The fans can hardly wait to see the new Cyclone offense take the field. Offensive Coordinator Tom Herman takes over an offense that put up some pretty good numbers in a very disappointing season last year. Iowa State returns many key playmakers including Austen Arnaud, Alexander Robinson, Darius Darks, Sedrick Johnson and Collin Franklin.
Herman’s Rice Owls put up video game statistics last year. Rice QB Chase Clement accounted for 56 (44 passing, 12 rushing) touchdowns and over 4,700 (4,119 passing, 693 rushing) total yards last year. Wideout Jarrett Dillard caught 87 passes for 1,310 yards and 20 touchdowns. And maybe most impressive of all TE James Casey caught 111 balls for 1,329 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Don’t expect the Cyclones to put up those types of stats this year, but do expect a considerable spike in the numbers. Who will benefit the most from Tom Herman’s system? The logical candidates looking at the Rice numbers would be a QB, a WR and a TE. However the Rice stats may be a bit deceiving. Herman’s offense is about getting the ball in his top playmakers hands.
Who will be Iowa State’s playmakers in 2009? Our best guess at this point, QB Arnaud, RB Alexander Robinson and WR Sedrick Johnson. We believe they are the three guys that will break out the most this year. Other candidates for breakout include QB Jerome Tiller, WR Darius Darks, WR Darius Reynolds and TE Collin Franklin. Iowa State appears to have a few more playmakers this year then Herman had at Rice. So instead of having one or two guys put up really big numbers you may see the stats spread out among several players.
Projecting player stats for a season is nearly impossible, but we love to do it anyway. See below for our 2009 projections.
IOWA STATE CYCLONES – 2009 Offensive Statistics Projection
PASSING Comp Att Yards TD INT Pct
QB Austen Arnaud – 268 425 3,216 27 10 63%
QB Jerome Tiller – 30 50 361 2 1 60%
RUSHING Att Yards TD
RB Alexander Robinson – 214 1112 8
QB Austen Arnaud – 154 590 7
RB Jeremiah Schwartz – 48 202 2
RECEIVING Catches Yards TD
WR Sedrick Johnson 51 752 10
WR Darius Darks 62 609 4
WR Darius Reynolds 45 548 2
RB Alexander Robinson 32 362 4
WR Marquis Hamilton 28 360 2
TE Collin Franklin 26 325 6
WR Josh Lenz 14 226 2
TE Derrick Catlett 14 156 0
WR Houston Jones 10 108 0
2010 Season Preview: Projecting Iowa State’s Offensive Statistics
