When you stand 6-foot-6 and weigh more than 340 pounds, it's tough to blend in. But four years ago, in-state powers Texas and Texas A&M didn't notice Houston-area offensive tackle Kelechi Osemele.
"I was a big Texas fan," he said. "Both my parents went to UT. My sister graduated from there."
Neither Texas nor A&M offered. So he went north.
Now Osemele, a three-year starter at Iowa State, can't be missed. A fifth-year senior, Osemele was named a preseason All-American. NFL scouts salivate at his size, his leadership and his potential. They also relish his mean streak.
"I'm aggressive when I'm on the field," Osemele said.
He mirrors his coach, Paul Rhoades, who has gained a reputation as one of the game's up-and-coming coaches. Rhoades is fiery. And he'll gamble -- as evidenced by his gutsy call in 2010 to fake an extra point and go for the win, rather than the tie, against Nebraska. The call failed, but the brashness was not lost on those watching from afar.
"It's a call that I relive and a play I relive every week," he said. "There's not a week that goes by that I don't think about the play and what it could have created for our football team and our football program ... The fallout was positive, if anything, from players to fans to most people I talked to."
The 31-30 defeat was the first of three consecutive late-season losses for the Cyclones, which prevented it from making a second consecutive bowl appearance.
In 2011, however, with leaders returning on both sides of the ball, ISU football is ready to take the next step as a program.
"Our expectation is to get to a bowl game," Osemele said, "and win it."
Rhoades boasts about his team's talent , calling it the best he has fielded in his three seasons in Ames.
At the forefront is the mammoth Osemele.
"I think he's deserving everything he's getting," Rhoades said.
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