Matt Campbell breaks down Iowa State football's quarterback competition, UNI's Theo Day

AMES — Iowa State football will kick off the 2023 season on Saturday against Northern Iowa, on the heels of a gambling investigation that saw the Cyclones' presumed starting signal caller Hunter Dekkers sit out fall camp.

Presumed starting running back Jirehl Brock, among others, has left the program voluntarily.

For now, the focus remains on winning games. Matt Campbell’s program posted a 4-8 record last season, and the Cyclones won just a single conference matchup in that span.

With some veteran leadership having graduated or gone due to the ongoing gambling probe, ISU once again finds itself in a rebuilding period. The first test of Campbell’s new-look Cyclones comes against a cross-state rival in UNI.

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Iowa State has won the three most recent matchups against the Panthers: 16-10 in 2021, 29-26 after three overtimes in 2019, and 42-24 in 2017. The Cyclones hold the advantage (24-6-3) in the all-time series record.

Here is what Campbell said during Tuesday’s media availability.

A question mark at quarterback

Iowa State’s depth chart lists Rocco Becht or JJ Kohl in the starting role behind center, and Campbell admitted that neither player had separated himself from the other in practice.

“Throughout the week will probably help decide that,” Campbell said. “I would expect that you’re going to see certainly both Rocco and JJ, and maybe even some opportunities for Tanner (Hughes) in this football game.”

Kohl has no college game experience, but the 6-foot-7 freshman came to Iowa State with a 4-star ranking and as a top-20 quarterback nationwide in his recruiting class.

Becht, on the other hand, spent most of last season on the sidelines and only appeared in three games. Most of his experience came in the season finale against TCU, in which Becht completed 7-of-13 passes for 65 yards.

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Regardless of who slots into the starting role come Saturday, the Cyclones coach was confident in his choices behind center.

“Our kids have elite belief in what’s going on at quarterback,” Campbell said.

An NFL-caliber quarterback on the other side?

Iowa State defensive coordinator Jon Heacock had high praise for Northern Iowa quarterback Theo Day, calling the senior slinger an “NFL quarterback.”

In two seasons at UNI, Day has completed 365 passes for 5,437 yards and 42 touchdowns. His longest pass is 72 yards, which he threw last season, and he’s thrown 17 interceptions between two seasons.

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Campbell had similar feelings as his defensive coordinator about this week’s opposing quarterback.

“Theo, you’ve just got a lot of respect for him,” Campbell said. “I’ve watched enough of his videotape to understand and appreciate what his talent level is. Big, great vision, ability to make all the throws, he’s got that great whip on the ball.

“For us, it presents a great challenge out the gate. One of the better quarterbacks that I’ve seen in a while. …It’ll be a good challenge for us, and obviously, they can spread the ball and make you pay really fast.”

Step aside Jace Gilbert, it’s Chase Contreraz’s time

Jace Gilbert served as Iowa State’s primary kicker as a freshman, but it looks like he will step aside for the sake of seniority.

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Chase Contreraz, who transferred to ISU from Nebraska, did not play a game in 2022. He started the Huskers’ final four games as place-kicker in 2021, going 11-for-11 on extra points and making 2-of-4 field goal attempts.

Despite his limited stats at Nebraska, Campbell sounded confident in his abilities to take on a starting role with the Cyclones.

“Chase Contreraz has really done a great job,” Campbell said. “I think he’s probably separated himself a little bit (and) will be the starter to start the season.”

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: ISU football's Matt Campbell on Rocco Becht, JJ Kohl, UNI's Theo Day