Catlett, Iowa State football climbing the mountain

AMES (MCT) — Derrick Catlett hails from Fort Collins, Colo. Fittingly, he plays football like a mountain man.

The 6-foot-4, 243-pound tight end mauls linebackers on crack-back blocks He fearlessly roams the middle on pass plays. And, he does so sporting Hells Angels facial hair.
The grizzled veteran is always eager to punish opponents.

Well, almost always. ...

“I get a little worried,” Catlett joked, “trying to block those little corners, out in space.”

Not everything went smoothly earlier this season for the fifth-year senior. He is, after all, learning his third offense as a collegian.

But lately, Catlett and the rest of the Cyclones’ offense has gathered steam. He reeled in a season-high five receptions last week, helping Iowa State score its most points in a Big 12 contest since 2005 in a 41-36 loss at No. 16 Kansas.

“These last couple weeks we’ve started gaining confidence as an offense,” Catlett noted. “I think it finally clicked. We had that air about us that we weren’t gonna be stopped.”

Catlett, said head coach Paul Rhoads, “doesn’t have the speed or the elusiveness. But he catches balls, he moves the sticks, and he blocks. I can’t tell you how important he is to our football team.”

Tight ends like Catlett and junior Collin Franklin were major weapons late last season, yet were all but forgotten in September 2009. Catlett, however, has re-emerged in October, with a 22-yard touchdown grab against Kansas State before last week’s season-high reception total.
It was all a matter of settling into offensive coordinator Tom Herman’s elaborate new attack, according to Catlett.

“(Quarterback) Austen (Arnaud) is just feeling more comfortable throwing,” said the 22-year-old tight end. “He knows we’re gonna catch it, and that it’s better to take a five-yard route (and) just nickel and dime ‘em to work our way up the field.”

Clearly, Catlett, too, is quite comfortable in Ames. That’s no small feat, considering he has endured three coaching changes.

Former Iowa State assistant Tony Alford, once an all-conference tailback at Colorado State in Catlett’s hometown, lured the tight end to Ames. Catlett has never regretted his decision to venture East, even after Alford and former head coach Dan McCarney’s staff were given pink slips in 2006.