QB: Austen Arnaud (So.)
RB: Alexander Robinson (So.)
TE: Derrick Catlett (Jr.)
WR: Marquis Hamilton (Jr.)
WR: RJ Sumrall (Sr.)
WR: Sedrick Johnson (Fr.)
LT: Matt Hulbert (So.)
LG: Reggie Stephens (Jr.)
C: Alex Alvarez (So.)
RG: Ben Lamaak (So.)
RT: Doug Dedrick (Sr.)

WE: Rashawn Parker (Jr.)
DT: Bailey Johnson (So.)
NG: Nate Frere (Jr.)
DE: Kurtis Taylor (Sr.)
SLB: Michael Bibbs (Sr.)
MLB: Jesse Smith (Jr.)
WLB: Josh Raven (Jr.)
CB: Chris Singleton (Sr.)
CB: Allen Bell (Jr.)

As expected, Allen Bell took the second cornerback spot. The strong safety spot presents a bit of a question mark, as Chris Brown was hurt this offseason. He was one of the heroes of last season's CyHawk game. He racked up over 40 tackles last year, while Steve Johnson had 23.  Brown is more seasoned and has more experience, but Johnson played well at times last year.

QB: Austen Arnaud (So.)
RB: Alexander Robinson (So.)
TE: Derrick Catlett (Jr.)
WR: Marquis Hamilton (Jr.)
WR: RJ Sumrall (Sr.)
WR: Sedrick Johnson (Fr.)
LT: Matt Hulbert (So.)
LG: Reggie Stephens (Jr.)
C: Alex Alvarez (So.)
RG: Ben Lamaak (So.)
RT: Doug Dedrick (Sr.)

WE: Rashawn Parker (Jr.)
DT: Bailey Johnson (So.)
NG: Nate Frere (Jr.)
DE: Kurtis Taylor (Sr.)
SLB: Michael Bibbs (Sr.)
MLB: Jesse Smith (Jr.)
WLB: Josh Raven (Jr.)
CB: Chris Singleton (Sr.)

More close polling has Chris Singleton taking the #1 cornerback spot from Allen Bell. I'd expect most Cyclone fans to pencil in A.B. for the second cornerback spot. Since I don't want to rehash all the names, I figured I'll take this spot to address my optimism about our secondary, especially the cornerbacks.

Injuries last year forced our top three cornerbacks in Singleton, Bell and Devin McDowell to be thrown into the fire immediately. Here's a look at how our cornerbacks fared last year, and their improvement through the season. I'm going to leave out Drenard Williams, who has since left the team, and focus on the returners.

So, how far are these passing yard totals off from the normal production for each team?

So, it's interesting to note how many times ISU held their opponent below their season average in passing yards in any given game - and, they won in two out of the four games when they didn't. One game we didn't win, the Oklahoma game, easily sticks out as the most impressive game of the year, with Sam Bradford being one of the top QBs in the nation, and the Iowa State secondary making him look merely average, including Chris Singleton spearing him on a fourth down jaunt to deny him the sticks, as well as Allen Bell's superhuman interception return.

Draw your own conclusions - was it because of a solid pass defense? Was it because of a focus on the run? Either way, we can see that there is definite potential in the secondary corps. The cornerback group has three guys that are learning the Tampa 2 on the fly, and we saw marked improvement into the end of the Big 12 season (the KU slaughterfest notwithstanding). If these guys can make the jump, and adjust to a defense they're still learning, there's a chance that the cornerbacks will be the lynchpins of our defense. Throw in the fact that two of our top recruits from last year, Leonard Johnson and Ter'Ran Benton, come in, and may see time this year, and it's certainly one of the more encouraging parts of our team to look at.

QB: Austen Arnaud (So.)
RB: Alexander Robinson (So.)
TE: Derrick Catlett (Jr.)
WR: Marquis Hamilton (Jr.)
WR: RJ Sumrall (Sr.)
WR: Sedrick Johnson (Fr.)
LT: Matt Hulbert (So.)
LG: Reggie Stephens (Jr.)
C: Alex Alvarez (So.)
RG: Ben Lamaak (So.)
RT: Doug Dedrick (Sr.)

WE: Rashawn Parker (Jr.)
DT: Bailey Johnson (So.)
NG: Nate Frere (Jr.)
DE: Kurtis Taylor (Sr.)
SLB: Michael Bibbs (Sr.)
MLB: Jesse Smith (Jr.)
WLB: Josh Raven (Jr.)

Josh Raven edged out Fred Garrin by just a couple of votes to claim the weakside linebacker position. It's pretty safe to say that through the first 18 parts of this experience, things have gone by the books.

For the cornerback position, rather than breaking things down by left and right cornerback, I'm going to run two polls to determine our winners for the two cornerback spots.

Chris Singleton enters his senior campaign as the returning rightside cornerback and ISU's leading pick man, with four interceptions last season. His 108 career tackles are by far the most out of any of the returning cornerbacks. Allen Bell, YouTube star, came in as a sophomore and made an immediate impact, racking up 54 tackles, as well as one of the most impressive interception returns I've ever seen. Devin McDowell finished last year with 16 tackles after being pressed into action as a freshman. His interception return for a touchdown against Missouri kept the Cyclones in the game. Zac Sandvig had trouble holding on to punts, as well as keeping his knee healthy. Leonard Johnson, Judah Linder and Ter'Ran Benton come in as true freshman with a chance to make an immediate impact. Johnson committed to ISU over South Florida and West Virginia, while Benton chose the Clones over Iowa and Nebraska. The future does seem bright at cornerback.

The top cornerback spot could be an interesting battle. Singleton and Bell both had some outstanding and some not-so-outstanding moments last year, but both have the potential to be All-Big 12 players.

It's the dead period of summer, so The Ralphie Report decided to spice things up a bit. They've looked far and wide around the Big 12 blogosphere and picked out a representative for each Big 12 school that they could find. Each individual blogger was then asked to pick a given number of representatives at each position.

Defensive Back (3): S James Smith, CB Chris Singleton, CB Allen Bell

The position that has most of the the standout talent is the defensive backfield. Bell, Singleton and Smith are all potential gamebreakers. Both Singleton and Bell forced turnovers last year, and I still hold on to an undying belief that James Smith is gonna be big.

Defensive Line (3): DE Rashawn Parker, DE Kurtis Taylor, DT Bailey Johnson

Parker and Taylor were the two obvious choices. Parker adjusted quickly as a freshman, late hit at Texas notwithstanding, while Taylor will be the leader on the line. Johnson was the returning lineman who made the biggest impact last year.

Kicker (1): Grant Mahoney

Mahoney seems to be the more accurate of he and Guyer. I suppose I didn't have to pick someone.

Linebacker (2) Jesse Smith, Josh Raven

Jesse Smith was the obvious choice. Raven is my sleeper pick out of the linebacking corps, simple as that.

Offensive Line (3): Ben Lammak, Doug Dedrick, Kelechi Osemele

Lamaak was a revelation on a much improved offensive line last year, while Dedrick anchored the line at left tackle. K.O. is a big boy that should step into the starting lineup and could be a four year starter.

Punter (1): Mike Brandtner

One badass punter.

Quarterback (1): Austen Arnaud

I think he'll be the starter (or at least get the most playing time) this year.

Runningback (2): Alexander Robinson, JJ Bass

I expected Robinson to be the commander-in-chief of a runningback corps by committee. He came out of nowhere to become a big play threat. Bass may very well be the most talented of the group.

Tight End (1): Derrick Catlett

Will need to overcome a knee injury in the spring, but rapidly developed the blocking part of his game last year. Still room to improve.

Wide Reciever (2): RJ Sumrall, Marquis Hamilton

These two will lead the experienced and talented corps. Both have real big play ability - Marquis had my favorite play of the year, triple juking Aqib Talib for a big gain.

I don't expect any of our players to make the first team, simply put, but I suppose someone could surprise me....