Much has been made over the past week about the Hawkeyes’ inability to move the ball through the air against FCS opponent South Dakota State, but their upcoming opponent and rival Iowa State had zero problems in week one.
Sophomore quarterback Hunter Dekkers was one of 20 quarterback debuts featured by Athlon Sports after week one. In the first week of the Dekkers era at Iowa State, the Hawarden, Iowa, native diced up FCS foe Southeast Missouri State in a 42-10 victory.
Athlon Sports’ Steven Lassan wrote this of Dekkers starting debut.
Filling the void left behind by Brock Purdy isn’t easy, but the Hunter Dekkers era in Ames is off to a fast start. The Iowa native was nearly flawless in Iowa State’s 42-10 victory over FCS Southeast Missouri State, completing 25 of 31 throws for 293 yards and four scores. Dekkers also added 11 rushing yards and ranked third among Big 12 signal-callers in quarterback rating (196.2). – Lassan, Athlon Sports.
A lot of those in the media have talked about the pressure on Dekkers’ shoulders coming in to replace four-year starter Brock Purdy, almost to the point where his upside for the Cyclones gets lost in the shuffle. Purdy, now with the San Francisco 49ers, was a respectable quarterback, but wasn’t anything spectacular. He was a good college quarterback, and had his moment, but not one who would consistently take over in the big games. You knew what you were getting in Purdy, and he never reached the heights of his sophomore year again.
With Dekkers, the hope around Ames is that he can elevate the Cyclones to another level. They’ve finished inside the top 25 once in the past six years under Matt Campbell, finishing ninth in 2020. That’s the level the Cyclones want to get back to. Every other year they’ve been a mediocre team in the Big 12, finishing right around .500 in the conference.
The hope is that Dekkers can bring them back to that level, and while it was against an FCS opponent, he impressed in week one. He looked decisive, took what the defense gave him, but still was able to hit the deep ball. Week two in Kinnick against one of the strongest defenses in the nation will be the true test for the young lefty.
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