On Iowa State footballs QB competition and Cyclones basketball roster taking shape

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Juxtaposed alongside former quarterback Brock Purdy’s sizzling rookie season in San Francisco, Iowa State’s quarterback play last fall failed to live up to the success of its former signal caller.

Left-handed Hunter Dekkers flashed some potential in passing for 3,044 yards and completing 66 percent of his passes. But the team’s 15 interceptions — 14 by Dekkers — were critical in six losses by seven points or fewer. With Nate Scheelhaase shifting to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, maximizing quarterback play was a major emphasis this spring.

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Dekkers (6-foot-3, 206 pounds) currently remains the starter but talented redshirt freshman Rocco Becht (6-1, 199) and four-star true freshman J.J. Kohl (6-7, 235) pushed the junior. Plus, Butte (Calif.) College transfer Tanner Hughes (6-5, 235) committed to the Cyclones on Tuesday and has three seasons remaining.

“There are areas that you if you look from last year that Hunter did really well, and there’s some other areas that Hunter’s got to improve on if we’re gonna win the way we need to win at Iowa State,” Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said Tuesday at the Cyclone Caravan. “I think the biggest thing that we all have to have is enough humility and character to say, ‘Hey, what are those areas we’re doing well, but where’s those areas we’ve got to really close the gap?’

“Here’s what I was really proud of: I thought Hunter did a great job this offseason of coming to work with purpose and really addressing some of those areas.”

Becht, the son of former NFL tight end Anthony Becht, saw limited action last year in three games to retain his redshirt. He completed 7 of 15 passes for 65 yards and an interception. Kohl, who was ranked as the nation’s No. 12 quarterback by the 247Sports Composite, enrolled in January and hails from Ankeny, located 25 miles south of Jack Trice Stadium. Last fall, Kohl threw for 2,023 yards and 17 touchdowns. His father, Jamie, played at Iowa State and runs the renowned Kohl’s Professional Football Kicking Camps.

In 2022, Hughes completed 60.9 percent for 2,193 yards, 23 touchdowns and three interceptions in 11 games last year at Butte. He also rushed for 182 yards and nine touchdowns.

“Rocco Becht is a young man that we got to see flashes of, got to get in football games and play and command the offense last year,” Campbell said. “I really thought he had a great offseason. And then obviously getting J.J. in at the January mark was really big for us because I think for him to get some of those competitive reps this spring was really good.

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“I think you have a 1A, a one line, but you’re constantly evaluating your football team. We’re really excited. We feel like a year ago it was Hunter and a bunch of young guys. Now you feel like you’ve got Hunter and you’ve got some guys that are ready to at least come in and compete every day with Hunter. I think it’ll make everybody (play) their best.”

Roster reset

One of Iowa’s State’s biggest challenges comes with replacing first-round draft pick Will McDonald IV at defensive end. McDonald tied a Big 12 record with 34 sacks, but he also attracted plenty of attention from opposing offenses.

Campbell has multiple players who could fill the positional void, but he was leery of saying they would have the same type of impact. Among those who will see action on the edge include sophomore Tyler Onyedim (6-4, 292), junior Joey Petersen (6-4, 238) redshirt freshman Ikenna Ezeogu (6-5, 235), true freshman Samuel Same (6-5, 210) and junior college product Jefferson Adam (6-5, 240).

“Time is gonna tell,” Campbell said. “It’s great to have the body structure, but Will was one of those guys that had that elite mentality to be his best, day in and day out. We feel really confident about the bodies that we have and the talent that’s there, but we’re excited to see, ‘Man, can they do it?’ Some guys really flashed in spring; will they have a great summer? What does fall camp look like? And then obviously when the lights come on, we’re gonna find out really fast.”

Running back was perhaps the biggest drop-off after losing record-setter Breece Hall to the NFL. The Cyclones ranked 116th in rushing yards per game (108), 118th in yards per carry (3.3) and 121st in rushing touchdowns (10). Injuries to top backs Jirehl Brock (senior) and freshman Cartevious Norton further limited the position. Both of those runners return, as does sophomore Eli Sanders. Stanford freshman transfer Arlen Harris and true freshmen Abu Sama and Carter Hansen will receive looks, too.

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“It’s by committee until somebody takes the job,” Campbell said. “When you lost those two guys (Brock and Norton) after four games, we were young and maybe not good enough to be where we needed to be as the type of football team we needed to be.”

Basketball shaping up

Iowa State has qualified for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in each of T.J. Otzelberger’s two seasons, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2022, which is an improvement over the Cyclones’ 0-18 Big 12 mark in 2020-21.

Otzelberger has parlayed that success into the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history. The Cyclones, who rank 11th in the 247Sports Composite, signed Waukee (Iowa) five-star forward Omaha Biliew (6-8) and four-star forward Milan Momcilovic (6-8), who was Wisconsin’s consensus Player of the Year at Pewaukee. Biliew is ranked as the 11th player nationally while Momcilovic is 38th.

“Omaha is a very versatile player offensively, a guy that can attack the basket off the dribble,” Otzelberger said. “He’s improved his shooting; he’s really shooting the ball well from the perimeter. He’s a terrific, terrific defensive player who can guard at every position on the court. And he’s just a winner and a competitor. So he brings a lot of intangibles to the court, especially as a freshman.

“Milan is an extremely skilled guy that can really shoot, pass the basketball and make plays for his teammates. Somebody that’s very cerebral, sees the game a step ahead. And defensively does a great job using his smarts to be in the right spot and make the right plays. So I think both of those guys are impact type of freshmen for us. We’re really excited to have them.”

Biliew averaged 22.1 points and 9.9 rebounds a game last season.

“We feel really confident that he’ll make that transition rather smoothly,” Otzelberger said. “He’s played against some of the best competition in the country and internationally and the things he’s done to this point, he’s done well.

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“Defensively, the thing that he brings us, he cares. He plays really hard with a motor. And he’s so versatile and guards so many positions. So he will enhance the quality of our defense for sure.”

Otzelberger signed a two-year extension after the season through 2029. He also landed three players in the transfer portal: UNLV junior guard Keshon Gilbert (6-4, 11.4 points per game), Wofford sophomore guard Jackson Paveletzke (6-3 guard, 15.1 points per game) and Buffalo junior guard Curtis Jones (6-5 15.0 points per game).

(Top photo of Hunter Dekkers: Matthew Visinsky / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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