AMES - Braden Smith has already lived a football life full of switch-ups, and now he’s in the middle of another one.
The Iowa State offensive lineman is taking starting reps at center for the first time ever, even though “first time ever” has been a recurring theme throughout his career. Smith, a 6-4, 310-pound third-year player, first changed positions at Tarleton State when he moved to the defensive line midway through his freshman season. After that, he returned to the offensive line and developed into an FCS All-American.
Now he’s back in a new spot again, and this one comes with a different kind of challenge.
“I played tight end in high school,” said Smith, whose versatility up front will be showcased once again in Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. Big 12 season opener (FOX) against No.
15 Utah at Jack Trice Stadium. “(Center’s) definitely a bigger task mentally - and not just mentally, but learning to snap the ball and step and run at the same time.
I definitely had my growing pains in the spring, (but) I think I’m where I need to be as a center.”
Smith’s learning curve arrives at a tough moment for Iowa State, which enters at 2-1 after piling up 365 rushing yards in last week’s rout of Bowling Green, its biggest ground output in 15 years. Utah, though, is a far stiffer test.
The Utes are 3-0, rank sixth nationally in scoring defense at 8.0 points per game and sit 15th in total defense at 239.1 yards per game. Iowa State is an 8.5-point underdog at home.
Jimmy Rogers didn’t sugarcoat what his team is walking into.
“Really physical, extremely fast, well coached, gap sound,” ISU head coach Jimmy Rogers said of the Utes’ defense. “They know what they’re doing.
They know what their checks are. They know where their eyes should be.
It’s a lot of man, so it’s a body on a body. It’s not like you’re gonna fool ‘em.”
That’s the kind of defense that forces an offense to win the hard way. Smith and the rest of Iowa State’s front will have to be sharp in pass protection and just as precise in the run game if the Cyclones want to create space for Aiden Flora and keep quarterback Jaylen Raynor’s pocket from collapsing.
“You want to play good players,” Smith said. “You want to prove that you’re at the level of everybody else, you know what I mean? So I take it as a challenge, along with the rest of us, and I’m excited for us to get out there and compete.”
For Smith, the move to Ames has been about more than football. He arrived in January as part of a group of more than 80 newcomers from far and wide, all trying to become one team under a staff in its first year together. The roster stretches across 30 states and two foreign lands, and Smith has quickly grown attached to his new home.
“It means a lot to me to wear Iowa State across my chest,” Smith said. “I mean, I’ve only been in Iowa for eight months now, but it really means a lot to me. I’m not ever gonna go out here and represent that Iowa State logo in a bad way, you know what I mean?”
Rogers said that sense of unity has become one of the team’s defining traits.
“We’ve got guys from all over the place, but you wouldn’t know that,” Rogers said. “You wouldn’t know the difference from an Iowa kid to a Texas kid.
They’re still learning the history of Iowa State, which is understandable. And we’re creating our own, every opportunity that we can.”
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Iowa State Faces Its Biggest Early Big 12 Test Yet
A tricky early Big 12 measuring stick is waiting for Iowa State this week, with No. 15 Utah coming to Ames after a strong start to the season. The matchup has the feel of one of those September games that can tell you plenty about where a team stands, especially with weather expected to be a factor at Iowa States home stadium.
Utahs physical start gives the Cyclones a different kind of challenge than the ones they have seen so far, and it has prompted plenty of staff debate about how the game could unfold. The predictions vary, but the common thread is clear enough: Iowa State is stepping into a game where the margin for error will be thin, and the conditions may make every snap matter even more. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Faces Its First Real Big 12 Test In Utah Defense
Saturdays Big 12 opener at Jack Trice Stadium gives Iowa State an immediate measuring stick, and it comes against a Utah team that has looked every bit the part of a top-15 contender. The Utes arrive undefeated with a defense that has carried plenty of the load so far, which means the Cyclones are walking into conference play with no warmup and very little margin for error.
Much of the attention will fall on four Utah defenders who have helped set that tone: Nate Ritchie, Jonathan Hall, Lance Holtzclaw and Elijah Davis. Each brings a different piece to the picture, from pressure up front to cleanup work in the secondary, and how Iowa State handles that group will say a lot about whether the Cyclones can make a clean first impression in league play. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Offense Faces A Brutal Big 12 Test Against Utah
Utah is rolling into Big 12 play with real momentum, and Iowa State is the team asked to deal with it first. The Utes are 3-0 after back-to-back wins by a combined 76-10, and quarterback Devon Dampier has been the engine behind that start, completing 71.6% of his passes for 690 yards with seven touchdowns and just one interception while adding production on the ground.
For Iowa State, the timing makes this a tricky early conference test. The Cyclones are 2-1, but there have been some concerns about their recent offensive performance, and now they are lining up against a Utah defense backed by a quarterback who has been efficient, explosive and hard to slow down. It is the kind of matchup that can sharpen a team quickly, or expose exactly how much work still needs to be done. [Read more 🡒]