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Bettendorf's Lichtenberg commits to Iowa State

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By Jon Gremmels | Wednesday, May 07, 2008 | 2 comment(s)

Randy Scott said he had a pretty good idea about what the Iowa State football coaches thought of Bettendorf’s Kyle Lichtenberg when they saw him at a one-day camp in Ames last July.

It was during a footwork drill, with linemen stepping over and between obstacles to check their body balance and quickness.

“They rolled out the ladders and (making a sound to indicate speed), he went right down the ladders while others were stumbling,” said Scott, who retired as Bettendorf’s football coach after guiding the team to the Iowa Class 4A state championship last fall. “I looked at (offensive coordinator Robert) McFarland, and his eyes were like slot machines.”

The Cyclones certainly hope they struck the jackpot when Lichtenberg became the first commitment in their 2009 recruiting class. The 6-foot-6, 245-pound offensive tackle is pretty excited, too.

“I was so excited when I got the offer, and I was even more excited when I committed to them,” said Lichtenberg, who said he received the scholarship offer April 3. “Both of my parents went there. I grew up rooting for them. It’s awesome to be the first kid in the ’09 class to commit to them.”

Iowa State was 3-9 last fall in Gene Chizik’s first season as coach, but Lichtenberg sees better times ahead.

“I know Coach Chizik is going in the right direction,” he said. “They’re going to turn things around, and I want to be part of it.”

He said he had lunch Monday with Euseph Messiah, a former Bettendorf player who is a wide receiver for the Cyclones, “and he did not have one negative thing to say.”

Lichtenberg, who plans to major in mechanical engineering at Iowa State, said he also had an offer from Colorado State. Other offers likely would have come along had he waited.

“It’s nice to get it out of the way,” he said.

Lichtenberg, a converted tight end, was a starting left tackle last fall. Scott said Lichtenberg was at his best last season in the state semifinals and championship games. Scott expects that Lichtenberg will switch to the right side and replace all-stater Matt Potter there this fall.

He said Lichtenberg didn’t have a tight end’s hands or speed, but he didn’t have a lineman’s feet, either.

“He has great feet, and he’s just learning what his body is all about,” Scott said. “You don’t get many frames like that around here. He’s a skinny 240-, 250-pound kid. They’ll get him to 300. He can carry that.”

Lichtenberg said the Iowa State coaches didn’t care if he had bulked up by the time he arrived there.

“McFarland says he doesn’t want a house already built; he wants the foundation,” Lichtenberg said.

Of course, what McFarland apparently likes best is that he’s getting a mobile home.

Jon Gremmels can be contacted at (563) 383-2294 or at jgremmels@qctimes.com.