AMES - Sullivan Schlimgen’s path to Iowa State didn’t take the direct route. It took a 1,520-mile detour, a recruiting miss, and a coaching reunion to land the former Sioux Falls O’Gorman standout back in Ames.
Schlimgen called it a “full circle moment,” and it’s easy to see why. As a junior in high school, he camped at Iowa State hoping to earn an offer from then-head coach Matt Campbell, but that didn’t happen.
“Funny story,” said Schlimgen, a 6-1, 220-pound MIKE linebacker who started the final five games last season for the Cougars as a true freshman. “My junior year (of high school) I came to camp here hoping to get an offer from (then-ISU head) coach (Matt) Campbell and things didn’t work out.”
The next stop turned out to be Washington State, where he played for current Iowa State head coach Jimmy Rogers. When Rogers was hired to replace Campbell on Dec.
5, Schlimgen’s route back to Ames suddenly made sense. Defensive coordinator Jessie Bobbit came along too, and that only strengthened the pull.
“I love coach Bobbit and coach Rogers,” said Schlimgen, who initially chose Washington State over his lone Power Four offer from Texas Tech. “So to do that at a school here that I’d originally wanted to go to with those two coaches, I mean, it’s a full circle moment.”
He’s not arriving empty-handed, either. Schlimgen finished last season with 49 tackles as a part-time starter, and his best game came on one of the biggest stages on the schedule: a nine-tackle performance in a 24-21 loss at College Football Playoff semifinalist Ole Miss.
That showing caught Bobbit’s attention.
“(On) his first play in, they ran a counter and he came back and ripped through, set the edge and made the tackle,” Bobbit said. “It was cool to see.”
Now Bobbit says Schlimgen is showing the kind of “competitive maturity” Rogers has talked about during fall camp. The linebacker isn’t just learning the defense anymore - he’s helping run it.
“Last year he was kind of just reacting post-snap,” Bobbit said of Schlimgen, one of 13 defensive players who chose to follow him to ISU from Washington State. “Now he’s seeing things, communicating, alerting it, which helps everyone around you.
Emphasis of the day-to-day defense was empowerment. He does that.
It’s how he lives his life.”
Bobbit has liked what he’s seen from the defense as a whole through the first stretch of camp, especially with the pads on.
“The last three days - today was day three of pads, it’s been really physical,” said Bobbit, whose Cougars defense held its last nine foes to an average of 13.5 points per game last season. “Just like it was in spring ball, but more of a controlled violence where guys are executing, trying to finish blocks, being smart, keeping each other up.
That just shows that there’s been a lot of growth. That there’s the physicality mentality we want out of those guys on both sides of the ball, but they’re actually at a higher level, which means less bodies on the ground, too.”
For Schlimgen, that’s exactly the kind of environment he wanted to return to. He’s back in the place he once hoped would call, now in a position to help lead the defense he came all this way to join.
Senior defensive tackle Bryson Lamb has noticed.
“When I’m in and I turn around and see ‘Sully’ back there, I know we’re in good hands,” Lamb said. “He’s a young guy but one of the hardest workers I’ve veer met. I can’t wait for him to finish his college career and go to the next level because he’s a guy who definitely can do that.”
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Fortenberry arrives from Arkansas State along with quarterback Jaylen Raynor, giving Iowa State a familiar connection to build around as camp moves toward the new season. After catching 32 passes for 294 yards and two touchdowns a year ago, Fortenberry profiles as a reliable early target for Raynor, and his ability to settle in fast could be one of the first signs of how smoothly this offense comes together. [Read more 🡒]