It wasn’t too long ago that Iowa State was the darling of the Big 12 North and on the doorstep of the conference title game. Now, entering the 2007 season, the Cyclones have brought in Gene Chizik to run the show, a man who has won everywhere he’s been. He inherits a team with a smattering of star power, including senior receiver Todd Blythe. KUSports.com editor Ryan Greene caught up with Blythe on Tuesday’s second session of Big 12 Media Day in San Antonio, Texas.
Ryan Greene: With all the top-line receivers in the Big 12, you talked about how hard it is to crack that first team, when you’re on the field going against one of those guys, are you almost having the same competition against him as you are against the defensive back lining up across from you?
Todd Blythe: I think so. You probably don’t think about it right in the front of your mind while you’re out there, you’re kind of worried about the guy standing in front of you. But I know that when I’m on the sideline and the defense is on the field, when we play Texas, I’m like ‘Man, don’t let (Limas) Sweed get off this game, come on.’ But those are the guys that I’ve talked to after games and talked to on the field and things like that. And don’t get me wrong, I wish all those guys the best of luck, they’re incredible players, incredible athletes. But yeah, it’s a pride thing. If you’re competitive and you’re an athlete, you definitely want to be the best out there. And that’s something I strive for every Saturday. My goal every Saturday is to be the best receiver on the field that day.
RG: Where do you rank yourself with all those names?
TB: Ooh, that’s tough. I don’t know. I’m not going to put on a rank on me, I guess, I’d get myself in trouble.
RG: But you feel you’re as good as all those guys?
TB: Yeah, absolutely. Last year was disappointing, for a lot of different reasons, but with what I’ve done in the past, I think I’ve definitely proven myself, that I’m right there with any of these guys in this league and in the country.
RG: How much does Bret (Meyer) have to do with your success in making you one of those guys people think of?
TB: I think a lot. He’s gotten to the point over the years where he trusts me to, if he’s in trouble, he knows if I’m running down the sideline, he sees one-on-one, he can just throw it up high and I’ll go after it and hopefully make a big play for us. And just that confidence and that trust he has in me allows me to make a lot more plays than maybe I would with a quarterback who didn’t trust me as much just because he puts me in position to make a play, and he’ll give me the benefit of the doubt a lot of times.
RG: You were talking about Iowa State having not won a conference title in a long time. With coach (Gene) Chizik coming in, the guy has rings. When he first got there, did that immediately make him legit in your guys’ minds?
TB: Absolutely. I think just his reputation and the fact that he has won absolutely every place he’s been. He’s been at the pinnacle of our sport. He’s won a national championship. He talked about that, and he really preaches things like it’s a game of inches. He talks about that national championship, they had to stop USC on fourth and inches, and they stopped them and that pretty much sealed the game for them. And so it’s definitely a thing where he’s done so much stuff and he’s had so much success that basically whatever he says is going to be golden to me because of his past and his reputation.
RG: What’s a realistic expectation for his first season in Ames?
TB: I don’t know. I’m not going to put a number of wins or anything like that out there, but I definitely think we’re at the point with the level of talent we have coming back this year and with the new guys that we have coming in, that if we can really put things together and be consistent, which was our biggest problem last year, we can be real successful. And like I said, I don’t want to sit around at the end of my senior year and be watching bowl games in December. I definitely want to be at one.
Media Day Q&A with…Kansas’ Aqib Talib
Media Day Q&A with…Kansas’ Brandon McAnderson
Media Day Q&A with…Oklahoma’s Malcolm Kelly
Media Day Q&A with…Missouri’s players on Arrowhead and expectations
