Iowa State football's pass-catchers not interested in hype, but ready to prove themselves

Quarterback Rocco Becht is the face of the Iowa State football program. That much was clear at Becht's Perry Youth Football Camp on July 13.

Becht earned the respect of his teammates last year, playing what coach Matt Campbell called "championship-level" football down the stretch to spark some hope for a successful 2024-25 campaign.

"It's easy to follow someone like that," receiver Jayden Higgins said.

Becht wants the leaders of the program to be alongside him, helping to promote Cyclone football.

"These guys are just the pinnacle of what our team means," Becht said of the fellow Cyclones who helped at the Perry camp, including Higgins, Jaylin Noel, Myles Purchase and Caleb Bacon.

Part of that leadership group is the pass catchers, headlined by veterans Higgins and Noel. Throughout this offseason, the Cyclone receiver room has been getting as much hype as any unit, with Eli Green (first), Higgins (third) and Noel (10th) graded among the top returning wide receivers in the Big 12 Conference according to Pro Football Focus. Tight end Ben Brahmer was the third highest-rated tight end returning in the Big 12.

The group sees, hears and knows the hype exists. While confident they are set to break out, there's a different motivation for this group entirely.

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'Hype is just a word'

Last year's statistics from the Cyclone receiving corps weren't exactly eye-popping from a 13-game lens, with none of this year's returners eclipsing 1,000 receiving yards or seven touchdowns last season. However, zooming in reveals why Pro Football Focus is high on what Iowa State has coming back.

With the exception of the Cy-Hawk game, Higgins did not record more than three receptions in a game in the first six contests of last season. Only against Iowa and Oklahoma did he record more than 31 yards in that span. Noel had similar production, tallying more than 50 receiving yards just once in his first six games.

Yet, the final half of the season tells a much different story for this passing offense. Higgins had three 100+ receiving yards in his final seven games, including a nine-reception, 217-yard game against Memphis in the Liberty Bowl. Noel's final six games included five outings with 50 or more receiving yards and five of his seven touchdowns on the season.

Much of that improvement is a credit to the growth of Becht from season's beginning to season's end. There were moments of brilliance in the first half of the season, like Higgins' eight-catch, 91-yard, one-touchdown outing against Iowa or Noel's eight-catch, 146-yard and one-touchdown game against Oklahoma State, but never the consistent production that was needed to compete with the Big 12's best.

The passing game really took off once communication and rapport was built between Becht and his receivers. Becht was "thrown into the fire," as Noel said, after Hunter Dekkers was ineligible to play following the state's gambling probe.

"Towards the end of the season, he definitely stepped his game up," Noel said of Becht. "He became more of a leader for us, became more vocal and allowed us to be the team we needed to be to win."

Higgins and Noel are set to lead this room of pass-catchers. Higgins, the No. 1 do-it-all guy, and Noel, the slot receiver who excels when given the football in space. Brahmer and Stevo Klotz are a solid-as-concrete duo at tight end, splitting receiving and blocking duties.

As for who else could emerge in the passing game, Green is a versatile guy with some potential to make things happen. He recorded more than 1,100 all-purpose yards last year for North Dakota State and was the primary kickoff returner for the Bison.

Young players such as Beni Ngoyi are mentioned by Noel as potential stars, and Army transfer Isaiah Alston brings a big-play threat with his size and speed.

Perhaps one who could be overlooked is Daniel Jackson, a 6-foot-2 Texas native who recorded about 200 receiving yards a year ago and is drawing eyes in ISU's practices.

"He's one of the most gifted wide receivers we have on the team, honestly," Noel said. "He's a physical, bigger receiver that could do pretty much anything you ask him to do. He's real smooth with his route-running, great at the catch point, and can make stuff happen after the catch.

"He's gonna be a very important piece to our success this year."

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There's growing confidence around this Iowa State receiving corps from outside the program. And frankly, that's just not something this team thinks about much.

"Hype is just a word," Higgins said. "We're a competent group and we know what we have in that room. We're explosive and everyone we have can make plays at any given time."

This group sees an opportunity in front of itself in this edition of the Big 12 Conference. In a league without a true top dog and a ton of new faces, the Cyclones remain one of the more steady programs. On the outside, they are looked at as a program that could battle with the Oklahoma States, the Utahs and Kansas States atop the conference.

If this group of receivers breaks out the way that many expect them to, however, they'll be doing it for the standard they established in the second half of last season.

"We have our own expectations for ourselves," Noel said. "We're not going to try to prove anything to anybody outside of the facility."

Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com . Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State football's pass-catchers not interested in hype, but ready to prove themselves