Iowa State football's Jon Heacock on Jeremiah Cooper, defensive expectations

AMES — Iowa State defensive coordinator Jon Heacock is accustomed to the shift from offseason to in-season and the learning opportunities that follow.

He acknowledged that head coach Matt Campbell puts his team in a good position early on, adding a little bit of chaos to practice and making players and coaches figure out how to respond.

Games don’t always go according to the script, after all, so why should practice?

It’s in those moments that Heacock sees the capabilities of his group. But there are things he won’t know until the Cyclones play a game. The season opener vs. North Dakota is set for Aug. 31 at Jack Trice Stadium.

“Who’s going to lead when things don’t go good?” Heacock said Wednesday. “How (do) you respond in the tough situations? And there’ll be some the first game. That’s how you find out what kind of team you have.”

Competition is best part of Heacock’s camp so far

Regardless of position group, there is a lot of depth on Heacock’s side of the ball. Some players have separated themselves from the crowd – think Jeremiah Cooper, Caleb Bacon and a handful of other major contributors from 2023.

But Heacock’s first impression about camp is that it’s competitive.

“Whether it be by position group, guys fighting for spots when you have that group of folks back, it’s been great competition,” Heacock said. “We’ve had different guys at ones, twos, threes and fours all camp.”

Competitions breeds excellence, or success, or fill in the blank with a synonym of achievement.

That belief is evident in Iowa State’s safety pool, which features three returning stars: Cooper, Beau Freyler and Malik Verdon. Behind those players are young and relatively inexperienced second-stringers, but athletes who made leaps in the offseason.

Some growth among the up-and-comers could be crucial to the Cyclones’ success.

“We’ve never gone through a season here with just three safeties,” Heacock said. “I think that’s been the main focus of the weight room, nutrition, the coaches applying pressure to those guys every day, putting them in really hard situations, forcing them to learn.”

Jeremiah Cooper takes next step with injury-free offseason

One name that keeps coming up is Cooper, and for good reason.

Through all the preseason hype – and there is a lot, with the junior safety appearing on seemingly every watchlist for his position – Cooper is just happy to have a complete offseason.

He struggled through injuries and still recorded 45 total tackles, five interceptions and a forced fumble during his sophomore season. This year, there’s a bit of a confidence boost that comes with an offseason of uninterrupted work.

“He’s just thankful and grateful for that opportunity,” Heacock said. “You feel that spirit about him, which allowed him to go out and help lead. He’s always been a great player for us. Battling some of those off-the-field injuries, sometimes it’s hard to be the leader.”

'Pairs and spares' will be critical to Iowa State’s success on the defensive line

Between Tyler Onyedim, Domonique Orange and J.R. Singleton, there is a good amount of experience returning to Iowa State’s defensive line. But Heacock had a lot to say about the weak-side defensive end spot.

“Samuel Same, Joey Petersen, Kenard Snyder, Trent Jones, that whole group,” Heacock said. “That’s a different position than most others on the field. Those guys have all gone in there and played well.

“There is some twitch there and some movement there, and it’s fun to see it. Those guys have really developed.”

Development was the word of the day for the defense, as it’s still a work in progress. Heacock likes the growth, likes the pieces that Iowa State added. He understands, though, that a few great players can’t propel Iowa State for the entire season.

That’s where the “pairs and spares,” as Heacock put it, come into play.

“I would say at least six and spares at all of those would be nine,” Heacock said. “We’ve probably got eight or nine that I would feel comfortable throwing out there, some of those guys a little more. So, there’s a good group there … (but) there’s always a lot of unknowns going into a season.”

Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel .

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State football's Jon Heacock on Jeremiah Cooper, defensive expectations