Freshmen helping ISU turnaround

While the senior class has led the way to Iowa State’s 5-1 start, a solid class of redshirt freshmen is playing an important part as well. Back-up nose guard Jordan Carstens began his Cyclone career as a walk-on out of Panorama high school and now finds himself seeing significant playing time. Carstens says the only school that recruited him was Northwest Missouri State, but he decided to walk-on at I-S-U. He says he wasn’t a “blue chip” athlete out of high school, but worked to get bigger and stronger.Florida native Marc Timmons has been seeing a lot of time as the nickel back in Iowa State’s defensive scheme. Timmons came into the season expecting to see some action. He says after spring his evaluation showed he would play.Timmons switched from cornerback to safety last spring. He says he didn’t like the switch at first, but now likes the position.The Cyclones host Texas A&M Saturday in their annual homecoming game.