Iowa State football practice: Allen Lazard continues to win over Cyclones
By Brian Spaen
For a true freshman that had all the hype in the world coming in, Allen Lazard is handling the pressure very well in the early days of Iowa State football practice.
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Lazard is cool, calm, and comfortable with the media. He doesn’t shy away from the cameras and the microphones. He doesn’t let anyone push him around if he doesn’t want to say something.
The freshman doesn’t care what the media says about him or the hype involved and focuses on his goals. Yeah, yeah, we’ve all heard that, but he handles it without being rude or arrogant, which a ton of NFL players don’t even know how to do. What happens when a media member asks what those personal goals? Well, they’re personal.
Here’s 90 seconds of Lazard from The Des Moines Register:
Jarvis West confirmed that Lazard was playing with the second team, something that is news, but just like Cyclone Fanatic’s Chris Williams tweeted earlier today, I think we all figured he already was.
Note: Allen Lazard played with the 2’s today. That is news - yes. But I guess I just assumed that he already was. #Cyclones
— Chris Williams (@ChrisMWilliams) August 7, 2014
Still, with the maturity he’s showing in front the media, how much praise the coaches are already giving him, and how he is working his way up the ladder, there’s nothing to scoff at for a prospect that was at one time the best-ranked wide receiver in the class of 2014. He’s living up to the hype, and the fans should be excited to see what he puts out there on the field this fall.
Other Iowa State football practice news
— CF dived into the discussion of Aaron Wimberly returning kickoffs. We’re on the same page when it comes to Wimberly’s durability during the season. Part of the blame can be put on the offensive line not protecting any of the running backs last season, but he’s a very small 5-foot-9, 174 pound tailback that had to miss the middle of last season and never got back to full form in the final four games of the season.
Considering the Cyclones already have two adept returners in DeVondrick Nealy and West, I think it’s pivotal to keep Wimberly focused on the running game unless you don’t expect him to be your starting back.