Iowa

Royston: What to look for in Iowa State’s spring game

Published

1 year ago

April 19, 2023

Press Room

Royston: What to look for in Iowa State’s spring game

Jacob Rice

ISU Gerry Vaughn warms up earlier than the ISU vs. Baylor soccer sport. Sept. 24, 2022.

Iowa State’s spring sport is simply across the nook, and there may be a lot to look ahead to because the Cyclones showcase their new look Saturday.

Though there’s a good probability the crew may see huge adjustments over the summer season and simply earlier than the season begins, there are nonetheless areas the crew labored on over the spring that must be a lot improved. The spring sport ought to give followers a very good early have a look at what faces could also be featured prominently within the beginning lineup come fall.

With the numerous transferring elements that will likely be on show, it may be powerful to determine what to give attention to. Holding that in thoughts, I needed to provide my tackle what would be the largest issues to observe for through the spring sport.

New offense able to explode

There actually is not any means of sugarcoating simply how dysfunctional Iowa State’s offense was final season.

Many video games have been determined by one possession, not as a result of the video games have been high-scoring, however as a result of the protection saved the sport winnable. Even with how shut each sport was, the offense not often clutched as much as pull out a win.

There wasn’t essentially any particular space you can level a finger at when taking a look at why the offense struggled. When it got here right down to it, it was a crew effort.

Accidents plagued the run sport, inflicting extra stress to fall onto first-year starter Hunter Dekkers’ shoulders. With that stress, Dekkers didn’t fairly reside as much as his hype as he fueled the fireplace when it got here to offensive struggles.

On prime of that, the person on the helm of the offense, Tom Manning, was not assembly requirements.

Now the crew appears to be on the upswing. Manning is gone, the working again room is wholesome and Dekkers will likely be behind an improved offensive line.

Iowa State’s new offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase discovered success because the huge receiver/working backs coach final season and can carry his experience to the whole offense. We may very well be in retailer for a brand new and improved offense within the fall, and the spring sport would be the first sneak peek of what that offense is able to.

Offensive line underneath new administration

Though the struggles of Iowa State’s offense couldn’t be boiled right down to only one space, lots of the points arose due to the inconsistencies of the offensive line.

Whether or not the road was coping with accidents or poor teaching, one thing wanted to vary within the offseason if Iowa State needs to keep away from being the laughing inventory of the Huge 12 within the upcoming season. Thus far, it appears like Iowa State is trending in the best route.

The most important change from final season is the introduction of latest offensive line coach Ryan Clanton. In his time at UNI, Clanton coached up two NFL linemen lately and put collectively a formidable unit for the Panthers’ offense to function behind.

Now Clanton is bringing his abilities to Iowa State and already revamped the offensive line. Clanton strained the significance of being violent within the trenches and being versatile on the road, which can have struck a chord in his gamers.

The way in which the offensive linemen discuss the way forward for the road and primarily based on the fireplace in Clanton’s eyes, Iowa State’s line is on a mission. It may very well be fascinating to see how they carry out within the spring sport, as new faces on the defensive position can even be taking part in their hearts out to shoot for a spot on the beginning lineup.

New defensive leaders stepping up

The very last thing to concentrate to will likely be who steps up and fills the holes on the protection. Iowa State despatched most of its star gamers to the NFL after the 2022 season, so younger Cyclones might want to take over as the brand new leaders of the protection.

There are already sure areas that look to be shaking out, such because the linebacker and cornerback rooms, however there are nonetheless many spots on the roster prepared for the taking. It must be fascinating to see what gamers step as much as the problem.

The most important a part of the protection that I will likely be keeping track of is the defensive position, and extra importantly the sting rushers.

Everybody needs to know who will likely be terrorizing the opposing quarterbacks subsequent season. Now with Will McDonald IV and MJ Anderson transferring on, there are two openings able to be stuffed.

Saturday ought to give followers a good suggestion about who’s beginning to take command within the spring and who’s most definitely to earn a spot on the beginning lineup.

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Iowa

Iowa State women’s basketball star Emily Ryan discusses eating disorder in video

Published

4 hours ago

October 10, 2024

Press Room

Iowa State women’s basketball star Emily Ryan discusses eating disorder in video

Iowa State women’s basketball star Emily Ryan released a video Thursday in which she discusses her battle with an eating disorder.

Ryan, a senior from Claflin, Kansas, has been one of the Big 12 Conference’s best point guards for the past few seasons. She was a first-team all-conference pick in 2022, and a second-team selection in 2023.

“By sharing my story, I hope to build awareness and provide hope to everyone else fighting an invisible battle,” Ryan said in the video.

Ryan said her sense of self-worth was dependent on Iowa State’s success and her individual performance. That led to increased time spent in the weight room in an effort to get stronger and faster. When Ryan didn’t see the results that she desired, she began to focus on her diet.

Ryan said the Iowa State medical staff expressed their concern about Ryan’s eating habits and what it was doing to her body. Ryan said she was in “complete denial” about having an eating disorder, but her health continued to worsen.

Ryan missed the first nine games of the 2023-24 season due to the eating disorder. When she returned, she said, “off the court I was really struggling. By the end of the season, I was physically and mentally hanging on by a thread.”

During the offseason, Ryan spent 88 days at a treatment center in Denver.

“It took a long time but I finally came to the understanding that being sick wasn’t my fault, and eating disorders are real, complex illnesses,” she said.

How to get help

For resources on disordered eating, call the National Eating Disorders Helpline at 800-931-2237 or text NEDA to 741741.

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Iowa

Latest Iowa high school volleyball rankings reveal regional pairings

Published

14 hours ago

October 10, 2024

Press Room

Latest Iowa high school volleyball rankings reveal regional pairings

It was an important date around the state for volleyball teams in Iowa, as the latest rankings were released and regional pairings in all five classes were revealed.

The two come into play once regionals reach the championship round, as the higher-ranked team will serve as the host for those games.

All five No. 1 squads remained the same, as Ankeny Centennial (Class 5A), Cedar Rapids Xavier (4A), Mount Vernon (3A), Denver (2A) and Ankeny Christian (1A) held serve.

New teams to the Top-15 include Iowa City West in 5A, Ballard in 4A, Wapsie Valley in 2A and Stanton in 1A. The entire 3A poll remained the same while Sidney made one of the biggest climbs, moving to ninth from 12th in 1A.

Regional play for 1A and 2A begins Oct. 21 with 3A, 4A and 5A starting Oct. 22. The state tournament is scheduled for Nov. 4-7 in Coralville from the Xtream Arena. Complete regional pairings can be found on Bound.

Class 5A

1. Ankeny Centennial; 2. Pleasant Valley; 3. Ankeny; 4. West Des Moines Dowling; 5. Indianola; 6. Waukee Northwest; 7. Cedar Falls; 8. Cedar Rapids Prairie; 9. Waukee; 10. Iowa City Liberty; 11. West Des Moines Valley; 12. Sioux City East; 13. Iowa City West; 14. Iowa City High; 15. Linn-Mar.

Class 4A

1. Cedar Rapids Xavier; 2. Sioux City Bishop Heelan; 3. North Scott; 4. Clear Creek-Amana; 5. Lewis Central; 6. Pella; 7. Glenwood; 8. Carlisle; 9. Marion; 10. Adel-ADM; 11. Norwalk; 12. Sergeant Bluff-Luton; 13. MOC-Floyd Valley; 14. Ballard; 15. Grinnell.

Class 3A

1. Mount Vernon; 2. Western Christian; 3. West Delaware; 4. Dubuque Wahlert; 5. Davenport Assumption; 6. Sioux Center; 7. Carroll Kuemper; 8. Mid-Prairie; 9. Cherokee; 10. Wilton; 11. Solon; 12. Anamosa; 13. Roland-Story; 14. Clarinda; 15. Nevada.

Class 2A

1. Denver; 2. Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont; 3. Dyersville Beckman; 4. Dike-New Hartford; 5. Aplington-Parkersburg; 6. South Hardin; 7. Boyden-Hull; 8. Pella Christian; 9. Iowa City Regina; 10. Hinton; 11. Grundy Center; 12. Sumner-Fredericksburg; 13. Wapsie Valley; 14. West Burlington; 15. Shenandoah.

Class 1A

1. Ankeny Christian; 2. Holy Trinity; 3. Saint Ansgar; 4. Riverside; 5. BCLUW; 6. Janesville; 7. North Tama; 8. Don Bosco; 9. Sidney; 10. River Valley; 11. Akron-Westfield; 12. Stanton; 13. Fremont-Mills; 14. Southwest Valley; 15. Gladbrook-Reinbeck.

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Iowa

Iowa high school football computer rankings (10/10/2024)

Published

22 hours ago

October 10, 2024

Press Room

Iowa high school football computer rankings (10/10/2024)

Week 6 of the 2024 Iowa high school football season has wrapped up, and High School on SI is continuing its weekly computer rankings for the season.

The Dowling Maroons kept their top five placing in this week’s 5A Iowa computer rankings after a thrilling 41-35 victory over Ankeny Centennial. They face a strong Urbandale team on Friday, to keep their momentum going.

The top of the 5A computer rankings stay the same this week as the Bettendorf Bulldogs take home another win, this time defeating Kennedy 33-14. The Bulldogs look forward to Friday, where they will travel to Davenport Central in hopes to hold their place in the standings.

SBLive’s formula was created using its linear algebra-based ranking algorithm inspired by the Colley Bias-Free Ranking Method. Colley’s Method was created by Wes Colley, Ph.D., an astrophysicist at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. He devised his algorithm to help address the subjectivity and controversy regarding BCS college football selections in the 1990s and early 2000s, using a method that used no subjective variables.

FAQ: SBLive High School Football Computer Rankings

Here are SBLive’s latest Iowa football computer rankings, as of Oct. 7, 2024:

IOWA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL COMPUTER RANKINGS

CLASS 5A | CLASS 4A

CLASS 3A | CLASS 2A

CLASS 1A | CLASS A

CLASS 8 MAN

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— Ben Dagg | @sblivesports

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