Eli McKownDes Moines Register
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AMES — For an Iowa State football team that returns the second-most production in the country according to ESPN's rankings, there's still a lot of questions entering the spring game for the Cyclones.
On Saturday afternoon, we got some questions answered about the missing holes at kicker, defensive back and other positions during the scrimmage/practice. In addition to that, we saw standout performances from running back Dylan Lee, kicker Kyle Konrardy and others.
Get caught up on all the action here below on what you may have missed at the Iowa State Spring football game.
1:00: Hear from coach Matt Campbell, Iowa State players following Spring game
Iowa State Kyle Konrardy thrives at Cyclone spring game
Iowa State kicker Kyle Konrardy goes four-for-five at spring game, discusses growth in offseason
Iowa State's Darien Porter press conference after Spring game
Iowa State's Darien Porter discusses growth on defense, replacing TJ Tampa after Spring game outing
12:30: Spring game concludes with 33-4 win for defense
While the scoring means very little in the grand scheme of things, the defense ultimately had the better day on the scoreboard and with the eye test.
The leader on defense for the day was Ta'Shawn James, a redshirt freshman defensive back who posted eight tackles and a tackle for loss. The defense on the day at five sacks and eight tackles for loss.
On offense, Dylan Lee was the star. He had 17 carries for 84 yards and a touchdown as projected starter Abu Sama did not appear in the scrimmage, but was dressed for practice. In total, the offense combine for 148 rushing yards on 36 carries, a 3.2 yards per carry average.
Quarterback JJ Kohl threw for 38 yards on 6-of-8 passing, but was sacked twice. Connor Moberly was in the second most, passing for 32 yards on five-of-seven attempts.
Defensive back Darian Porter also said after the game that he was priding himself on helping fil the void left by TJ Tampa, but is confident the defensive should take a leap forward.
On special teams, Kyle Konrardy drew the most attempts as kicker. He converted four of five attempts, three of those of 40 yards or more with his longest from 42 yards out into the wind. Following the game, he said he feels comfortable from as much as 60 yards out.
11:33: Kyle Konrardy hits another field goal, three-for-three on the day
Konrardy is three-for-three on the day, hitting another from about 41-yards out after a promising drive staled for the offense with a sack on JJ Kohl and several penalties. As a result, the defense now leads 24-3.
11:25: Dylan Lee having standout day at running back
Lee, a true freshman Arizona native, has been getting most of the reps at running back, with Abu Sama dressed, but not getting on the field in the true scrimmage yet. Lee has had several significant gains with his carries, including most recently a 40-yard plus run from the first play of a drive with the first-unit offense line and JJ Kohl at quarterback.
He's had a touchdown earlier in the game as well, and the offense now trials 19-13 as the offense drives down the field.
11:17: JJ Kohl gets reps with starting offensive line
The Cyclones are rotating guys in and out, so it's hard to tell exactly what is the first team and second team, but Kohl was getting reps with the starting offensive line of James Neal, Jim Bonifas (left tackle), Jarrod Hufford (left guard), Brendan Black (center) and Tyler Miller (right tackle). However, the defense ultimately prevailed and made the score 21-13.
11:08: Carter Davis subs in at kicker, hits short field goal from about 25-30 yards out
Davis got a shot at kicker this time, hitting a short field goal from about 25-30 yards away after starting in the redzone with Tanner Hughes getting some time at quarterback. The defense now leads 17-14
11:06: Konrardy nails 40-yard field goal
In his second field goal attempt, Konrardy was good for another, this time from 40 yards out. Offense now trails 16-11 to the defense.
11:05: Connor Moberly led offense scores touchdown, Dylan Lee runs for touchdown
From 17 yards out, Lee took it to the house with a burst of speed to the right edge of the sideline with some solid blocking for a score. The score is now 13-6, defense leads.
11:00: Kyle Konrady drills 41-yard field goal
Into the wind once again, Konrady nailed a 41-yard field goal, giving the defense a 13-0 lead for a special teams score.
Konrady has yet to miss a field goal try in warm-ups or the in-practice setting, looking to be the Chase Contrarez replacement if he keeps it up.
10:50: Defense slowing offensive units thus far
It appears we will be starting a bit early here in Ames, as we see some early scrimmaging from the Cyclones.
Thus far, the offense has been yet to pick up a first down through three different series, thus giving the defense a 10-0 lead over the offense. Both JJ Kohl and Connor Moberly have gotten snaps as of now, but have not been able to gain more than about three yards on any given play as of yet.
10:20: Warmups underway for Iowa State spring game
The game is set to begin at 11 a.m., but we are seeing a bit of news from the get go here.
The starters took the field with Rocco Becht, with James Neal, Jim Bonifas (left tackle), Jarrod Hufford (left guard), Brendan Black (center) and Tyler Miller (right tackle) drawing starts on the offensive line alongside Abu Sama at tailback.
10:00 Kicker Kyle Konrardy nailing 45-yard field goals into the wind
Kicker Kyle Konrardy, a redshirt freshman from Dubuque Senior, was taking kicks in warmups. He was routinely hitting kicks from about 45 yards out into the wind, a good sign as the Cyclones look to replace Chase Contreraz.
In an offseason without adversity, Iowa State looks to create it
In a year that had so much controversy in 2023, the Cyclones have had a quiet offseason in comparison.
In many ways, that's a good thing. Not having pending legal or NCAA issues is always a bonus. However, coach Campbell is still finding ways to manufacture adversity in practice settings so his players are prepared for anything that comes their way in 2024's slate of games.
"We haven't (had adversity), but it is coming," Campbell said. "The greatest gift to this team is that they had to deal with so many things last year that I think building that confidence that we will deal with injury, we will deal with setbacks, we will deal with hard things and continuing to learn to handle and work through that. At the end of the season, if you want to reach your full potential of what you're going to become, you better be able to work through adversity really well."
You can read more about Campbell implementing a sense of urgency and adversity in spring practice from our Cyclone columnist Randy Peterson by clicking here.
Is it just me, or has Ikenna Ezeogu gotten bigger?
You're not wrong if you thought that, as defensive lineman Ikenna Ezeogu has added five pounds in the offseason, much of which by eating... Chipotle.
“I like to eat Chipotle a lot,” Ezeogu said.
You can read more about why specifically Chipotle may fuel Ezeogu's season from our own Tommy Birch by clicking here. The former four-star recruit looks to improve on recording tallying 16 tackles, one sack, three pass breakups and two quarterback hurries last season.
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him atEmckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at@EMcKown23.
