Blythe to start at WR for Iowa State

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HOUSTON, TEX. - Todd Blythe's comeback from knee surgery seems to be a lock. Meanwhile, the door opened a little wider for Jason Berryman's return - as a scholarship football player - to Iowa State. Appearing at Tuesday's session of the Big 12 Conference football media days, head coach Dan McCarney tracked the progress of two promising Cyclones who were sidelined under vastly different circumstances. Blythe, who became a record-setting wide receiver during his first college season, suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury during winter workouts. All along, the sophomore from Indianola and McCarney promised a return for the opening game of the 2005 season against Illinois State. Tuesday, ISU's leader said Blythe, who torched Northern Illinois for 104 yards and three touchdowns on four receptions in a 48-41 victory last year, would be on the field at Jack Trice Stadium Sept. 3. "He'll start, unless something happens between now and then - when we open," said McCarney. "Todd is doing everything everybody else is doing. He's full go. He's full sprint. He's in phenomenal shape." Blythe, an all-conference selection who snared a school-record nine touchdown passes on the way to 39 total catches in 2004, weathered a mild scare during a seven-on-seven passing drill recently. Tangling with a Cyclone defensive back, Blythe fell to the ground. According to ISU quarterback Bret Meyer, he shrugged off the mishap. "You looked at it just to make sure (Blythe) got up fine," said Meyer. "But he did get up just fine. So it was nothing." Berryman, the defensive end who served 258 days in the Story County jail for felony theft and simple misdemeanor assault, is still not an official squad member. Again, McCar-ney said the former Big 12 defensive newcomer of the year is going through an evaluation period. Yet, McCarney also suggested that Berryman is on his way to rejoining Iowa State's program as a full-fledged Cyclone. "If he does what I ask him to do in the remaining time between now and the start of fall camp, then it's very likely he's going to be on the team," said the Cyclones' head coach. Allowing Berryman to attempt a comeback, McCarney insisted, was a tough choice for both parties. "The easiest thing for Jason - by far - would have been to pack his bags and get out of Ames," he said. "The easiest thing for me - by far - would have been to say he's not coming back to Iowa State and to go someplace else. "There were a lot of Division I football teams that contacted him - and a lot of junior college teams. The hardest thing for Jason and me was to say, 'Come on back; let's make this thing work.'"