CYber Cy'd Football: Messiah's Musings, Week 1

Another school year has begun and the Cyclone football team is ready to kick off in its home-opener vs. South Dakota State. In order to give Cyclone fans an inside look at the Iowa State football team, senior wide receiver Euseph Messiah will be posting a weekly blog at cyclones.com on Friday of each week throughout the school year.

Messiah has a clean slate to talk all things related to his life, academics, Cyclone football and other daily hurdles of being a Division I student-athlete.

Messiah's Musings: Week 1
“Hello Cyclone fans, Euseph Messiah here. This season I will be sharing with everyone a weekly blog to keep you updated about the team and our progress this year!

“After a long offseason of conditioning and training, our team has done nothing but prepare ourselves mentally and physically for the 2008 season. The loss against Kansas last year to finish the season has motivated us the last eight months to strive to be a more successful team this season. Coach Chizik always emphasizes that we need to have a different mindset about Iowa State football. I truly believe that everyday more and more of us are buying into it.

“After spring ball ended successfully, we went into the summer with a positive attitude. Our team stayed focused through our training with coach (head strength and conditioning coach Ken) Sheppard throughout those hot and humid weeks in the summer. We never lost track of our main goal to put a better product on the field for 2008. Whether it was player-led route-running with the quarterbacks, or going in on your own time to watch film, everyone knew what it was going to take to take to lift our program to the next level. Each day, our level of commitment was evident. We knew how hard we knew we had to work every training session. We've realized as a team that championship programs begin with championship mentalities and the only time success comes before work is in the dictionary.

“Now to the more recent activities... I am currently writing this blog as the team finishes up training camp and prepares for our first game against South Dakota State. I actually just finished taking my final "playbook test" of camp and hopefully coach (wide receivers coach Jay) Rodgers gives me another passing grade!

In my opinion, camp can be one of the hardest things, both mentally and physically, a football player in their career can experience. Most of the time, new guys in training camp find it hard to focus 24/7 on nothing but plays, formations, routes, or assignments. Sometimes, some of us veterans can get tired of practice and just can't wait until the season begins. However, with this group of guys, something seems different. At one point, my fellow senior teammate R.J. Sumrall and I had a conversation about how this group has connected and blended in compared to previous years. I saw nothing but competition and determination on the field, while off the field we looked like 105 brothers in a big family. I love how close we're getting as a family because that only makes it easier for everyone to be on the same page for achieving our goals. I believe a team that fights for their brother and sticks together is probably going to be more successful than a team full of individual goal-oriented players.

“Well, that's pretty much a wrap-up of how we're developing as a team and what our current mindset is. Hopefully as the season goes, I'll be able to keep you updated in more detail week-by-week, as we strive to improve over last season. Until next time, cheer for us on Thursday night against the Jackrabbits and GO CYCLONES!

- Euseph
“Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance”

CYber Cy'd Football: Messiah's Musings, Week 1

Players Mentioned

Euseph Messiah

Euseph Messiah

R.J. Sumrall

R.J. Sumrall

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Iowa State University Athletics

CYber Cy'd Football: Messiah's Musings, Week 1

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Players Mentioned

Euseph Messiah

Euseph Messiah

R.J. Sumrall

R.J. Sumrall

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