Offense Highlights Spring Scrimmage

AMES, Iowa ? Iowa State quarterback Bret Meyer completed 11-of-16 passes for 196 yards, running back Jason Harris scored on an 81-yard run and R.J. Sumrall caught six passes for 134 yards and a touchdown as the Cyclone offense beat the defense 31-22 in the ISU spring football scrimmage Saturday in Jack Trice Stadium. The contest utilized special scoring rules and the offense won in part because the Cyclones' were interception-free in a scrimmage that featured four 10-minute quarters and a continuous clock in the second half. The event marked the virtual completion of Iowa State's first spring practice period under new head coach Gene Chizik.

“I thought there were some good things” Chizik said. “We sustained some drives and made some good plays. The quarterbacks hit some deep balls but they also missed some balls they should have made. We are still inconsistent in that area and have some work to do. It was fun. I had a blast today. It is great when you are head coach. I only call the plays that work - never the ones that don't. It was a neat experience for me and I had fun doing it.”

Harris made the biggest play, galloping for the long scoring run to finish the day with 103 yards on 10 carries. Ultimately, the first and second-team offenses racked up 428 total yards. The defense was led by linebackers Alvin “Ace” Bowen and Jon Banks, who each tallied seven tackles. Linebacker Jesse Smith had five tackles and forced one of the game's two fumbles.

“We always try to emphasize being real physical and to be fast and play hard in everything that we do out there,” Banks said. “I thought the defense put some pressure on the quarterback out there today.”

Chizik chose to hold all-Big 12 wide receiver Todd Blythe out of the game as a precautionary measure. That put the spotlight on Sumrall, who caught the 32-yard touchdown pass from Meyer.

“I felt great today and I feel like I am improving on the little details,” Sumrall said. “I'm running good routes. I have a great receivers coach and he is very detail oriented. I feel like every receiver on our team is improving.”

The progress made by backup quarterback Austen Arnaud was also evident. The Ames native completed 4-of-9 passes for 87 yards, including a 63-yard toss to Clear Lake sophomore Matt Scribbins.

A crowd of 7,000 saw the game.

“It was a really nice crowd,” Chizik said. “I was very appreciative of the people that wanted to come out and watch us practice. It shows that the level of interest is high in our program. I am very appreciative and our team is very appreciative of them taking their Saturday to come out and watch us.”

Highlights of the Spring Scrimmage will be made available in the Clone Zone in the next few days. The Cyclones open the season Aug. 30 against Kent State in Jack Trice Stadium.

ISU Offense
Rushes-yards Passing yards Comp-Att Sacked-Yards Lost Punts Fumbles-lost	35-168 283 15-25-0 2-12 5-42 2-2

Individual Statistics

RUSHING- Harris 10-103, Scales 14-29, Johnson 6-15, Sumrall 1-7, Meyer 4- (-9)

PASSING- Meyer 11-16-0 196, Arnaud 4-9-0 87

RECEIVING- Sumrall 6-134, Tinlin 2-19, Barkema 2-19, Zitek 2-18, Scribbins 1-63, Hamilton 1-28

Offense Highlights Spring Scrimmage

Players Mentioned

Austen Arnaud

Austen Arnaud

Jon Banks

Jon Banks

Todd Blythe

Todd Blythe

Jason Harris

Jason Harris

Bret Meyer

Bret Meyer

Jesse Smith

Jesse Smith

R.J. Sumrall

R.J. Sumrall

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics

Offense Highlights Spring Scrimmage

Related News

Players Mentioned

Austen Arnaud

Austen Arnaud

Jon Banks

Jon Banks

Todd Blythe

Todd Blythe

Jason Harris

Jason Harris

Bret Meyer

Bret Meyer

Jesse Smith

Jesse Smith

R.J. Sumrall

R.J. Sumrall

Related Videos

Sponsors