AMES, Iowa ñ Iowa State head football coach Paul Rhoads has said all along he wanted to see more big plays from his team, including in the passing game this season. Rhoads and the 4,000 fans who gathered in Jack Trice Stadium Saturday got see some big plays watching the Cardinal Team beat the Gold squad 35-22 in the 2011 Iowa State football spring game. |AMES, Iowa ñ Iowa State head football coach Paul Rhoads has said all along he wanted to see more big plays from his team, including in the passing game this season. Rhoads and the 4,000 fans who gathered in Jack Trice Stadium Saturday got see some big plays watching the Cardinal Team beat the Gold squad 35-22 in the 2011 Iowa State football spring game.
“They say a coach is always positive on signing day and never happy after the spring game,” Rhoads told the media after the contest. “But I did see some good things out there today and we had a couple individuals show us their ability.”
Two of the biggest crowd pleasers were wide receivers Darius Reynolds and Aaron Horne. Reynolds is in his third season at Iowa State with 38 career catches for 355 yards and two TDs. Reynolds has been slowed by injuries but he caught a total of five balls for 126 yards and touchdowns of 40- and 19-yards Saturday on passes from Jerome Tiller.
“I was happy to see Darius perform like he did today,” Rhoads said. “That is exactly what we will need from him this fall. He only got back to full strength the last week of practice so his performance today was promising.”
Horne was recruited to Iowa State after the Cyclone coaching staff saw him at City College of San Francisco while recruiting his teammate, quarterback Steele Jantz. It was like old times Saturday as Jantz hit Horne with a perfectly thrown 50-yard heave for a touchdown.
Horne made a game-high eight receptions for 124 yards and a TD.
“What we have seen from Aaron so far is really encouraging,” Rhoads said. “I really noticed his presence today and he is going to be a good player for us.”
The quarterback derby is still a four-horse race. Jerome Tiller hit on 12-of-18 passes for 174 yards and two TDs as each quarterback got reps with the first-team offense. Tiller also picked up 28 rushing yards on just two carries.
“No one eliminated themselves today as the starter,” Rhoads said. “We have to be careful with turnovers because you can’t win Big 12 games turning the ball over.”
Jantz finished the day 8-for-16 for 113 yards with a touchdown and an interception. James Capello was 9-of-13 for 68 yards with a score and had 30 yards rushing. Jared Barnett was 9-of-18 for 62 yards with and an interception.
Shontrelle Johnson had 11 carries for 59 yards to lead all rushers.
Linebacker A.J. Klein led the Gold team with 10 tackles. C.J. Morgan had 10 tackles, including 2 ∏ for losses of nine yards total.
Iowa State opens the 2011 season Sept. 3 vs. Northern Iowa in Jack Trice Stadium.
