CFTV: Campbell addresses special teams & more ahead of ULM

Tuesday’s weekly Iowa State press conference ahead of the ULM game was mostly Cyclone-centric.

When following a rivalry game loss and going into a non-conference game against a Sun Belt school, that’s understandable.

Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell hit on a lot of things, including the muffed punt return that essentially sealed Saturday’s game for the Hawks.

He said he had no concerns.

Among the other things Campbell spoke about, he talked the growth of junior defensive back Greg Eisworth. Campbell said Eisworth has a unique ability to make those around him better, and the Cyclones are utilizing that this season.

The fourth-year coach talked about the offensive line as well on Tuesday, which saw Collin Olson playing center for the first time at Iowa State.

Another note for the Cyclones that was mentioned on Tuesday was the lack of turnovers the team has seen in the first two games of the season.

Now, it’s nothing to worry big time about, but the unit has not yet forced a turnover after the first pair of games.

Senior Justin Bickham discussed the team’s practice habits, and also said the ball will fall in Iowa State’s favor at some point.

As a unit, however, the defense has jelled a lot through two games this season – something that sophomore Anthony Johnson highlighted on Tuesday.

The unit only allowed six points against Northern Iowa in regulation in week 1, and forced Iowa to kick four field goals on Saturday.

Iowa State will face Louisiana Monroe on Saturday morning with an 11:00 a.m. kickoff on Fox Sports 1 at Jack Trice Stadium.