Spring Preview: Offensive Line

AMES, Iowa - In today's spring preview we focus on the offensive line. Click on the video link to watch offensive line coach Jeff Myers' zoom call with the media.

Synopsis
The Cyclone offensive line was the least experienced position group entering the 2020 campaign, losing four starters from the previous season.

The one returning starter from 2019 was Trevor Downing (6-4, 314, Jr.#, Creston, Iowa), and he went down with a season-ending injury in the season-opener.

This should have been a recipe for disaster, but it wasn't. The offensive line thrived in 2020 with a number of newcomers who showed incredible promise for years to come.

Four players earned their first career starts in 2020, helping the team break the school record for rushing touchdowns (31) and post the second-best scoring offense in school history (32.9). The Cyclones also tallied over 400 yards of total offense in eight of 12 games to average 436.3 yards per game, the third-best total offense total in school history.

The group was honored for their outstanding work as a semi-finalist for the Joe Moore Award.

In all, ISU returns seven o-linemen with a combined 93 starts, and the Cyclone coaching staff hopes they can take another step forward in 2021.

The big piece of Iowa State's success on the o-line is center Colin Newell (6-4, 304, Sr.#, Ames, Iowa), who anchored the unit by earning All-Big 12 First Team accolades.

Newell missed the majority of the 2019 season with an injury, but came back healthy and played at an elite level. He has 26 career starts at multiple positions in his career.

He will likely remain at center and will be a strong candidate for the Rimington Award.

Downing was a freshman All-American in 2019 and will aim to solidify one of the guard spots. He's been cleared to begin full contact for spring practice.

Occupying the guard spots in 2020 consisted of two of the biggest surprises of the season in Derek Schweiger (6-3, 311, Sr.#, Plymouth, Wis.) and Darrell Simmons Jr. (6-3, 306, So.#, Belleville, Ill.).

Schweiger is a former walk-on who paid his dues, earned a scholarship and made All-Big 12 Second Team honors in 2020.

Schweiger started all 12 games in 2020, seeing time at both guard positions and filling in at tackle in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.

He's considered one of the toughest players on the team and his versatility will give the Cyclones flexibility to play him at guard or tackle.

Simmons Jr. entered the season behind Downing and Schweiger, but when Downing went down, Simmons Jr. was immediately thrusted into the starting lineup.

He started the final 11 games of the season, earning Second Team Freshman All-America honors by The Athletic and was an Honorable Mention All-Big 12 performer. Simmons Jr. proved he will be one of ISU's top linemen for the future.

Iowa State will also return three tackles who started at least five games in 2020 in Sean Foster (6-8, 318, Sr.#, Mundelein, Ill.), Jake Remsburg (6-6, 315, So.#, West Des Moines, Iowa) and Joey Ramos (6-5, 303, Jr.#, Phoenix, Ariz.).

Campbell has had a knack of keeping players engaged into the program throughout his tenure, and Foster was a perfect example of this.

Foster played a lot early in his career, but competed in just one game in his junior season in 2019. Many people outside the program wrote Foster off, but Campbell kept believing and Foster kept working.

Foster earned the left tackle spot in the season-opener and kept it for the rest of the season as a key part of ISU's offensive resurgence. He announced after the season ended he will come back as a "super senior" in 2021.

Ramos started the first four games at right tackle until an injury in the Texas Tech game kept him out of the lineup for a significant part of the season.

Remsburg then stepped in and started the next seven games before an injury in the Big 12 Championship ended his season. Ramos made a healthy return and earned the start in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.

Both Ramos and Remsburg will be battle for the starting spot at right tackle in 2021.

Three other Cyclone o-linemen who saw action in 2021, primarily on special teams, return in Robert Hudson (6-7, 360, Sr.#, Walled Lake, Mich.), Jarrod Hufford (6-5, 308, So.#, Newark, Ohio) and Grant Treiber (6-6, 323, So.#, Sioux Falls, S.D.).

Hudson has been a staple on the special teams units the last two seasons, playing in 10 games a year ago. Hufford saw action in three games and Treiber played in two.

Spring practice will be critical for the following Cyclones coming out of redshirts: Tyler Miller (6-9, 317, Fr.#, Scranton, Iowa), Hayden Pauls (6-5, 288, Fr.#, Emporia, Kan.), Sam Rengert (6-7, 295, Fr.#, Milford Center, Ohio) and Anthony Smith (6-3, 282, Fr.#, Lakeland, Fla.).

Campbell On The Offensive Line
"I think the ability for that group to respond to adversity and to have some young guys stay ready and to be ready when their number was called, Jake Remsburg and Darrell Simmons Jr., was incredible. The flexibility Derek Schweiger showed a year ago and the consistency he was able to play at, whether it was right guard, left guard or right tackle, was really impressive. I think Colin Newell's leadership and consistency was really big for our team and the growth of Sean Foster and how he was able to be at his best was impressive. I think now you see great competition going into the spring and we have a lot of guys with a lot of experience. We also have some young guys coming on like Grant Treiber and Robert Hudson, who battled a really hard injury in camp and was on track for really great things. To get Rob back and healthy is really big for this team. It is going to be really fun to watch that group continue to grow. They are really a proud group and they know they can only continue to grow and get better. I think you will see that group take another big step in the right direction this year."

Players Mentioned

Trevor Downing

Sean Foster

Robert Hudson

Jarrod Hufford

Tyler Miller

Colin Newell

Hayden Pauls

Joey Ramos

Jake Remsburg

Sam Rengert

Derek Schweiger

Darrell Simmons Jr.

Anthony Smith

Grant Treiber

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