Spring Preview: The Safeties

AMES, Iowa - In today's spring preview we focus on the safeties. Click on the video link to watch Deon Broomfield's zoom call with the media.

Synopsis
Iowa State lost just one starter (Lawrence White) in the secondary and has the luxury of returning five players who have combined for 99 career starts in the defensive backfield.

The big contributor back is safety Greg Eisworth II (6-0, 198, Sr.#, Grand Prairie, Texas), who is the only Cyclone in school history to be an All-Big 12 First Team performer three times.

Eisworth is the heart and soul of the Cyclone secondary, starting 33 games in his outstanding career. The team relies heavily on Eisworth's ability as a cover man and run-stopper.

He had 47 tackles and four pass breakups in 2020. He will enter his final season with 199 tackles, 9.0 TFL, two forced fumbles and 19 pass breakups in his career.

Eisworth, who is versatile and can play the Star and safety positions, will team up with Isheem Young (5-10, 208, So.#, Philadelphia, Pa.), who was one of the top rookies in the league in 2020, sharing Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year accolades.

Young occupied the Star position and was a difference maker with his big hits. The Second Team Freshman All-American by The Athletic earned nine starts and led all Big 12 rookie tacklers with 50, ranking fifth on the team.

Young also led the team, the Big 12 and tied for sixth nationally with three forced fumbles. He also picked off a pass late in the fourth quarter to cap the victory over Oklahoma.

The sky is the limit for Young, who will be one of the best defensive backs in the Big 12 in 2020.

The Cyclones will also look for D.J. Miller Jr. (5-11, 176, Jr., O'Fallon, Mo.), Kym-Mani King (5-10, 169, Jr., New Port Richey, Fla.), Mason Chambers (6-3, 206, So., Schertz, Texas), Virdel Edwards II (6-1, 205, So.#, Plano, Texas) and Craig McDonald (6-3, 199, Fr.#, Minneapolis, Minn.) to compete for playing time at safety.

Miller Jr. has played in 23 games the last two seasons, recording 16 tackles. King has seen action in 21 games, tallying 15 stops. Both are now in their third seasons in the program.

Chambers was mostly an observer in the early part of the season before seeing the field late in the year. He played in six games and was one of five rookies to play more than four games.

He played five snaps vs. Texas and 18 vs. West Virginia to finish out the season as the coaching staff gained confidence in him.

Edwards II competed in five games and McDonald played in four games before earning a redshirt.

Campbell On The Safeties
"I think to get a guy like Greg Eisworth to come back to Iowa State, who has been not only the pillar of leadership in our secondary, he's probably the pillar of leadership in our program. He has been the guy that has anchored excellence every step of the way and to have Greg's knowledge and playmaking ability return will benefit everybody. It has been really quite an honor to have him lead the team this winter because he has done an exceptional job and we are really excited because he can branch some of the growth with some of the really talented young players. Isheem Young is still a young player and Mason Chambers is a guy that flashed and had great success. Kym-Mani King, Craig McDonald, D.J. Miller Jr. and Virdel Edwards II, there is a lot of guys that we are really high on as a staff and to have a guy like Greg model and lead is huge, so we are extremely excited."

Players Mentioned

Mason Chambers

Virdel Edwards II

Greg Eisworth II

Kym-Mani King

Craig McDonald

D.J. Miller Jr.

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics