Iowa State Cyclones' Receiver Is Rightfully Praised After Fantastic Performance

Which playmaker from the Iowa State Cyclones was recently praised for his performance?

Sep 7, 2024; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; An Iowa State Cyclones helmet sits on the sidelines before the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones were able to escape what ended up being a tough road game against the Arkansas State Red Wolves with a 24-16 victory. It was the fourth win of the season for the Cyclones, and the team will be heading into a much-needed bye week undefeated. 

Even though it wasn’t pretty, Iowa State was able to sneak away with a road win. While it wasn’t the type of showing that the team was likely expecting as such a large favorite, there were some positive takeaways for the program. 

On the ground, the Cyclones were able to establish their two-headed monster of Carson Hansen and Abu Sama III. This duo rushed for nearly 200 yards and really set the tone on offense. However, Rocco Becht was also able to rack up 265 passing yards, and he had one of his new targets finally break out. 

Xavier Townsend was a transfer from UCF whom Iowa State had some high hopes for coming into the year. The junior wide receiver had some nice moments with his former team but appears to be looking to have his breakout campaign in 2025. 

After a slow start to the year for the transfer, he was able to total three receptions and 90 receiving yards in the win over Arkansas State. The 90-yard outburst was more than he had totaled all season combined. After the stellar performance, Becht spoke about his new wide receiver finally getting comfortable in the offense. 

"I think one of the things that he's improved on throughout the past couple of weeks is knowing the offense, like the ins and outs of it," quarterback Rocco Becht said of Townsend to Eugene Rapay of the Des Moines Register. 

Townsend Performance is Encouraging

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Switching teams, getting used to a new campus, playbook, and quarterback, in this case, is never easy. In three years with UCF, Townsend’s best season came in 2023. That year, he totaled 33 receptions, 325 receiving yards, and three receiving touchdowns. 

While Becht likes to feature his tight ends in the passing game, it has been Townsend and Brett Eskildsen who have emerged clearly as the top two wide receivers for the offense. While Eskildsen is leading the team in receiving yards, both he and Townsend are tied in receptions. 

Even though he might have gotten off to a slow start to the season, Townsend's performance in Week 3 was very encouraging. With conference play really starting to heat up after the bye week, Becht is going to need all of his weapons to try and win a Big 12 title. Townsend finally starting to look comfortable in the offense will go a long way toward helping with that.