Iowa State football's Blake Peterson, other young players making moves on Cyclones' defense

AMES — Iowa State football fans are familiar with Zach Petersen, a senior defensive end with 33 tackles this season who was described by coach Matt Campbell as a “pillar of consistency.”

Then there’s Joey Petersen, younger brother of Zach and also a defensive end. The Cyclones roster also lists Brady Petersen – no relation to Zach and Joey. And then there is Blake Peterson (spelled with an o).

Peterson, a redshirt sophomore defensive end, is a quiet contributor to the Cyclones’ defense. He has recorded just 10 tackles with the Cyclones – six in 2020, four in 2021.

Against Texas Tech, he recorded the first sack of his college career, taking down Donovan Smith for a loss of 11 yards.

He was the only Cyclones player to record a sack on Saturday, and it’s a moment Peterson has prepared for in the three seasons he’s been with Iowa State. But even big career firsts like that are hard to celebrate in a tough loss.

“I’m more worried about the end result than what I do in a game, really,” Peterson said on Tuesday. “If we won the game, (I’m) going to be a lot happier about getting a sack.”

Still, it was a brief payoff for years of patience. Peterson admitted that he had a lot of work to do when he arrived in Ames, saying it was a big adjustment from 11B football in South Dakota to playing on the line in the Big 12.

He used the last few years to learn from players like Zach Petersen and others who have paved the way for the next generation of Iowa State defenders. Peterson said the biggest part of his growth has come from watching Iowa State’s starters and learning from their accomplishments, although waiting for his own moment has been difficult at times.

“Just being here, sitting for so long and just observing, playing special teams, of course,” Peterson said. “But getting in there and playing a lot more meaningful reps has meant a lot.”

Zach Petersen sees potential in Blake Peterson as well as the other young defensive players that Iowa State has in the pipeline. As they get small opportunities and a bit of game experience, they’re growing their confidence and adapting from high school to college ball.

“I think they’re gaining their confidence,” Zach Petersen said Tuesday. “There’s a lot of guys that have done really good things in practice and now they’re finally getting that delayed gratification, as coach Campbell always says, of being able to prove it and show it on the field.”

Soon, the natural turnover of a college roster will see Petersen, Will McDonald, Mike Rose and other top contributors move on from Ames, and players like Blake Peterson will need to fill that void.

Campbell already recognized a couple of other up-and-comers: defensive tackle Isaiah Lee and freshman defensive back Beau Freyler.

It’s difficult to single out players with potential when Iowa State’s veteran defense is consistently one of the team’s best units. It’s somewhat remarkable that players like Blake Peterson can have big defensive moments when there is so much experienced talent in front of him. If anything, these glimpses show potential for the Cyclones’ continued success, even after the current lineup moves on.

Zach Petersen is doing his part to show those players what the Cyclones are all about.

“I just kind of show them everything that had been shown through the years by guys like JaQuan Bailey, Spencer Benton, Ray Lima,” Petersen said. “Those guys that have set the ropes, set the bar high in the past. So just kind of leaving that legacy as they did, making sure everyone knows how to win and how to do it right.”

Alyssa Hertel is a college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.