Another game, another week that we haven’t had to worry about replacing Hakeem Butler. The primary force easing those concerns has been Deshaunte Jones, who has stepped up into a critical role at receiver, and performed marvelously.
Jones is on pace to eclipse his freshman season, which was his best in a Cyclone uniform to date. He already has more receiving yards than last year (444 so far), and will have over 50 receptions, something he has yet to do in Ames. There is also a decent chance he will eclipse his touchdown career high of 6. Now he hasn’t put up the numbers that Hakeem Butler did, and very few can, but he has been instrumental in filling that gap.