Finally, Iowa State has released the first depth chart for the 2022 football season. We’ll touch on the highlights here, but for a full breakdown, be sure to catch this week’s episode of Down the Pipe & Natty Lite.

Offense

On offense, Hunter Dekkers leads the way at QB, though that was one of only a few knowns coming into the season. Fans may also be unsurprised to see three “OR” designations at RB, signaling that the running back will indeed be by committee as expected.

Tight end also has some new faces with Easton Dean being listed as the starter, with DeShawn Hanika and Tyler Moore as backups.

Wide receiver is one of the more interesting groups on the roster, with Xavier Hutchinson and Jaylin Noel claiming their expected spots, but newcomer Dimitri Stanley slides in at the other spot as the clear vertical threat in the offense. Behind Noel is Aidan Bitter, a guy that the staff has been excited about, but hasn’t played a ton of snaps yet in his career.

Across the offensive line we see some familiar faces, including Downing at center and Jarrod Hufford and Darrell Simmons flanking him. Mountain Man Tyler Miller gets the start at left tackle. Jake Remsburg is currently listed as the starting right tackle, but given his unknown health status, it’s likely we see Grant Treiber start the season at that spot.

Defense

With a host of losses on the defense, we’re seeing a lot of new faces here. Will McDonald obviously starts at one defensive end spot with Blake Peterson listed at the other spot. JR Singleton and Isaiah Lee will anchor the middle of the defense.

One interesting note at nose guard is Dominique Orange and Howard Brown both listed as backups. Both are very young, but Orange is an absolutely monstrous human being at 350 pounds, and we know Howard Brown is quite the freak athlete. Lots of potential waiting with those two.

The linebackers see some new faces pop up as Gerry Vaughn finally gets his time to shine, while Mike Rose-clone Colby Reeder gets a chance to be exactly that.

As expected, Beau Freyler and Anthony Johnson make up two of the starting safety spots, and Malik Verdon has emerged as a starter at the other spot. Worth noting is that Jeremiah Cooper has apparently been pretty impressive and camp, and could see heavy playing time.

And, as expected, TJ Tampa and Myles Purchase get the start with Tayvonn Kyle and converted wide receiver Darien Porter backing them up.

Special Teams

Jace Gilbert appears to have won at least placekicking duties, and may also be the starting punter depending on how much pressure freshman Tyler Perkins puts on him at that spot. With the departure of Andrew Mevis looming large, that group will need to be solid.

Jaylin Noel is listed as both the punt and kick returner, which could be an exciting development as Iowa State looks for more explosive plays in the return game.