The Iowa State football team released their depth chart for Thursday's game against Kent State. Let's have a looksie.
A lot of it is how we thought it'd be. Some minor surprised include Nick Howe, a recent convert, to backup tight end over Brandon Tinlin. The offensive line is what we expected, with the notable emergence of Trey Baysinger at backup right tackle. The true freshman is the only, um, true freshman on the two-deeps there.
The runningback situation will actually be determined tomorrow, as that's when Chizik says he'll determine the starting runningback. I would assume that he will lean either towards Scales or Bass. All three runningbacks, however, figure to see a bit of time on Thursday night.
The fact that Catlett is the starting fullback lends one to believe that the fullback position will be more of an H-back position this year. Mansfield is a walkon who may not see much time but was a favorite to start at FB going into this year.
The WR ranks have the notable exception of Milan Moses, who may or may not be hurt again. Expect Moses to see time if he's not hurt, mixing in with Franklin and Hamilton in spread sets.
The rest of the offense looks pretty much like it should. Sandvig at punt returner may get the freshman's head spinning in the hurry, but his speed should be able to help. Greibahn at holder is a mild surprise, as if a snap goes bad, he's done.
Now, onto the defense.
The defensive line is about as we expected. It's horrendously undersized with the exception of Tuba. Most of these nine guys expect to rotate in and out.
Jesse Smith seized the starting linebacker spot and ran with it. Schmidgall had a very impressive spring and can hit people.
It's good to see Allen Bell overtake Sandvig at the cornerback position as Bell has speed and skill. Singleton surpassed Drenard Williams and others, apparently, at the other cornerback spot. If he's learned how to wrap up, he'll be good enough.
At safety, James Smith is back which must mean he's been doing well lately. He's been a favorite of mine - a guy with speed who can thrive in the Tampa 2. He's now healthy, so maybe we can see what he can do.
Finally, Mike Brandtner is the starting punter, so he must not be seeing much in the way of punishment for being caught drinking on Facebook.