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Lenz into the future
By Luke Plansky
Date Posted: 2009-10-20
This weekend against Nebraska, Iowa State true freshman Josh Lenz likely will stand alone.
Lenz will wait for the punt, look the ball into his hand and try to make the catch while the defense charges at him, as he’s done hundreds of times.
But at Memorial Stadium this Saturday, the conditions will be unfamiliar, unfriendly and possibly disorienting.
“Any time they get a good play, it’s not just 50,000 erupting, it’s 80,000-plus,” tight end Derrick Catlett said. “And you can feel your body shaking. It can get you down; you’ve just got to fight through it, play your game and not let it affect you.”
Last year, Lenz was playing Iowa high school football, but this weekend he will have to keep his approach the same. He said he tries to keep things simple when he’s on the field, saying that when playing, “you’re not thinking, you’re just reacting” to allow trained instincts to take over.
Nerves may have more chances to affect Lenz this weekend, though, as he is gaining an increased role in the Iowa State offense.
Lenz has proven himself to be one of the best athletes on the team. He caught seven passes for 44 yards last Saturday in Iowa State’s 24-10 win against Baylor. In practice recently, he has demonstrated that he knows “where to be,” “how to get there” and how to “be physical,” according to offensive coordinator Tom Herman.
“He’s got a burst, he’s got a different gear,” Herman said. “He can change directions and accelerate probably better than anyone we’ve got.”
Lenz, who turned 19 last month, only had two catches before last Saturday, but his only catch against Kansas illustrated to head coach Paul Rhoads that he needed to be on the field.
“He has an ability to make people miss and turn 5-yard plays into 15-yard plays, as he did against Kansas; he made a catch, and the next thing you knew he had (15) yards,” Rhoads said. “We’ve got to get that kind of production on the field, we’ve got to get it on the field more, and you’ll see him again this Saturday, and hopefully that ability continues to show.”
Along with speed and elusiveness, Herman said the 5-foot-11, 184-pound wideout has “great hands,” even though Lenz played running his final two years of high school.
“He can contort his body and snatches the football out of the air,” Herman said. “He attacks the football, but the reason he hadn’t played more up until this point was the trust factor was a little lacking.”
Trust and confidence has been building as Lenz has made the adjustment to college football.
Aside from raising his overall level of play, he has needed to gain a firm grasp of an offense with a degree of difficulty and complexity almost incomparable to that at Dubuque Hempstead.
“In high school, we ran the Wing-T, so I’d either run left, run right, you know, go block,” Lenz said.
Lenz said he is now starting to get comfortable with the offense, though “there’s always stuff to learn.” He said now he can focus on playing, as opposed to “worrying about messing up.”
Near the end of training camp, Lenz said he found out that he wouldn’t redshirt and would be returning punts. He has gradually been given opportunities at wide receiver, but last week wide receivers coach Luke Wells told Lenz that he’d be given more playing time.
Quarterback Austen Arnaud completed five passes to Lenz on the first drive, one of which went for 24 yards, only to be called back by a penalty.
Arnaud classified Lenz as a smart, hard-worker who never complains.
“In the open field, he can make some moves and make some guys miss,” Arnaud said. “He’s got a good quick twitch to him. With the ball in his hands, he’s pretty dangerous.”
Lenz has 13 punt returns for a total of 55 yards this season, with the bulk of those yards coming from a 44-yard return against Army. Rhoads said the team needs more out of the return unit if it’s going “be a part of our team that contributes to victories.”
First and foremost, though, Lenz said he’s worrying about catching the ball.
By Luke Plansky
Date Posted: 2009-10-20
Iowa State rookie Josh Lenz caught seven passes for 44 yards in the Cyclones' 24-10 win over Baylor on Saturday.
Tribune photo by Nirmalendu Majumdar
Tribune photo by Nirmalendu Majumdar
This weekend against Nebraska, Iowa State true freshman Josh Lenz likely will stand alone.
Lenz will wait for the punt, look the ball into his hand and try to make the catch while the defense charges at him, as he’s done hundreds of times.
But at Memorial Stadium this Saturday, the conditions will be unfamiliar, unfriendly and possibly disorienting.
“Any time they get a good play, it’s not just 50,000 erupting, it’s 80,000-plus,” tight end Derrick Catlett said. “And you can feel your body shaking. It can get you down; you’ve just got to fight through it, play your game and not let it affect you.”
Last year, Lenz was playing Iowa high school football, but this weekend he will have to keep his approach the same. He said he tries to keep things simple when he’s on the field, saying that when playing, “you’re not thinking, you’re just reacting” to allow trained instincts to take over.
Nerves may have more chances to affect Lenz this weekend, though, as he is gaining an increased role in the Iowa State offense.
Lenz has proven himself to be one of the best athletes on the team. He caught seven passes for 44 yards last Saturday in Iowa State’s 24-10 win against Baylor. In practice recently, he has demonstrated that he knows “where to be,” “how to get there” and how to “be physical,” according to offensive coordinator Tom Herman.
“He’s got a burst, he’s got a different gear,” Herman said. “He can change directions and accelerate probably better than anyone we’ve got.”
Lenz, who turned 19 last month, only had two catches before last Saturday, but his only catch against Kansas illustrated to head coach Paul Rhoads that he needed to be on the field.
“He has an ability to make people miss and turn 5-yard plays into 15-yard plays, as he did against Kansas; he made a catch, and the next thing you knew he had (15) yards,” Rhoads said. “We’ve got to get that kind of production on the field, we’ve got to get it on the field more, and you’ll see him again this Saturday, and hopefully that ability continues to show.”
Along with speed and elusiveness, Herman said the 5-foot-11, 184-pound wideout has “great hands,” even though Lenz played running his final two years of high school.
“He can contort his body and snatches the football out of the air,” Herman said. “He attacks the football, but the reason he hadn’t played more up until this point was the trust factor was a little lacking.”
Trust and confidence has been building as Lenz has made the adjustment to college football.
Aside from raising his overall level of play, he has needed to gain a firm grasp of an offense with a degree of difficulty and complexity almost incomparable to that at Dubuque Hempstead.
“In high school, we ran the Wing-T, so I’d either run left, run right, you know, go block,” Lenz said.
Lenz said he is now starting to get comfortable with the offense, though “there’s always stuff to learn.” He said now he can focus on playing, as opposed to “worrying about messing up.”
Near the end of training camp, Lenz said he found out that he wouldn’t redshirt and would be returning punts. He has gradually been given opportunities at wide receiver, but last week wide receivers coach Luke Wells told Lenz that he’d be given more playing time.
Quarterback Austen Arnaud completed five passes to Lenz on the first drive, one of which went for 24 yards, only to be called back by a penalty.
Arnaud classified Lenz as a smart, hard-worker who never complains.
“In the open field, he can make some moves and make some guys miss,” Arnaud said. “He’s got a good quick twitch to him. With the ball in his hands, he’s pretty dangerous.”
Lenz has 13 punt returns for a total of 55 yards this season, with the bulk of those yards coming from a 44-yard return against Army. Rhoads said the team needs more out of the return unit if it’s going “be a part of our team that contributes to victories.”
First and foremost, though, Lenz said he’s worrying about catching the ball.
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