ISU’s Lamaak on the Outland Watch List

By Chris Williams, CycloneFanatic.com Publisher

Iowa State’s senior center Ben Lamaak is racking up preseason honors this summer.

In the prestigious Phil Steele 2010 College Football Preview, Lamaak was ranked as the eight best center in America.

On Monday, the Football Writers Association of America listed Iowa State’s 6-foot-4 senior on the Outland Trophy Watch List.

“Ben is a great leader for us,” Iowa State assistant head coach and offensive line coach Bill Bleil said in a release. "He’s been playing here a long time. We are excited to have someone who has leadership skills like Ben has and who has played as well as he’s played since he’s been here. We think he’s a great player and he can get even better. He was one of the significant players for us a year ago and we are excited about what he can do in the future.”

Lamaak is one of 63 players in America to make the watch list.

Chris’ Take: Just a few days before the 2010 NFL Draft, I interviewed Reggie Stephens. I brought up Ben Lamaak to the Cincinnati Bengal draft pick. Without any hesitation, Stephens told me that Lamaak will at the very least, get a serious look by NFL scouts next winter. Reggie would know. The two have lived similar careers at Iowa State. Both have played a ton of football in a Cyclone uniform, in all sorts of different positions. According to what Stephens told me, the NFL scouts actually like they. They loved his versatility as a lineman and barring any unforeseen setbacks, we should expect the same for Lamaak.