Iowa State Cyclones Transfer From Tulsa Ready for More Snaps Coming out of Bye Week

The Iowa State Cyclones should start using one of their transfers more following the bye.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones headed into their bye in Week 4 as the only team in college football that had a 4-0 record.

There were a lot of positives to take away from the first month of the season. The team’s defense looked stout, and just enough plays were being made by the offense in a timely fashion to get the team three one-possession victories.

Alas, head coach Matt Campbell and his staff knew that there was plenty of work still to do. A 4-0 start is great, but the Cyclones have much bigger goals beyond the first month of the season. If they want to compete for a Big 12 championship, things have to be cleaned up in every facet of the game.

A lot of focus will be on the special teams unit, where third-string kicker Chase Smith will be handling things. Against the Arkansas State Red Wolves, special teams play was not up to par, nearly costing Iowa State the game.

It will be worth keeping an eye on in Week 5 against the Arizona Wildcats and beyond. Has enough been done to clean up their shortcomings? Another area of the team to keep an eye on is the defensive line.

Vontroy Malone ready for more snaps with Iowa State

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During the course of a bye week, coaches will evaluate how players have performed up to that point and identify if anything needs to be changed with the lineup or game plan. Sometimes, players emerge and earn more playing time based on their level of production to that point.

One player who is coming on is defensive lineman Vontroy Malone. A transfer from the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, he is a player the coaching staff was counting on to help replace the production of Tyler Onyedim. He transferred to the Texas A&M Aggies over the offseason.

Malone hasn’t played a ton of snaps to this point, getting on the field for 39 plays. But he made his presence felt against Arkansas State. Going up against Jaylen Raynor, whom Campbell called the best quarterback the Cyclones would face this year, he recorded two pressures.

New threads 😁❤️ pic.twitter.com/j8xgi5CSu8

— Vontroy Malone (@VontroyM) December 22, 2024

The matchup against the Red Wolves was the most productive Malone has been thus far in 2025. Perr PFF, he received a defensive grade of 68.8, which was 12th on the team. His 73.6 tackling grade was 10th and his 67.6 run defense grade was eighth best.

That kind of impactful performance, even in limited action, is something that can catch the coaching staff’s attention. Malone looks like someone who is ready for a larger role in the trenches. With another week of practice reps under his belt, defensive line coach Eli Rasheed could be ready to give him a larger workload.

Performing at that level against a school from the Sun Belt is one thing. If Malone can replicate it against a Big 12 foe in the Wildcats, his usage rate will soar.