Iowa State Cyclones Sophomore Wide Receiver Showing Big-Play Ability

Which player for the Iowa State Cyclones is showing big-play ability?

Nov 9, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Iowa State Cyclones helmets on the bench during the first quarter against the Kansas Jayhawks at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones are off to a fantastic 3-0 start to the season, and they will be looking to make it a perfect 4-0 this coming week. 

With a road matchup coming up against the Arkansas State Red Wolves, the Cyclones will certainly be favored to win, but anything can happen in a road game in college football. The Red Wolves have a 1-1 record and are coming off a blowout loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Cyclones will be seeking to hand them a similar type of loss, and this could be a great game for their offense to get rolling after the physical matchup against the Iowa Hawkeyes. 

As expected in the rivalry game, there wasn't a lot of offense with Iowa State coming away with a narrow 16-13 win, but that was a key out-of-conference victory that will be good to help the Cyclones’ resume going forward. 

In the game prior, the team did show some serious offensive prowess with a 55-point outburst. However, this is still a team that figures to be more of a defensive-minded squad that will try to limit mistakes. So far on offense, there has been one player in particular who has shown some big-play ability, and that could be featured on Saturday. 

Brett Eskildsen Proving To Be Explosive Weapon

Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

Even though Iowa State might not be the most explosive team, it has been their sophomore wide receiver early on who has been able to produce some big plays. In three games. Eskildsen is leading the team in both receiving yards and yards per catch. Overall, he has totaled seven receptions, 162 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown. 

The 23.1 yards per catch average is a strong early number for the talented young receiver, and he is proving early on that he can be a game-changer for what has been a bit of a methodical offense. His longest catch of the campaign came against South Dakota, when he got a 66-yard reception. Furthermore, even in the grind-it-out type of game against Iowa, he totaled a 35-yard play. 

After not contributing much during his freshman season, Eskildsen has proven so far this year that he might be the top offensive weapon for the team. With a favorable matchup coming up for him against Arkansas State, the sophomore will be looking to continue the momentum that he has started in 2025. Having the sophmore emerge early on has made a positive impact for the offense so far.