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AMES Ignore the backup plan.
Last season, Iowa State’s normally strong defense was beset by injuries so often, particularly at linebacker, that longtime defensive coordinator Jon Heacock felt like he was clinging to a thread from week to week and quarter to quarter.
Or, as he stated
Heacock, whose team failed to place among the top three in the Big 12 in terms of points allowed for the first time since 2016, said, “I felt like we were trying to do so much stuff a year ago to try to help that we played defenses and not defenses.” And for a football squad, that is a difficult way to live.
Despite helping the team reach a program record with 11 wins, that is still the case. For the second consecutive season and only the third time in football coach Matt Campbell’s ten-year tenure, ISU’s defense finished in the top three in the conference in turnover margin, somewhat overcoming its health-related deficiencies.
Along with the healthy return of talented linebackers like Carson Willich, Will McLaughlin, and Caleb Bacon, that bright light may herald a return to stingy form for Heacock’s team, which made a valiant effort in 2024 but lacked experience in key places.
As a result, Heacock and his position coaches conducted a thorough analysis of what worked and what didn’t, going back to the beginning as well as the fundamentals.
According to Heacock, we weren’t that good a year ago. Fundamentally, coaching all of the above is statistically significant. Even though our men played really hard and all that, we simply weren’t as excellent as we needed to be. I believe we need to go back a little bit to the basics of our defense from 17, including some of the basic moves we made at the time that helped our players play quickly. That, I believe, is the secret.
Heacock has successfully sprung that lock with skill. Additionally, his 2025 defense demonstrates star power at every level with Domonique Orange returning to disrupt the inside, the linebacking corps being deep, and all-Big 12 players Jontez Williams and Jeremiah Cooper returning in the secondary.
This season, they will all be viewed as leaders.
“Who’s going to say what, when, and who’s going to do what, when,” Heacock explained, “is what summer camp is all about.” Every one of them guys wants to. For the past few years, they have had some amazing players to watch, and I believe they will only continue to develop and improve.
BIG PLAY BRAHMER AND BURKLE
Former first-year student Despite missing the entire previous season due to injury, All-American tight end Ben Brahmer discovered a bright spot: he got to see Gabe Burkle develop into a powerful player.
Brahmer, who broke the ISU true freshman tight end record for receptions with 28 in 2023, remarked, “I was happy for him.” He’s an excellent player. He does everything correctly. He is capable of both working and playing.
As a redshirt freshman last season, Burkle, a former Cedar Rapids Prairie standout, made 24 additional grabs to finish third on the team in receptions after only catching two passes prior to November.
“I’m not solely responsible for any of that success,” Burkle stated. It takes a village, of course, and Ben is a member of that village. He was really helpful to me.
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