Spring Outlook: The Offensive Line

AMES, Iowa - Spring football is underway and the Cyclones have already begun preparation for 2017. Today we take a look at the Cyclone offensive line.

Offensive Line

Synopsis
The offensive line had the biggest attrition.

Iowa State must replace four starters in the trenches with the graduation of Brian Bobek, Patrick Scoggins, Nick Fett and Brian Seda. Scoggins and Fett both earned all-Big 12 recognition with their performance on the field in 2016.

It's a little deja vu for the Cyclones, because ISU was in the same position a year ago. ISU lost four starters from the season before and only returned two players who had a start heading into the 2016 campaign in Fett and Jake Campos (6-8, 305, Sr.#, West Des Moines, Iowa).

As the season rolled around, ISU was down to just Fett, who had one career start, because two-year starter Campos succumbed to a season-ending injury in fall camp.

So, how did that work out?

Actually, surprisingly well, because Iowa State offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Tom Manning molded his depleted unit, which consisted of three current or former walk-on starters, into a very efficient group.

The Cyclones racked up historic offensive numbers under Manning's guidance, averaging 421.6 yards of total offense, the fifth-best season total in school history, and put up 29.4 points per game vs. league competition, a school-record tally in the Big 12 era.

Manning was nominated as a finalist for the Broyles Award, an award given annually to the nation's top assistant coach, for his work and history will tell us to never count him out.

Manning has another tough task ahead, but he will get Campos back from injury and Julian Good-Jones (6-5, 295, So.#, Cedar Rapids, Iowa), who started 11 games in his freshman season.

Campos, who has made great progress in his recovery, was a staple in the ISU lineup in 2014 and 2015, starting 23-straight games at tackle. Campos' starting string was the longest active streak by a Cyclone at the time.

He will definitely be one of ISU's offensive leaders and likely lock down one of the tackle slots.

Good-Jones made great strides in his rookie season and is on pace for an outstanding career if he keeps improving. He played primarily at right tackle in 2016, but could also see some time at center.

ISU also returns Bryce Meeker (6-5, 305, So.#, Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Robby Garcia (6-4, 285, Sr.#, Tampa, Fla.), Shawn Curtis (6-5, 295, Sr.#, Orlando, Fla.), Bryan Larson (6-4, 285, Sr.#, Humboldt, Iowa) and Will Windham (6-3, 305, Jr.#, Schertz, Texas).

Meeker started the first game and was an important reserve during the season. He is shooting to take over at one of the guard spots.

Garcia made the switch from defensive line to the offensive line in the middle of last year. The coaches are confident he can help out on the line, possibly at center. Curtis and Larson have played primarily on special teams throughout their careers, and Windham took snaps at center last season when Bobek came out.

One of the keys to ISU's success on the line in 2017 will be the progression of three players who are coming out of redshirts in Sean Foster (6-8, 290, Fr.#, Mundelein, Ill.), Josh Mueller (6-6, 298, Fr.#, Mequon, Wis.) and Oge Udeogu (6-3, 325, Jr.#, Imo, Nigeria).

Foster was a four-star recruit out of high school and has the physical attributes to be a stalwart at tackle for years to come.

Mueller will work as a tackle and Udeogu, who was a top-100 junior college player in 2015, redshirted last year and the coaches are optimistic he can contribute at guard.

Campbell On The Offensive Line
"This spring will be critical for us in terms of competition and to find out who are the best five. Getting Jake Campos back is really exciting for all of us. Obviously, Julian Good-Jones showed a lot of growth a year ago. Bryce Meeker showed confidence last year and we hope to see improvement from him. We are all really excited about Robby Garcia in terms of a guy that is physical and ready to play. Shawn Curtis has had a good winter so far. He goes into his senior year with the ability to play for us. Sean Foster has had a lot of great things said about him and we are anxious to see how he fits. We are all really excited to watch these guys in the spring. There are some guys that have been with us for a year and have developed with us. You hear me talk about consistency and that's the key to their success. We need to find out who plays what position, what's our depth look like and what's our ability to play consistently."

Players Mentioned

Brian Bobek

Jake Campos

Shawn Curtis

Nick Fett

Sean Foster

Robby Garcia

Julian Good-Jones

Bryan Larson

Bryce Meeker

Josh Mueller

Patrick Scoggins

Brian Seda

Oge Udeogu

Will Windham

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