Iowa State football looks to improve tackling after inconsistency shows vs. TCU

AMES – Jon Heacock has plenty of things to consider, evaluate and fret about before any game. That’s the life of a defensive coordinator – worrying yourself about everything so your team can be prepared for anything.

There is, though, an area that ramps up the anxiety for the veteran Iowa State coach every single week.

“It’s the one thing I’m concerned about before every game,” Heacock said Tuesday, “is how we’re going to tackle?”

The Cyclones (3-3, 2-1 Big 12) have historically been excellent tacklers in excellent defenses under Heacock, but as the team has gotten younger this season, the tackling has missed the ‘elite’ mark and instead has strayed toward inconsistent.

It was an issue that popped up repeatedly – though still sporadically – last weekend in a win against TCU, and will be a point of emphasis ahead of the Cyclones' game Saturday at Cincinnati (11 a.m.; FS1).

“I thought there were times, some big-time plays where we tackled well,” said Iowa State coach Matt Campbell, “and there were times we just didn’t tackle as good as we need to.

“It continues to be a focus for us on the defensive side of the football. We need to be better, but globally there’s gaps we all want to fill in.”

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Iowa State’s defense has consistently ranked among the country’s best in recent years under Heacock, so even a slight slip into inconsistency is noticeable. The Cyclones looked vulnerable at times even in wins against Oklahoma State and TCU, and they were pretty well dismantled by Oklahoma, which has since emerged as a national title contender.

The Horned Frogs’ Emani Bailey, too, is among the Big 12’s best running backs, and his 152 yards – and the missed tackles he generated – were as much about him as Iowa State’s defense.

Still, youth and injuries have certainly played a part in Iowa State’s good-but-not-great defense as of late. The Cyclones are essentially playing with no defensive linemen with extensive experience before this season, while the linebacking corps is also mostly new outside of sixth-year senior Gerry Vaughn.

“When you look at the game of who is tackling really well, it’s Beau (Freyler), it’s Gerry and those veteran football players,” Campbell said. “For us, it’s part of the youth process.”

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That process also is now mostly devoid of actual real-life tackling in practice as programs get away from live-tackling in an effort to safeguard player health and safety.

“You’re doing all the fundamental things of tackling but you really aren’t running and tackling guys in space in practice,” Heacock said. “That kind of went away four or five years ago, and I would guess every defensive coach cringes.

“It’s a fundamental that, as an older coach, you used to be live on Tuesdays in practice. You don’t do it anymore. You need to keep your guys healthy, and I respect that, but I think you see (the results of not practicing) it a lot in tackling throughout football.”

That leads to some gimmicky workarounds.

“Tuesdays are ‘Thud-Up Tuesdays’ for us. Wednesdays are ‘Wrap up Wednesdays’ for us,” Heacock said. “It can be practiced. There are ways to do it. It still concerns you because the one thing you don’t do that’s really live tempo.”

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Despite the youth and some tackling that comes and goes, Iowa State still ranks in the upper half of the Big 12 in scoring and total defense.

“We could definitely improve,” said nose tackle J.R. Singleton, “but I’m not worried about it because our linebackers and our safeties and our D-line continuously work every day to get better at tackling, being gap-sound.

“Our players take the coaching, and we learn quick.”

Travis Hines covers Iowa State University sports for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him on X at @TravisHines21.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State football tackling fundamentals are a work in progress