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AMES – Things were just not quite clicking for Ben Brahmer.
But they should have been.
The 6-foot-7, 250-pound tight end had a breakout rookie campaign, earning freshman All-American accolades, and projects to even have a bigger sophomore season. He’s got the size, skill and, now, the experience to perhaps be a true game-changer.
There’s a lot of belief that Brahmer will be very, very good. There are whispers, growing louder, that he might be Charlie Kolar-good. As in one of the best tight ends in school history good.
Which, maybe, was part of the problem earlier this month.
“I was kind of getting in my own head,” the Pierce, Neb., native said.
Such is the burden of expectation.
“Last year he came in and there were no expectations,” Iowa State offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser said. “He just played and understood it and had fun.”
It wasn’t a lot of fun for Brahmer earlier this month, though. He was coming off a minor injury, and he just couldn’t seem to find his footing the way he wanted in Iowa State offense.
“The start of camp was a little slow,” he said.
It was almost as if the dark side of achievement was shadowing Brahmer. Everything he did last year only raised expectations for this year. Which ramps up the pressure to perform. And that pressure can act as fertilizer for self-doubt when things don’t immediately go right.
“It can be easy, especially this time of year, when everybody’s talking about what the expectations are,” Mouser, who is also Iowa State’s tight ends coach, said. “What does that really mean? It doesn’t mean a lot. If all your focus is on what the expectation or potential is, you’re going to lose track of what your process is that got you there to be successful.”
Benjamin Brahmer stands for a photo during Iowa State Football media day at Jack Trice Stadium…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/hines-iowa-states-ben-brahmer-110624167.html
Author : The Des Moines Register
Publish date : 2024-08-25 11:06:24
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