The heart and soul of Iowa State's offense is quarterback Rocco Becht, but the tight ends are the Cyclones' bread and butter this season.
Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales said Iowa State is "built like a Big Ten team," a roster that puts the Cyclones at a size advantage every week.
"They're gigantic across the board," Gonzales said of Iowa State. Gonzales noted Iowa State's starting offensive line has a combined 117 starts, which includes 42 starts from 6-9, 335-pound senior Tyler Miller, who "is one of the biggest offensive linemen I've ever seen on tape."
Iowa State tight end Benjamin Brahmer celebrates after catching a touchdown pass during the first half of a game against Baylor on Oct. 5, 2024, in Ames, Iowa.
Iowa State's tight ends also have noticeable size, including Gabe Burkle, who is 6-6, 255 pounds, and the 6-7, 255-pound Benjamin Brahmer. Three of Iowa State's top five receivers are tight ends. Redshirt senior Tyler Moore has the third-most receiving yards at tight end behind Burkle and Brahmer.
"The tight ends, that's what they've built their program around," Gonzales said.
Burkle "will try to violently kill you like an offensive linemen," and Brahmer "will try and rip your face off when they block you, so they create extra gaps with 12 personnel," Gonzales said.
Iowa State tight end Gabe Burkle (84) catches a pass over Iowa linebacker Jaden Harrell (41) during the second half, Sept. 6, 2025, in Ames, Iowa.
"It's a great challenge," Gonzales said. "We're going to put extra people in those gaps to make sure that we cancel them and they can't run the ball. Take away the run, that's the best thing we can do. They're going to try and pound it down our tail."
Arizona head coach Brent Brennan said playing a tight end-centric offense "adds gaps, it messes with your fits."
"There's a physicality that comes with that, which obviously they want to play that way," he said. "The beauty about what they've done is that they have a philosophy of how they want to play, and they recruit to it. The results have obviously been extremely positive. They do a hell of a job with it. Those guys are good blockers and they're complete tight ends."
Recruiting productive tight ends is a challenge in college football because of what Brennan called the "in-between" body types.
A 'tweener could be an oversized wide receiver "and you're like, 'OK, this is going to be a process for this kid to get there,'" Brennan said. Or it could be a converted offensive lineman and "you're trying to slim them down a little bit."
"By the time you get them good, now you're having transfer portal conversations and all of that stuff, so it is a challenging position to find, and obviously (the Cyclones have) done a good job of it," Brennan said.
Iowa State's tight ends have combined for 28 catches for 349 yards and four touchdowns this season. Arizona's tight ends have three receptions for 27 yards and a touchdown — all by senior Sam Olson, who Brennan described as a "consistent, tough kid."
Arizona tight end Sam Olson (84) flips the ball to the back judge after scoring a TD on a wide open catch in the back of the end zone in the third quarter versus Hawaii, Aug. 30, 2025, at Arizona Stadium.
Arizona senior tight end Keyan Burnett, who had the game-sealing touchdown grab in Arizona's Big 12 opener last season, has played in two games after missing the first one with a leg injury, but his only target was an interception thrown by wide receiver Javin Whatley against Kansas State.
"It's great having Keyan back," Brennan said. "I think he's done a great job of getting back in the mix. He was nicked up early in the season, but it's good to see him start to get his mojo back."
Arizona tight end Keyan Burnett (88) looks up field for room to run after making a catch over the middle against Texas Tech in the third quarter on Oct. 5, 2024, at Arizona Stadium.
Mercyhurst transfer Cameron Barmore "has been a really pleasant surprise" and "has shown some development in the physicality of playing the position, which is so important," said Brennan.
Additional tight ends include Tucson natives Kayden Luke and Tyler Mustain, who have been used on the goal line as bonus blockers.
"There's been a handful of guys that have contributed in that space," Brennan said. "I think they're doing a good job. I think (tight ends coach Josh Miller) is a really good football coach. He's super technical and I think those guys have made a lot of improvement."
