AMES – When Iowa State football player Caleb Bacon moved to Ames in the fall of 2021, he came up with a list of about 10 goals.
“If I write something down, I want to finish that job,” Bacon said.
He started with small things. Bacon wanted to play on special teams and eventually on Iowa State’s defense at linebacker. He then took the list and hung it up in his room outside his closet.
“Somewhere I’ll see it every day,” he said.
That list has been motivating Bacon ever since. He has played special teams and earned a spot on Iowa State’s defense. More than that, Bacon has been one of the team’s most important players, going from walk-on to Cyclones star.
“It’s kind of like a dream,” his mom, Angie Bacon, said. “You can’t believe it.”
'We just wanted to find him a place to play.'
Bill Byrnes couldn’t figure it out. The now-retired Lake Mills High School football coach thought Bacon had what it took to play at the next level. The problem was, no one else seemed to.
Bacon was a high school star for the Class A school in north-central Iowa. He started for three seasons, including as a sophom*ore when he tallied 46 tackles, 4.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss.
As a junior, Bacon was even better, tallying 92 tackles, 7.5 sacks and 21.5 tackles for loss. He finished his senior season by leading Class A in tackles (103) and solo tackles (90) in 2020.
Despite all the success, college coaches didn’t seem interested in Bacon. Byrnes talked to any coach he could about Bacon.
“We just wanted to find him a place to play because I told my other coaches, ‘If this kid can’t play Division I football, then I don’t know who can,’” Byrnes said.
Bacon, who also ran track and was a star basketball and baseball player, didn’t go completely unnoticed, though. He heard from some Division III colleges and saw some interest from Iowa and Iowa State.
Neither Iowa nor Iowa State offered him a scholarship, though. So, Bacon, determined to play at the Division I level, started handling his own recruiting. He messaged coaches on social media and sent them his film. There was a lot to like.
He was versatile − playing center on offense, linebacker on defense and helping on special teams. Byrnes said fans got to games early just to watch Bacon chase down ball carriers on special teams and level them. He was also tough, moving to another spot on the offensive line after breaking his hand late in the season.
“He just had those intangibles,” Byrnes said.
Byrnes believes schools didn’t fully understand how good Bacon was because he was playing Class 1A football. He figures most schools only saw a bigger kid overpowering opponents.
The coaches Bacon reached out to on social media said they didn’t have room for him. Most had already filled their recruiting class by the end of his senior season. Byrnes reached out to Jay Niemann, Iowa’s assistant defensive line coach and defensive recruiting coordinator.
Niemann had seen Bacon and was impressed with him. But Iowa’s roster was also facing its own uncertainty following the COVID-19 pandemic. Niemann and the rest of the staff weren't sure who would be coming back. He couldn’t promise Bacon a spot, even as a walk-on.
So Byrnes called Derek Hoodjer, Iowa State’s assistant athletics director for football player personnel. Hoodjer has seen Bacon at one of their camps and liked what he saw. Hoodjer and Iowa State's staff had talked to Bacon but never offered him a scholarship.
“His video tape was just outstanding as a senior,” Hoodjer said.
With Bacon’s senior season being played in the middle of the pandemic, Hoodjer and the Iowa State coaching staff couldn’t get up to a game to see him in person. They couldn’t even bring Bacon in for a visit. But the performance at their camp and the film from his last season were enticing.
When Byrnes called Hoodjer, he explained that Iowa was out. The linebacker needed a place to play. Hoodjer, unsure of Iowa State’s numbers, needed to see if they had room for him.
About 30 minutes later, Hoodjer called back with an offer for Bacon to join the team as a walk-on. Bacon was overjoyed at the opportunity and jumped at the chance to come to Ames.
“I believed that if I walk on here, they’re definitely going to give me a chance,” Bacon said.
'He was always very confident'
Hoodjer admits that most walk-ons hope to join the team, develop, contribute on special teams and then, if things go well, maybe see the field elsewhere.
That's how things went for Bacon early on. Bacon couldn't even participate in the team's fall camp due to roster restrictions and limitations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bacon couldn't lift weights with the team at first, either. And when the games started, he didn't suit up on the sideline. Instead, he used one of his four passes to games to watch from the stands with his parents.
Iowa State's coaches had to wait basically an entire semester for him to get started with them.
Still, he rapidly rose through the ranks. He arrived at Iowa State lanky, scrawny and around 200 pounds. But after some time working out in Ames, he bulked up to around 229 pounds as a redshirt freshman.
"I remember asking him several times, 'How do you feel you compare to the other kids?' and he was always very confident," his mother said.
Others may not have had faith in Bacon, but he did. During his redshirt freshman year, he appeared in 10 games on special teams and tallied three tackles.
Playing time wasn't frequent. But Bacon made the most of his opportunities, making an impression on Iowa State's staff.
Bacon also shined in the weight room, where he got up to 240 pounds heading into his redshirt sophom*ore. By spring ball of 2023, he was feeling better than ever.
"I felt like I could flip the switch," Bacon said.
So did Iowa State's coaches, who rewarded Bacon with playing time at linebacker during the team's first game of the season against Northern Iowa in 2023. Bacon finished with three tackles and two sacks.
After one of the sacks, Angie looked at her husband, Doug. The two were astounded to see their son, a walk-on who hadn't been heavily recruited by anyone, making plays against the Panthers.
"His stats were up there, too," Angie said. "We're like, 'OK, he can do this.'"
Bacon became a star for the Cyclones. He tallied six solo tackles against Kansas State and a season-high eight tackles against Texas. During Iowa State's trip to BYU, he forced a fumble on special teams.
Bacon finished the season ranked second on the team with 60 tackles.
"It's been a little surreal," Doug said.
Bacon checks off more of his goals
Bacon makes sure to look at his list of goals every morning. He's quickly checked off the top few.
Play on special teams. Check.
Play at linebacker. Check.
Earn a scholarship. Check.
Iowa State coach Matt Campbell surprised Bacon with a scholarship after the 2023 season. He broke the news to Bacon during a team meeting.
Bacon was sitting in his chair when Campbell suddenly started showing highlights of the linebacker. When the announcement was made, his teammates swarmed him.
"Anybody who told you they knew he'd become what he's become is lying to you," Hoodjer said. "If we knew that, we would have offered him a scholarship on the front end."
Iowa State's staff has happily watched as Bacon continues to accomplish his goals, which also include starting at linebacker and earning all-conference honors.
They're all attainable goals for Bacon, who is now one of the most important players on Iowa State's defense heading into this season.
Campbell has compared him to former Iowa State linebacker Jake Hummel, who starred for the Cyclones and went on to play in the NFL. Campbell believes Bacon could be on a similar trajectory.
"I think Caleb is kind of under the wing of some of the great players that we've had in this program," Campbell said.
How did so many people miss on Bacon?
Byrnes believes that because Bacon played at a small school, recruiters were uncertain if he could perform against high-level competition. Hoodjer thinks Bacon was the type of player coaches needed to see in person to truly see his value.
This season, Bacon will switch from his jersey of No. 50 to No. 26 to honor former Cyclone football player and Iowa Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, who is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. Whitver, like Bacon, was a walk-on who became a big-time contributor for the Cyclones.
Despite how far he's come, Bacon said he hasn't forgotten where he's come from as a walk-on who was constantly overlooked. That's why he plays with a chip on his shoulder.
It's still hard for his family and coaches to comprehend. They're enjoying every minute of his journey.
"It's a good story," Brynes said.
