Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Humboldt football coach Derrick Elman speaks with his team with the Class 3A state semifinal trophy in hand at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls.
In sports, good teams come and go. Successful programs stand the test of time.
A team’s success depends on the specific talents of an individual or class. The program develops stable and lasting systems.
Teams aren’t necessarily about chemistry, cohesion, or other intangibles. A program is defined by it.
Derrick Ellman took over Humboldt’s football program in 2018. He spent 14 seasons as an assistant at Iowa Falls-Alden, but this was his first head coaching job. After Greg Thomas held the position for nearly 20 years, the Wildcats were ushering in a new era. Elman was ready to prove he deserved to be at the top.
Thomas, who was also Humboldt’s director of athletics and activities at the time, needed to find his replacement. His good friend, recently retired Iowa Falls Alden football coach and AD Pat Norem, personally recommended Ellman.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Ellman and his staff are finding a rhythm with the Wildcats, who enter the Class 3A playoff hunt at 8-1 overall and are ranked No. 1 in the RPI system. This is no longer new or unfamiliar territory for Humboldt, who is 34-9 since 2021.
Elman’s team proved that teams with a variety of players and personalities can still win. The affable Ellman revamped his approach and expectations for weight training, expanded his thinking to include all middle school athletes, and connected with the Wildcat community on a personal level. He considered himself a perfect fit for Humboldt, and the feeling was completely mutual.
There’s no magic formula to what Elman does. It’s really simple. The Wildcats haven’t always been blessed with a wealth of skill or depth. They will beat you on intelligence, fundamentals, coordination, trust, and discipline alone. Their confidence comes from preparation.
The postseason can be a disaster. There are no guarantees for Humboldt, which suddenly opens with a tough challenge Friday at home against district rival Clear Lake.
No matter what happens in the coming days and perhaps the next few weeks, the Wildcat football family knows that the Ellman-coached team is a winner. This is now a culture of success. Victory did not happen overnight or by chance.
More importantly, Elman is developing these football players to be better young men and accountable to each other in the classroom, in the community, and on and off the field. After all, that’s true leadership.
New territory: At the college level as well, the No. 11 Iowa State football team continues to win and climb under head coach Matt Campbell.
At 7-0, the Cyclones enter November undefeated for the first time since 1938. Their opponents are Texas Tech (5-3), Kansas (2-6), Cincinnati (5-3), Utah (4-4), and Kansas. State (7-1) — Stands between Iowa State and an undefeated season, a Big 12 Championship berth and a College Football Playoff berth.
Not bad for a team that didn’t even begin the season in the top 25 despite returning 19 starters from last year’s 7-6 season.
The Cyclones probably won’t win, but the idea isn’t all that far-fetched. K-State is the only team currently ranked, so they’ll probably be favored in every game.
Campbell was one of the hottest names in the industry through 2020, but relatively volatile campaigns in 2021 and 2022 shifted both the national narrative and perception to some degree.
That seems to be a motivator for Campbell, who has won at least seven games in seven of the past eight seasons at Iowa State. For comparison, from 1980 until Campbell’s arrival, the program reached that victory just six times.
Campbell is only 44 years old and is already the Cyclones’ all-time wins leader. Iowa State will be playing in its seventh bowl game under Campbell since 2017, just five fewer games than the program’s entire postseason history prior to this era.
The next step is to become a legitimate All-American candidate and the top representative in the Big 12, especially now that Oklahoma and Texas are out of the picture. The Cyclones have the next five weeks to make legitimate noise and reach the CFP.
“It’s bigger” and “Better” Opportunities came and went. Campbell stayed in Ames. If he finishes 2024 on a strong note, Campbell’s name will no doubt pop up in coaching rumors again.
We don’t know what the future holds, but for now, these Cyclones are for real and Campbell is in the running for college football’s Coach of the Year.
Enjoy, Iowa State fans. Combine that with the preseason expectations of all top 10 programs: men’s basketball, women’s basketball, and wrestling, and there’s no greater moment.
Eric Pratt is the Messenger’s sports editor. Reach us by email at sports@messengernews.net or on Twitter @ByEricPratt.
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