SEMO Defensive Star That Iowa State Fans Needs To Know About

The Iowa State Cyclones begin their 2026 campaign on Saturday, when they will take on the SEMO Redhawks at Jack Trice Stadium. It’s the opening game of the Jimmy Rogers era, and their first game without Matt Campbell in charge in 11 years.

SEMO is an FCS program that began its season last weekend, when they took on the Indiana State Sycamores. The Redhawks actually looked pretty good, as they were able to win 23-21 on the road in a game they were projected to lose.

And there was one guy who truly stood out on the defensive side of the ball. His name is DJ Delmore, and he’s someone Iowa State fans have to look out for.

Delmore is in his fourth year with the program, and he’s taken quite the journey to get to the top level. He redshirted his freshman year, playing in two games late in the season. Then, his redshirt freshman season saw him mainly on special teams, with occasional defensive opportunities.

DJ Delmore is player for Iowa State to keep eye on

Iowa State football head coach Jimmy Rogers talks to media. — Iowa State football head coach Jimmy Rogers talks to media after first day practice at the university’s Stark Performance Center in Ames, Iowa. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

But his best game was only a two-tackle performance. However, he really broke out in his redshirt sophomore season, putting up 32 tackles in eight games started at safety. He quickly became one of the pillars of the team.

Delmore hoped that his redshirt junior season could start solidly. And that would be an understatement compared to how he performed in game one.

He put up 13 tackles, nearly totaling half his total from the prior season in just a single game. Seven of those tackles were solo. In addition, he had three tackles for loss, including a sack. A pass deflection truly put together his entire game.

Southeast Missouri safety DJ Delmore was named OVC Defensive Player of the Week and kicker Justin Keller was tabbed Specialist of the Week Monday.
Story: https://t.co/YnW1chrd1N pic.twitter.com/rqRMHHnHP8
— SEMO Football (@SEMOfootball) August 31, 2026

It was an unbelievable performance from Delmore, who looked hungry to get his team the win all night. He was able to perform in all aspects of the game and, despite being a safety, was still able to get into the action a ton. It was an iconic first performance of the season, and it’s fair to say that if Delmore doesn’t play, SEMO isn’t able to steal that win on the road.

Going into the first game of the Cyclones' season, their biggest focus has to be on themselves and making sure they function properly. With 22 new starters on offense and defense, making sure that the team is able to fit together certainly has to be their priority.

But after that, it’s key that Iowa State knows about Delmore and what a player he is, because he will definitely not be an easy man to stop on Saturday.

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