Iowa State football's supporting cast behind Xavier Hutchinson key against Kansas

AMES — When Xavier Hutchinson announced that he'd return to Iowa State football for the 2022 season, it was exciting news for a Cyclones program that lost its starting quarterback and star running back, in addition to other pieces on offense.

But the transition hasn’t been seamless.

While Hunter Dekkers continues to look for Hutchinson each week, opposing defenses have picked up on the Cyclones' wide receiver’s skill, which means that the wideout is often covered by two -or three- defenders.

“It’s nothing to me,” Hutchinson said. “That just leaves more opportunities for everybody else.”

That has limited Hutchinson’s success this season…slightly. He does have 403 yards and five touchdowns through four games, and that’s what he’s recorded while sharing time with a pair of other receivers.

Enter Jaylin Noel and Dimitri Stanley, two Iowa State receivers who have stepped up and taken advantage of Hutchinson always being the focus of the opposing defense. Even Hutchinson noticed how the rest of the receiver room has stepped up.

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“Last week, we saw Jaylin (Noel) had a phenomenal game, (Dimitri) Stanley stepped up, that’s what they need to do,” Hutchinson said. “And I know that they can do that. So, just for them to find that consistency and then to alleviate pressure of whatever defenses have planned for me, it’s gonna become a hassle if you have to deal with three great receivers instead of one.”

And that sort of plan is working for the Cyclones so far.

Noel has 197 yards on 19 receptions. Stanley has 81 yards and one touchdown on seven receptions. Sean Shaw Jr. is another contributor, adding 86 yards and a touchdown on eight receptions.

Hutchinson attributes a lot of the success across in the receiver room to the work he and his teammates put in well before the game begins.

“I’ve seen great effort in practice,” Hutchinson said. “They’ve treated practice like games, and especially last week, they were all dialed in that week. I think it showed in the game, they made big plays after big plays when the opportunity was there for them. I’m excited for them, and I know that gave them a lot of confidence going into this next week as well.”

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But the supporting cast behind Hutchinson isn’t just limited to receivers.

Dekkers has shifted into his role as the Cyclones' starting quarterback well, and Iowa State has a few options at running back and tight end that have helped the team to a 3-1 start to the season.

“It’s nice just knowing that we have so much depth in the receiver room and tight end room,” offensive lineman Trevor Downing said. “I mean, if we give Dekkers enough time, he’s gonna make us right and keep moving the ball.”

But looking ahead to Kansas on Saturday, the Cyclones will face a tough challenge. Iowa State’s offense – despite all the receiver and running back options – has been limited this season because the Cyclones faced two tough defenses, Iowa and Baylor, in the first four games.

So Saturday’s matchup will feature one of the top offenses in the Big 12, Kansas, versus one of the worst, Iowa State.

It’s a contest that Downing and the rest of the offense are looking forward to, especially going up against a veteran Kansas defense.

“Just looking at them…they’re an older team, they’ve got a lot of seniors on the defensive line,” Downing said. “So, we just gotta go in there and take care of business and give (Dekkers) as much time as he needs, and hopefully open up enough running room for Jirehl (Brock).”

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Regardless of what happens on Saturday, Downing knows that, for Iowa State to pull out a win, it'll take a team effort from the Cyclones' offense.

“Our preparation, it needs to stay the same or get better going into every game,” Downing said. “We’re passing the ball a lot more this year. So, hopefully that opens up the running game, and they both kind of feed on each other.”

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

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State football will need team effort on offense against Kansas