San Antonio ? Obviously, Gene Chizik wasn’t looking for a team full of friends when he first showed up in Ames, Iowa.

Iowa State’s first-year coach is the lone newbie in the Big 12 football coaching ranks, and he was pestered about the transition Monday at Big 12 media days at the St. Anthony Hotel.

One of Chizik’s first ideas, his players said, was to have 5:30 a.m. morning conditioning during the frigid winter months, a way to weed out the weaklings, bond the team and get everyone in shape.

“I don’t think anyone agreed with it,” receiver Todd Blythe said with a laugh. “But I think we needed it.”

Chizik agrees that the last seven months since his hire have been “a whirlwind.” He replaced the ousted Dan McCarney, and has his first head-coaching job after years as a defensive coordinator, most recently at Texas.

His years of coaching experience are almost strictly on defense. But that’s not a bad thing when trying to figure out how Iowa State will attack offensively.

“Over the years as a defensive coordinator, you look and see what offensively gives you problems,” Chizik said. “We’ve kind of put together an offense we think is multiple. In this day and age, we think that gives defenses the most problems.”

His cupboard is thin, but not bare. Iowa State does have a solid throw-and-catch combination of quarterback Bret Meyer and receiver Blythe. It’s an OK start, and Chizik hopes it’s the start of a fast rebuilding process.

“I certainly didn’t come anywhere to lose,” Chizik said. “I’m not used to it, and I don’t like it.”

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Motivation?: Missouri tight end Martin Rucker surprised a few people when he decided to come back for his senior season, even though it was a certainty that he could’ve started a promising NFL career if he chose to leave school early.

Rucker said he received extensive advice from his brother, Mike, who’s beginning his ninth season as a defensive end for the Carolina Panthers. Mike Rucker told his little brother to go if he’s a first- or second-round projection, and then make a decision if he’s a third.

“I was projected to go in the fifth round,” Martin Rucker said, “so it was a no-brainer.”

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Early grad: Texas A&M quarterback Stephen McGee will be playing his junior season as a college graduate.

McGee will complete his bachelor’s degree in marketing this summer, making him a rare graduate with two seasons of football eligibility remaining. He plans to take the minimum nine hours of graduate-school coursework to stay eligible until he finishes his career.

“Hopefully,” McGee said, “I have a lot more time to focus on football.”

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Year off: Blythe had a humorous message for Kansas University cornerback Aqib Talib. The two didn’t face off against one another last year because Blythe missed the KU game due to illness.

“That’s my guy right there. I missed three games last year with mono, and that was one of the games I missed,” Blythe said. “I was upset about that because I owe him one.”

Blythe referred to a play in the 2005 game where he caught a touchdown pass over Talib, but the play was reviewed by replay offiicals and called back because it was determined Blythe didn’t get a foot in bounds.

“I’m a little skeptical about that,” Blythe said with a smile. “I definitely had a little conversation with (Talib) last year and told him he got the day off last year.”

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Quote of the day: “You can tell a lot about your team in the offseason. They don’t let you have too much contact with them. You’re not allowed to have a lot of meetings or coach them. Yet you’re still ridiculously in charge of their behavior.” – Texas Tech coach Mike Leach.