EDITED: Who makes you happy on defense?

[ruxCYtable]

Rose is great, but I'd heard rumblings about him before the season.

For me, it's Eisworth. Guy is a stud and I had not heard much, if anything, about him prior to the start of the season. He's quickly moving up the ranks of my all-time favorite Cyclones, as are a lot of guys on this team!

 

[CTTB78]

Rose, by a mile.

 

[jbindm]

Probably Rose, although you could make a case for Braxton Lewis at safety.

 

[Bigman38]

Lewis
Rose
Jamahl Johnson - knew he was solid but has really stepped up a level this year
Eisworth
Young DB's

Definitely talent being identified in recruiting by the staff but I also wonder how much of it is just good coaching and upper classmen around them playing great making the transition to the Big 12 easier.

 

[ruxCYtable]

Won't dispute Rose at all. But we started hearing about how good he was quite a while ago.

I guess I'm saying a guy who came from nowhere and for me that guy is Eisworth.

 

[FinalFourCy]

If based on what was thought prior to the summer, it’s got to be Rose.

Benton, Johnson, and Young have been surprisingly good too. I was high on Lewis, but I guess he could be included in the surprise group.

When you have all-conference players at several positions it helps other guys be better than if they were the focus.

 

[CyTwins]

Rose for sure. They hyped up Eisworth enough so I knew he was going to be good. Young DB's have been impressive as has Leo

 

[jbindm]

Lewis
Rose
Jamahl Johnson - knew he was solid but has really stepped up a level this year
Eisworth
Young DB's

Definitely talent being identified in recruiting by the staff but I also wonder how much of it is just good coaching and upper classmen around them playing great making the transition to the Big 12 easier.

Johnson's a good pick too. I wouldn't have been surprised for him to be a capable backup to Limagoing into the season, but when he's been in there's been almost no noticeable dropoff in the middle of the d line. He's really improved.

 

[cycloneG]

Lewis
Rose
Jamahl Johnson - knew he was solid but has really stepped up a level this year
Eisworth
Young DB's

Definitely talent being identified in recruiting by the staff but I also wonder how much of it is just good coaching and upper classmen around them playing great making the transition to the Big 12 easier.

Completely agree with this. The defense was noticeably worse when Lima was off the field last season. Jamahl has been a big surprise.

 

[FinalFourCy]

Won't dispute Rose at all. But we started hearing about how good he was quite a while ago.

I guess I'm saying a guy who came from nowhere and for me that guy is Eisworth.

Rose was a late commit stolen from Ball St that came out of nowhere, only hearing about him having a chance to start mid-fall camp.

Eisworth was a juco recruit thought to be a likely starter during his recruitment and expected to start since last spring.

 

[kccyclone3]

The bright future of the LB corp in general. Rose obviously, but O'Rien Vance and Jake Hummel have showed flashes every week as well. Two freshman and a sophomore progressing nicely.

 

[DeereClone]

Datrone Young looks really good at CB as a freshman - that's a tough position to play early in a career, especially in the Big 12.

Rose is legit but we heard that through camp, so not necessarily "surprising"

We also heard that Eisworth was going to be good, but I didn't expect him to be this good.

 

[ruxCYtable]

Rose was a late commit stolen from Ball St that came out of nowhere, only hearing about him having a chance to start mid-fall camp.

Eisworth was a juco recruit thought to be a likely starter during his recruitment and expected to start since last spring.

My bad, I just missed him I guess.

Oh well, let's make this thread EVERYONE WHO MAKES ME HAPPY ON DEFENSE.

 

[CascadeClone]

Rose for sure.

I hadn't heard of him really until he was announced. And I was worried as a true freshman starting, this was NOT a good sign. Turns out its the opposite - kid is really good and is just a kid.

HUGE surprise.

Eisworth was new too, but had the "pedigree" where you hope he was as good as advertised. So not as surprising.

 

[jbindm]

My bad, I just missed him I guess.

Oh well, let's make this thread EVERYONE WHO MAKES ME HAPPY ON DEFENSE.

All of them.

 

[ca4cy]

They all make me pretty happy this season, but the guy I'm most happy for on the rare occasions where his name gets mentioned is Lima. It's no coincidence that our defense became legit when he showed up on campus. Our success depends largely on our d-line and while the talent and depth around him has improved exponentially, he's the anchor.

 

[IlliniCy]

Pooka Williams votes for Mike Rose.

 

[GTO]

Brian Peavy. I enjoyed hearing all the love for him from the announcers during the KU game this weekend. Not only is he a great defender at the CB position, but also has to be the CB with the most tackles I've ever seen play at ISU. And he does it all without commiting any stupid penalties. The guy is just a leader for the defense and those young CBs and safeties.

 

[Frak]

I honestly think that Bailey is team MVP at this point, so I'd start with him. Eisworth and Peavy have been extremely solid. Lima has been just as good as last year. All 3 starting LBs have been good.

 

[MeowingCows]

Everyone makes me happy. Comparing this to what we had even two seasons ago is unbelievable. Heacock may be divine.

The rest of the staff gets credit here as well -- the other component of our success is players. We seem to be recruiting high-level players, even if star ratings don't say so. We have a lot of young, talented, fundamentally-sound players coming down the pipe and showing up in games already. We don't have to worry too much about depth on D anymore... It's next guy in. That's just insane to think about.

I just want to reiterate "fundamentally-sound". We rarely commit penalties. We don't blow coverages often. We don't give up monster plays too often. We tackle and pursue incredibly well. We generate pressure largely at-will. We find the ball and collapse plays well. We adjust. We're fast and multiple, and can change on-the-fly. Communication is good. All of the pieces for success are already there and functioning.