Spring Preview: The Wide Receivers

AMES, Iowa - Iowa State will have to see what life is like in the post-Allen Lazard era. Lazard established himself as the greatest receiver in school history, earning first-team all-Big 12 accolades twice and breaking nearly every school receiving mark.

Lazard, who is now prepping for a career in the NFL, graduated along with other receiving standouts Trever Ryen and Marchie Murdock.

Despite the attrition, there are plenty of weapons returning at receiver for the Cyclones in 2018.

The biggest contributor back is Hakeem Butler (6-6, 219, Jr.#, Baltimore, Md.), who earned honorable mention all-Big 12 accolades in 2017.

Butler proved to be ISU's big-play threat last year, recording four of the top six longest plays of the season (74, 67, 57, 52). He was second on the team in receiving yards (697) and touchdown catches (7), tying for ninth on ISU's season list for touchdown grabs.

Butler, who had a pair of 100-yard receiving games, ranked 47th nationally in yards per reception (17.0) in 2017.

Two other experienced players - Deshaunte Jones (5-10, 179, Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio) and Matthew Eaton (6-4, 209, Sr.#, Norfolk, Va.) - are also back in the mix.

Jones, who led all Big 12 rookies in receiving yards (563) in 2016, had 28 catches for 273 yards in 2017. With the graduation of Ryen, Jones will be the Cyclones' primary target in the slot (M position).

Eaton is another tall, rangy target who had a promising start in his first season as a Cyclone in 2017. Eaton tallied 21 catches for 208 yards and ranked fourth on the team in touchdown receptions with four.

Carson Epps (6-1, 211, Sr., Jenks, Okla.) is also back for his senior season. Epps played mostly on special teams in 2017, but he had 17 receptions for 213 yards in 2016.

Four other Cyclones who will look to fit into the rotation in 2018 are Jalen Martin (6-3, 208, So.#, Detroit, Mich.), Landen Akers (6-0, 188, So.#, Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Tarique Milton (5-11, 165, Fr.#, Bradenton, Fla.) and Josh Johnson (5-11, 171, Fr.#, Little Rock, Ark.).

Martin, who was an all-stater in both football and basketball in high school, is an excellent athlete with a bright future. Martin caught two passes for 22 yards in his redshirt freshman season.

Akers was ISU's kickoff returner in 2017, averaging 20.9 yards per return. He also recorded a 34-yard pass in his only reception of the season.

Milton sat out 2017 as a redshirt and will look to be a backup to Jones in the slot. Milton had 64 receptions for 1,087 yards to earn all-state honors in Florida as a senior.

Johnson is another redshirt who is eager to see where he fits into the receiver rotation. Johnson was a four-star recruit coming out of high school where he was an all-stater in Arkansas.

Campbell On The Wide Receivers
"What's exciting for this group is that we certainly have a lot of skill returning and we are anxious to find out who is the next man up. Hakeem Butler really flashed his skills and showed us that he's got the ability. Now, can he be the consistent guy? Can he be the guy that gets the guy every time at his position? I think it's a really exciting time for Hakeem and his career. Matt Eaton is a guy that showed up a bunch last year. For the first time he is as healthy as I've ever seen him and he's got a chance to really explode onto the scene. He has shown big play potential. Obviously, we've seen Deshaunte Jones play really well in our offense. You feel good about him. The best part of this spring is showcasing the guys that maybe nobody is talking about yet. Tarique Milton is a name that has consistently shown up in our offseason workouts. He can be a guy that can make a difference. Jalen Martin is another guy that has shown talent and fits the mold of the big, physical receivers that we've certainly had. Josh Johnson, Landen Akers and Carson Epps will battle for playing time this spring. There's a lot of competition. Until the lights come on and those guys can show what they can do with great consistency, we won't know if there's great depth there. But there's a lot of talent that's competing right now."

Players Mentioned

Landen Akers

Hakeem Butler

Matthew Eaton

Carson Epps

Josh Johnson

Deshaunte Jones

Allen Lazard

Jalen Martin

Tarique Milton

Marchie Murdock

Trever Ryen

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