Iowa State Football Defense Will Be Anchored by Interior Defensive Linemen

There are a lot of new faces on the Iowa State Cyclones football roster heading into the offseason program.

More than 50 players hit the transfer portal following Matt Campbell’s departure, leaving new head coach Jimmy Rogers with plenty of voids to address. Some positional groups have a lot more question marks than others.

Running back remains a need with Jayden Jackson no longer part of the program and Salahadin Allah suffering a season-ending injury. On the opposite end of the spectrum is defensive tackle, where the team is well-stocked.

Anchoring that unit is Bryson Lamb, a transfer from the Washington State Cougars who followed Rogers, defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit and defensive line coach Jalon Bibbs from Pullman to Ames.

Defensive tackle looks to be strength of Iowa State

Washington State Cougars defensive tackle Bryson Lamb (99) prays before a game against the Utah State Aggies. — Nov 9, 2024; Pullman, Washington, USA; Washington State Cougars defensive tackle Bryson Lamb (99) prays before a game against the Utah State Aggies at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium. | James Snook-Imagn Images

He drew praise throughout the spring session as arguably the most impressive player on the team throughout practice.

"I do believe that B-Lamb is going to be one of the best interior run stoppers in the Big 12," Bibbs said in early April, via Alec Busse of Cyclone Alert, part of the 247Sports Network (subscription required).

Lamb was disruptive for Washington State last season. In 12 games played, he recorded 25 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two passes defended and one fumble recovery. He looks poised to be a starter in the middle along with Zaimir Hawk.

One of the few holdovers from the 2025 roster, Hawk will have the opportunity to thrive in this defensive scheme that looks like a better skill set than the one deployed by Campbell and former defensive coordinator Jon Heacock.

A three-man front was deployed mostly by the previous regime defensively. The new coaching staff will be using a four-man front more often, which will present more opportunities for Hawk to showcase his talents that have already caught the attention of the coaching staff.

Cyclones new scheme will benefit defensive tackles

Iowa State defensive line coach Jalon Bibbs talks to media. — Iowa State defensive line coach Jalon Bibbs talks to media during the football defensive coaches media opportunity at the university’s Stark Performance Center on Feb. 13, 2026, in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"He's extremely dynamic," Bibbs said. "His one gap movements are very twitchy. He's very fluid. He's going to be able to cause a lot of disruption in the run game, but also he's going to provide us a spark as an interior pass rusher."

Interior pass rushing is something that the new defense should feature plenty of compared to past years. Domonique Orange thrived as a space eater in the middle, which is what he was tasked with doing.

Defensive tackles under Campbell and Bobbit are going to be asked to get up the field a little more, and they have the pieces to succeed in that manner.

Another player to keep an eye on is Max Baloun. If he can successfully bounce back from his ACL tear, he is another potential difference maker in the middle. There isn’t a player who knows this scheme better than him after following the coaching staff from the South Dakota State Jackrabbits to the Cougars in 2025.

In four games last year, Baloun had three tackles for loss and one sack before getting injured.

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