.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
Jerome Tiller began fall camp as Iowa State's No. 1 quarterback and ended it academically ineligible.
Tiller's grades had little to do with his grip on the starting job: Junior college transfer Steele Jantz had already shown the coaching staff he was the best bet at quarterback.
Jantz, who threw for 3,075 yards and 23 touchdowns at City College of San Francisco a year ago, will be under center when the Cyclones open the season Saturday night against Northern Iowa.
Even coach Paul Rhoads acknowledges he doesn't know quite what to expect from Jantz.
But Rhoads is confident his 22-year-old QB will be able to thrive under the pressure that comes with being a Big 12 starting quarterback.
''You go from one level of football to the next, and as the competition increases and the level of play increases, there's that unknown factor,'' Rhoads said. ''But he has the personality, everything he's shown to us so far, that he'll be unflappable when it comes to 55,000 screaming fans and playing under the lights.''
Tiller was ahead of Jantz on the depth chart a month ago largely because the redshirt junior has been in the system much longer than Jantz. But Jantz quickly caught up and, by the middle of August, had passed him for the top spot.
Rhoads announced on Aug. 20 that Tiller would be out for the season because of his grades, adding that Jantz would have started the opener either way. Rhoads added Monday that Tiller could be moved to receiver if he makes it back next fall.
Jantz might not be able to recite the Cyclones playbook by heart just yet, but he's much further along than he was in spring camp.
''Because I'm new, every second I can get learning more of the playbook was very important,'' Jantz said.
Though Jantz has yet to throw a pass at the FBS level, he'll be asked to transform a sluggish offense into the high-scoring attack coordinator Tom Herman envisioned when he teamed up with Rhoads before the 2009 season.
The Cyclones scored just 21.7 points a game last season, ranked next-to-last in the Big 12, after putting up 20.5 a game in 2009 behind the program's second-leading passer, Austen Arnaud.
Iowa State's offense could be potent at times in 2010, scoring 52 points in a win over Texas Tech and 30 in an overtime loss to Nebraska, one of the nation's better defenses in 2010.
But the Cyclones were wildly inconsistent. Oklahoma and Missouri shut them out, and they needed a meaningless late touchdown against Iowa's reserves to avoid the same fate in Iowa City.
It won't take much for Jantz to improve a passing offense that ranked 95th nationally in 2010. But for Herman's spread attack to work at its best, it needs a true dual-threat quarterback.
Jantz ran for 601 yards and 14 touchdowns last season in junior college. Iowa State would likely be happy if Jantz can replicate those numbers in 2011.
''He's got some wheels,'' said linebacker Jake Knott, who's spent the past month working against Jantz in practice. ''He's definitely got all the talent and the smarts, I guess you'd say, to be a big-time quarterback.''
Jantz likely won't be asked to carry too much of the offense's burden, either.
Though Iowa State doesn't have running back Alexander Robinson, it's confident in the quartet of youngsters behind him, led by the speedy Shontrelle Johnson and Jeff Woody.
The line's got potential, too, with three starters back and massive tackle Kelechi Osemele as an anchor on the left side.
The Cyclones are a mixed bag at receiver, though. Darius Reynolds, who had just 25 catches in 2010, is recovering from a broken toe and is questionable for the opener. Fellow senior Darius Darks has battled injuries since a stellar freshman season, and third option Josh Lenz caught just 14 balls last year.
They've all got more experience than Jantz, the player expected to lead them this fall. But Rhoads and his players insist that Jantz has taken charge of the offense so far.
''He's the same guy every day,'' Rhoads said. ''Never too high, never too low. A one play at a time type of guy that learns from his mistakes and, right now, rarely repeats mistakes.''
