Love committed to Iowa State after a tremendous high school career in the talent-rich fields of south Texas. At 6’5 he was a towering presence with a powerful right arm. As the son of a Texas Ranger lawman, he came to Iowa State with a southern swagger and grinning confidence. Cowboy boots and all.

When he arrived in Ames in the fall of 2000, he experienced the greatest season in Cyclone Football history. Nine wins and the first ever bowl victory. And no doubt, the tall Texan wanted to leave his own imprint on his new-called home. It looked like he may have his chance after Sage Rosenfels moved on to the NFL. Love and Gerrin Scott were the only quarterbacks penciled in to return for the 2001 season. But a late recruitment of an eclectic JUCO quarterback would force Love to spend more time on the sideline. As Seneca Wallace’s back-up, Love minded his time out of the lime-light and made the most of his preparations. In his first game action as a Cyclone, he completed 4-5 passes for 41 yards in the 2001 opener against UNI.

Coincidentally, his first play in the Cardinal and Gold uniform was a hand-off to Ennis Haywood. It resulted in a first down.

Two years later he found himself in a similar situation. This time the new hot-shot QB was from right down the road of his Round Rock residence. When Austin Flynn got the starting nod, Love could have hung up his Cyclone helmet and transferred elsewhere. But that wasn’t in his mindset. That would have been the easy route. Instead he helped tutor Flynn; always the consummate teammate. Six games into the 2003 season and Love received his first extended time in the saddle. Fittingly, it was in his home state against Texas Tech. All he did was complete 15 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns. The career day included an 80 yard strike to Lane Danielsen, which is the seventh longest pass in ISU history and remains the longest Cyclone play in the last seven years.

The next week he received his first start against whom else, but the Longhorns of Texas.

Cris finished his career at Iowa State the next year by watching another freshman in Bret Meyer take snaps under center. Love could have given up. But again he chose the selfless route and was integral in the development of Meyer. Helping him pick-up the offense and leading Iowa State to theirs and his fourth bowl game in five years, making him one of the most successful Cyclones of all time.

Love never received much attention. He didn’t put up gaudy numbers. All he did was go out and get his work done, day-after-day. He was by all accounts a fantastic teammate and a great man. In all families, you need your bread-winners and stage-grabbers. But just as important you need someone in the shadows working hard to keep the family thriving. To keep it together. And that’s what Cris was. A leading part of the Cardinal and Gold family. Forever a Cyclone.

On a stunning Iowa Day last April, I remember walking around the Iowa State campus, going about my day, glancing around at the freshly minted trees next to the new business school. I looked up and saw an imposing figure, his face shielded by an ISU baseball cap. In jeans, topped with an oversized belt buckle, the man hopped into a big Texas-sized truck. As he drove away, I got a good look at the almost-too confident grin cemented on his goateed face. As he drove away, it all made sense. Branded on Texas license plates read: “LOVE 16.”  I shook my head, and silently thought to myself: “That guy seems untouchable. He’s the definition of larger-than-life.”

And only a year later, that life is gone.