinking about football.”

However, Cotton-Moya, last season’s Big 12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year, quickly improved at the hospital as doctors struggled to diagnose the injury. To this day, there is no clear diagnosis, but after being released from the hospital, Cotton-Moya didn’t miss a beat.

Just days after taking an ambulance ride, he was back on the practice field after being cleared by the team’s medical staff to practice without tackling. But as the team’s leading tackler last season, that was easier said than done.

“It’s hard to hold him back right now, he wants to hit,” said coach Paul Rhoads. “He gets as close to hitting as he can without hitting. If people were worried about him being gun shy, they can forget about that.”

While he won’t be at full health until the fall, Cotton-Moya continues to lead a group of defensive backs that continue to be the strength of the defense. While fellow safety T.J. Mutcherson will not return after violating team rules and being released from the team in January, the secondary has some depth as five players are competing for playing time at the cornerback position.

The high volume of competition has prompted Kenneth Lynn, who was No. 10 on the team in solo tackles with 26 last season, to switch to receiver. Rhoads said the move was requested by Lynn and was mutually agreed upon, but for a cornerback that was listed as a starter on last spring’s depth chart, the move is a sign of stiff competition in the secondary.

With players like Brian Peavy, a redshirt freshman, and Jomal Wiltz and Jarnor Jones, community college transfers, the Cyclones will add some extra weapons to last year’s group of players. As for standout players at the cornerback position?

“[All] five, to be very honest with you,” Rhoads said. “Nigel [Tribune], Sam [Richardson], Brian Peavy, Jomal Wiltz and De’Monte Ruth. With Ruth, because we have five [corners] we saw the ability to do a little safety with him, so we could find our four best safeties and four best corners.”

As spring ball wears on and players start to find their niche, the lineups will likely change. What Rhoads and Linguist hoped to see was improvement from last season, which Linguist is confident he’s seen so far.

While Linguist’s secondary is not yet at full strength with Cotton-Moya not tackling as a precaution, he spoke highly of the group. His lesson to the unit before taking the field echoed Cotton-Moya’s urgency to get back on the field. 

“Basically we start the day off with a life lesson every day,” Peavy said. “Today was staying focused. [Linguist] told the story about a mule … basically it was whatever people throw against you, always brush it off of you, pat it down and rise above it.”