Iowa State Cyclones Defender Receives Surprising Recognition

The Iowa State Cyclones are still gradually working their way up into being a nationally known program, and even though they set a school record with double-digit wins last season, they aren't quite there just yet.

It's hard to ignore what head coach Matt Campbell is building, however, and Iowa State is particularly becoming very stingy defensively.

While the Cyclones' pass defense has absolutely been their strongest area on that side of the ball, their defensive line is certainly not half-bad, either, especially with defensive tackle Domonique Orange at the center of it.

Orange is not a household name by any stretch, but he is starting to gain some recognition. Case in point, Bruce Feldman of The Athletic has ranked Orange 25th on his top 100 list of college football's biggest "freaks" heading into 2025.

"Making another appearance on the Freaks List, Orange had a solid 2024 season, making 24 tackles, including 4.5 for a loss — 3.5 of those TFLs came in the last five games of the season," Feldman wrote. "The 6-4, 325-pound Orange, who spent much of his offseason refining his diet, has benched 450 pounds, squatted 650 and cleaned 365. He also has vertical jumped 34 inches."

Orange arrived at Iowa State in 2022 and was relatively quiet over his first couple of seasons, totaling 24 tackles. However, the Kansas City, Mo. native enjoyed a breakout campaign of sorts last year and is now viewed as a legitimate prospect for the 2026 NFL Draft.

But first, Orange and the Cyclones have some unfinished business to take care of in the Big 12.

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