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ISU fighting off injuries
AP
AMES (AP) — Compared to how things used to be, Iowa State’s Reggie Stephens is a modern medical marvel.
Stephens, the Cyclones’ starting center, had his appendix removed on Oct. 28 and missed the Cyclones’ 35-10 loss at Texas A&M last Saturday.
Now, just a week after the surgery, Stephens and coach Paul Rhoads are talking about the likelihood that he’ll return to the starting lineup Saturday against No. 18 Oklahoma State.
‘‘To me it was very surprising when (the doctors) first told us,’’ Rhoads said. ‘‘But to them, it’s pretty matter of fact, as the procedure has changed over the years. This was a simple procedure. Had he been free of pain on Saturday, they would have even let him play then.’’
Stephens said that while he’s still sore, ‘‘progressively I’ve been getting better — little bit by little bit, I guess.’’
His expected return, along with that of quarterback Austen Arnaud and a healthier Alexander Robinson at running back, should give a much-needed spark to the offense.
Arnaud has missed the last two games because of a bruised throwing hand, which he hurt when it hit the helmet of a Baylor player after he threw a pass in a 24-10 victory on Oct. 17.
The Cyclones (5-4, 2-3 Big 12) split those two games, winning at Nebraska before losing to A&M, but they scored only one touchdown in each with redshirt freshman Jerome Tiller at quarterback. Iowa State averaged just 281.5 yards on those games after averaging 408.9 through the first seven games.
Robinson, who has been slowed by a groin injury for more than a month, also missed the Nebraska game but returned for A&M, carrying 20 times for 76 yards. He still leads the Big 12 in rushing at 101.6 yards a game.
‘‘Alexander, although healthy last week, was, I thought, still a step off his game,’’ Rhoads said. ‘‘Admittedly he got tired because of a lack of running in practice the last couple of weeks. I think he’ll be back to where he was in early season form.’’
If all goes according to plan, the Cyclones’ offense will be intact for the first time since the start of the Baylor game.
‘‘I definitely think it will be a boost to production,’’ wide receiver Darius Darks said. ‘‘Right when we were finally getting a rhythm and understanding things better, we had a couple of injuries.
‘‘To get them back, I definitely think this will be one of our better games this week.’’
Because of the hand injury, Arnaud hasn’t been able to grip the ball well enough to get the zip he needs on passes. Because of that, Rhoads has been going with Tiller.
‘‘He was close to full strength on Saturday, but the velocity still wasn’t there,’’ Rhoads said of Arnaud. ‘‘You saw the great plays that the A&M secondary made on a couple of Jerome’s throws and those balls had good speed on them.
‘‘They would have done the same thing on Austen’s passes, and too many of them. But the velocity will be there by Saturday, gauged by the improvement he’s made the last two weeks.’’
Arnaud felt he had good velocity on the ball in warmups last Saturday.
‘‘I actually overthrew a couple of receivers, which was encouraging for me,’’ he said. ‘‘When Saturday rolls around, I should be ready to go.’’
Tiller completed only nine of 19 passes against Nebraska, but he didn’t throw an interception and the ISU defense forced eight turnovers to salvage a 9-7 victory.
The Cyclones moved the ball at times against A&M, but couldn’t finish drives and Tiller was intercepted twice. With Arnaud back, the Cyclones have a quarterback who’s in his second season as a starter and is the school’s career leader in completion percentage.
‘‘Austen has more game experience. He’s older,’’ Darks said. ‘‘I think he probably has a better feel for the offense.’’
So are the Cyclones better when Arnaud is the quarterback?
‘‘He’s one of our leaders,’’ Darks said. ‘‘The games have shown we have played better when Austen’s playing quarterback.’’
Stephens, the Cyclones’ starting center, had his appendix removed on Oct. 28 and missed the Cyclones’ 35-10 loss at Texas A&M last Saturday.
Now, just a week after the surgery, Stephens and coach Paul Rhoads are talking about the likelihood that he’ll return to the starting lineup Saturday against No. 18 Oklahoma State.
‘‘To me it was very surprising when (the doctors) first told us,’’ Rhoads said. ‘‘But to them, it’s pretty matter of fact, as the procedure has changed over the years. This was a simple procedure. Had he been free of pain on Saturday, they would have even let him play then.’’
Stephens said that while he’s still sore, ‘‘progressively I’ve been getting better — little bit by little bit, I guess.’’
His expected return, along with that of quarterback Austen Arnaud and a healthier Alexander Robinson at running back, should give a much-needed spark to the offense.
Arnaud has missed the last two games because of a bruised throwing hand, which he hurt when it hit the helmet of a Baylor player after he threw a pass in a 24-10 victory on Oct. 17.
The Cyclones (5-4, 2-3 Big 12) split those two games, winning at Nebraska before losing to A&M, but they scored only one touchdown in each with redshirt freshman Jerome Tiller at quarterback. Iowa State averaged just 281.5 yards on those games after averaging 408.9 through the first seven games.
Robinson, who has been slowed by a groin injury for more than a month, also missed the Nebraska game but returned for A&M, carrying 20 times for 76 yards. He still leads the Big 12 in rushing at 101.6 yards a game.
‘‘Alexander, although healthy last week, was, I thought, still a step off his game,’’ Rhoads said. ‘‘Admittedly he got tired because of a lack of running in practice the last couple of weeks. I think he’ll be back to where he was in early season form.’’
If all goes according to plan, the Cyclones’ offense will be intact for the first time since the start of the Baylor game.
‘‘I definitely think it will be a boost to production,’’ wide receiver Darius Darks said. ‘‘Right when we were finally getting a rhythm and understanding things better, we had a couple of injuries.
‘‘To get them back, I definitely think this will be one of our better games this week.’’
Because of the hand injury, Arnaud hasn’t been able to grip the ball well enough to get the zip he needs on passes. Because of that, Rhoads has been going with Tiller.
‘‘He was close to full strength on Saturday, but the velocity still wasn’t there,’’ Rhoads said of Arnaud. ‘‘You saw the great plays that the A&M secondary made on a couple of Jerome’s throws and those balls had good speed on them.
‘‘They would have done the same thing on Austen’s passes, and too many of them. But the velocity will be there by Saturday, gauged by the improvement he’s made the last two weeks.’’
Arnaud felt he had good velocity on the ball in warmups last Saturday.
‘‘I actually overthrew a couple of receivers, which was encouraging for me,’’ he said. ‘‘When Saturday rolls around, I should be ready to go.’’
Tiller completed only nine of 19 passes against Nebraska, but he didn’t throw an interception and the ISU defense forced eight turnovers to salvage a 9-7 victory.
The Cyclones moved the ball at times against A&M, but couldn’t finish drives and Tiller was intercepted twice. With Arnaud back, the Cyclones have a quarterback who’s in his second season as a starter and is the school’s career leader in completion percentage.
‘‘Austen has more game experience. He’s older,’’ Darks said. ‘‘I think he probably has a better feel for the offense.’’
So are the Cyclones better when Arnaud is the quarterback?
‘‘He’s one of our leaders,’’ Darks said. ‘‘The games have shown we have played better when Austen’s playing quarterback.’’
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