Overview
Paul Rhoads has been on the job for four months. In his first head coaching job, he takes over a program that is on its third coach since 2006. Rhoads' first task was soothing the feelings of many Cyclones who were upset when Gene Chizik left after two seasons in Ames to take the Auburn job. Despite an eight-game losing streak to end the 2008 season, Iowa State had a young and improving team. The majority of spring practice involved installing the spread offense favored by new coordinator Tom Herman.

Who's missing
After two seasons, Gene Chizik left Iowa State to take over at Auburn. The offense must replace leading receiver R.J. Sumrall and the defense must replace defensive end Kurtis Taylor and defensive tackle Michael Tate.

Who's moving
Starting quarterback Austen Arnaud could line up at wide receiver on selected plays in Iowa State's new spread offense. In that alignment, a running back lined up as a shotgun quarterback would receive a direct snap. Rhoads said the formation is something that will "most certainly" be used at times during the season. Also, all of the tight ends are being utilized as receivers who can split wide in four- and five-receiver sets.

Fresh face
Rice University in Houston is known for its rigorous academics. The last two seasons, the football team's offensive coordinator helped the Owls out-smart defenses with a prolific spread offense.

Tom Herman, now the offensive coordinator at Iowa State, is proving brains can beat brawn. He's a member of the Mensa International group for intellectuals. Herman's Mensa card indicates he finished in the top two percent on the intelligence tests.

"That and a quarter will get you ... no, you better make that a dollar because of the economy ... that and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee," Herman told the Des Moines Register. "Mensa - I guess that means mom and dad raised me right."

Herman's mother urged him to take the Mensa test because she thought it would look on his resume. So does graduating cum laude in business administration from California Lutheran University. Herman also has a degree in economics from Missouri Western and a master's degree from Utah State.

Rice was fifth in the nation last year with 327.2 passing yards a game and 10th in scoring at 41.3 points per game. Herman's spread attack figures to be a good fit for quarterback Austen Arnaud, who who completed 247 of 401 passes for 2,792 yards and 15 touchdowns.

"The biggest thing you look for from a quarterback in this offense is can he get the ball out of his hands quickly and accurately, make good decisions and, when needed, can he make plays with his feet?" Herman said. "Austen fits that bill."

Spring buzz
* In the spring game, reserve quarterback Jerome Tiller led the Gold team to a victory with an impressive second half. Tiller, a redshirt freshman, finished 14-of-24 for 250 yards and two touchdowns. He also scored on a 65-yard run. “There is something about Jerome, when the game is played, he slithers, he snakes through and has a way of making people miss,” Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said.

* At the end of the spring game, the Cyclones seranaded the fans with an impromptu rendition of the fight song. Rhoads took that as an indication that the players are over the hurt of Chizik's departure. “To see them go over there and sing the fight song ? it gave me goose bumps," Rhoads said. “These kids, they love this university, they love wearing the cardinal and gold and they love coming to work everyday. As long as we can keep that mind-set, we’ll keep moving forward.”

* Heading into his junior season and his fourth year in the Iowa State program, quarterback Austen Arnaud is learning his third different offense. “I have a pretty good idea what it takes to learn a system," Arnaud told the Ames Tribune. “I have to see it on tape. I’ve been in here trying to watch a lot of film and meet with the coaches and pick up everything I can as fast as I can.”

* Veteran defensive coordinator Wally Burnham has installed his aggressive, converge on the football schemes. Last season, Iowa State relied on its defensive line playing gap control and trying to take on blockers while the linebackers and defensive backs made plays. After allowing over 35 points a game, letting all 11 players be aggressive is probably a worthwhile change.

Coach speak from Paul Rhoads
On the competition between starting quarterback Austen Arnaud and reserve Jerome Tiller:
“The No. 1 thing you want in a football program is depth and competition, and we have a guy that is competing at quarterback and not allowing the other one to take his foot off the pedal."

On the new offensive scheme:
"Our spread attack will involve running and passing. But the number one thing I stress to them is that we'll be physical. Some week we might pass 70 percent of the time and others we might run it 60 percent of the time. We'll do necessary to win football games."

On the defense's improvement:
"In every game we want to be in single digits in missed tackles and in the spring game we had way too many missed tackles. But the progress the defense made was encouraging. We need to crawl, then walk and then be running by September. The defense is walking; we've made progress in terms of fundamentals and technique but we've got a long way to go."

On an area where he's confident:
"Our strength and conditioning program. If you're gonna progress as a program you've got to develop your student-athletes. The kids have bought into it. We had a spring game on Saturday and Monday they were right back at work in the weight room."

2009 Schedule