Paul Rhoads will name starting QB on Monday

AMES — Monday is the day.

After Thursday’s practice, Iowa State head coach Paul Rhoads said that is when he will name his starting quarterback for the season opener vs. North Dakota State on Aug. 30. Iowa State is scheduled to have a full scrimmage on Saturday morning, the date in which Rhoads has said he wanted to have a starter by. 

"I won’t be able to do it coming off of the scrimmage field,"Rhoads said. "Too much to digest. By Monday. By Monday."

Last Sunday, Rhoads said that it was still an even heat between junior Sam Richardson and sophomore Grant Rohach. Richardson was Iowa State’s starter for the 2013 season opener. However, Rohach led Iowa State to two consecutive wins to end what was a frustrating season. 

"I feel like I am in a good spot right now," Richardson said. "I’m getting a lot more reps so I feel pretty comfortable where I am at. Hopefully I finish out the week well."

Rhoads said that he has seen improvement from both signal callers during the second week of fall camp. 

"I have seen great improvement from both of them and that’s the fun thing," Rhoads said. "Not only is it a true competition but we’ve got an elevation of play."

Needless to say, Saturday is a big day for both players. 

"In my opinion, I think this next scrimmage will kind of be the deciding factor," Rohach said. 

Check out CycloneFanatic.com on Saturday afternoon for full coverage of the scrimmage. Of course, we will be here to cover Monday’s starting quarterback announcement as well.