Spring Preview: The Offensive Line

AMES, Iowa - For the first time since 2015, Iowa State will return over half of its starters on the offensive line. The Cyclones must replace two starters (Jake Campos, Robby Garcia), but four players who started at least six games in 2017 are back to give ISU experience in the trenches.

With the majority of the starters as underclassmen in 2017, the offensive line was a work in progress. However, there was no denying the success of the front five in allowing the Cyclones to set numerous records in the passing department. The Cyclones ranked 30th nationally in passing yards (272.9), breaking the season school record, and allowed just 19 sacks to rank second in the Big 12 and 26th nationally.

The biggest returnee is Julian Good-Jones (6-5, 293, Jr.#, Cedar Rapids, Iowa), who currently owns ISU's longest active starting streak at 24 games.

Good-Jones moved to center in 2017, starting all 13 games while earning honorable mention all-Big 12 accolades. The 2017 Rimington Award nominee will anchor the line in 2018.

One of ISU's biggest pickups last season was signing Josh Knipfel (6-5, 317, Jr., Hampton, Iowa) in May right before summer workouts. Knipfel was an all-conference performer in his only season at JC power Iowa Western (2016), and as a qualifier, decided to transfer to a Division I school.

The lifelong Cyclone fan picked Iowa State and immediately found his way into the lineup, starting all 13 games at right guard. Campbell is excited to see Knipfel continue to mature at the position in 2018.

Both Bryce Meeker (6-6, 314, Jr.#, Cedar Rapids) and Sean Foster (6-8, 304, So.#, Mundelein, Ill.) split starts at right tackle in 2017. Meeker started seven games and Foster started six.

Meeker started the first seven games of 2017 before suffering an injury that sidelined him late in the year. He was able to return and provide depth on the line in the Liberty Bowl.

Look for Meeker to remain at the right tackle spot in 2018.

Foster became the starter at right tackle when Meeker went down and will likely move to left tackle in 2018.

One spot up for grabs is left guard. Look for senior Oge Udeogu (6-3, 317, Sr.#, Imo, Nigeria) and redshirt freshman Robert Hudson (6-6, 350, Fr.#, Walled Lake, Mich.) to battle for the position this spring.

Udeogu has been plagued by injuries in his two years in Ames. He redshirted in 2016 and was sidelined with an elbow injury last season.

Hudson is a promising talent who has a chance be special. He's already got the size and learned the ropes while redshirting in 2017. In his only year playing on the offensive line in high school, he was named first-team all-state as a senior.

Will Windham (6-3, 307, Sr.#, Schertz, Texas) has been the backup center for the last two seasons and has experience. Windham will be joined by redshirt freshman Colin Newell (6-4, 282, Fr.#, Ames, Iowa) in second-team reps at center. Newell was a first-team all-state selection as a local product out of Ames in 2016.

Other players jockeying for back-up spots at various positions on the line are: Alex Kleinow (6-6, 279, Fr.#, North Liberty, Iowa), Josh Mueller (6-6, 309, So.#, Mequon, Wis.) and Jacob Bolton (6-5, 325, Fr.#, Roswell, Ga.).

Bolton and Kleinow are tackles and Mueller is penciled in as a guard.

Campbell On The Offensive Line
"I think for the first time, we actually look like an offensive line going into a football season. The reality of that is it's the first time since we've been here that we actually have multiple starters coming back, which is huge. Offensive line is a learned skill. It's a learned trait. It's not something anybody grows up doing. The more experience and more reps you get, the better the opportunity to be in sync and have a chance to be really good. I'm excited for Bryce Meeker and I'm excited for Julian Good-Jones, and certainly Josh Knipfel. Those guys got great reps last year. Sean Foster got great reps, too. Their bodies are changing and I think that as their bodies change, and combine that with good reps, their confidence grows. We are really excited to see guys like Robert Hudson, Jacob Bolton and Colin Newell step forward. These guys have really shown consistency and high-end talent. Josh Mueller is another guy in the mix. These guys are really doing some good things for us. Oge Udeogu is coming off an injury and we are anxious to see where he is at. Jeff Nogaj, Trevor Downing, who enrolled early, Alex Kleinow and Noah Juergensen, these guys all have big bodies. They look like offensive linemen. They're gaining weight and they're developing in our strength program. That's what really good O-lines look like. They develop over time, and now going into our third year, I think you're going to see at least we look like what O-lines are supposed to look like. That is really exciting."

Players Mentioned

Jake Campos

Trevor Downing

Sean Foster

Robby Garcia

Julian Good-Jones

Robert Hudson

Noah Juergensen

Alex Kleinow

Josh Knipfel

Bryce Meeker

Josh Mueller

Colin Newell

Jeff Nogaj

Oge Udeogu

Will Windham

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