Iowa State football safety Malik Verdon is still questionable for Liberty Bowl

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell said there’s been little change in the status of safety Malik Verdon. In other words, there’s still a 50-50 chance that he will play in Friday’s 2:30 p.m. (CT) Liberty Bowl against Memphis as he deals with a hand injury.

“I would say questionable,” Campbell said Thursday morning. “He’s been able to practice so that part has been really positive.

“Everybody else – it’s been a good time for us. Goal number one for us after the season was to try to get healthy, and I think we’ve been able to do that really well, which is huge.”

True freshman Drew Surges replaced Verdon in the season-ending game against Kansas State.

What else did Campbell say during his final press conference before Friday’s game?

1.He answered in length to a question about college football’s current topsy-turvy state of affairs.

That includes the transfer portal, athletes being paid, conference realignment and other things going on in the college football world.

More: Even without T.J. Tampa, Iowa State football prepared to face a high-level passer in Liberty Bowl

“The reality of it is, is that there’s a lot of chaos in college football right now,” he said. “Unfortunately, when there’s chaos, who can get hurt are 18 to 22-year-olds that we’re really responsible to serve.”

The Big 12, for example, loses Oklahoma and Texas for next season but becomes a 16-team conference with the additions of Arizona State, Arizona, Colorado and Utah.

“We’ve got to figure out where all this is going to land, and try to put the best rules and regulations around what the new landscape looks like,” Campbell continued. “At the end of the day, it’s college football, it’s still dealing with 18 to 22-year-olds, and it’s still trying to create a great team each and every fall.

“Trying to navigate through that is certainly a challenge. We like challenges, and part of that is trying to find the best clarity for yourself, and you shouldn’t have to try and be like somebody else. You should just try being the best version of you and see what that looks like.”

2. What does it take to be successful in the game against Memphis?

“Collectively we’re going to have to play a great football game,” he said. “Our youth is going to have to show the maturity that it takes to be able to play really well after a month off. We look forward to that as a coaching staff, and look forward to the challenge at hand.”

3. Campbell spoke passionately about his team’s Wednesday visit to the National Civil Rights Museum:

“Sometimes we lose our way in college football. In a lot of ways, we really have,” he said. “The greatest joy and the greatest gift that we’re still given as leaders of young men, is building a young man into a man. One of the great things about these bowl trips is that you can get to some of these historic places and you see where real change has occurred, and you see where real leaders have stood up and led the way.

More: Iowa State football All-American cornerback T.J. Tampa has opted out of the Liberty Bowl

“Those are things we teach on a day-in and day-out basis, but to see it . . . to create young men to leave our programs and go create change, go lead communities, go be great fathers, go be great husbands, and have the ability to make an impact in this world -- that's what it's about.

“Football is still a sport – a team sport. Not one person can dictate the outcome of a game. It’s a team that has to win, and that’s really life, right? Team(s) create change. Groups create change, not one person. That’s one of the powerful things about our sport. “

Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson is in his 51st year writing sports for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at rpeterson@dmreg.com, on X @RandyPete, and at DesMoinesRegister.com/CyclonesTexts

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State football's Malik Verdon's status up in air for Liberty Bowl