Iowa State Cyclones running back Dylan Lee (25) gets tackle by Iowa State Cyclones linebacker Jacob Imming (12) after making a first down in the University’s Spring Football at Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday, April 20, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. © Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK
AMES – Iowa State Football hosted its annual spring game Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium, where fans were able to get a glimpse of a plethora of the program’s depth pieces going into the 2024 season.
Before getting into takeaways, there were a number of offensive skill players that will start this fall that did not play in the scrimmage: quarterback Rocco Becht, running back Abu Sama, wide receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel were among the planned sitouts.
Each of them practiced during the first portions of the individual session before the game truly kicked off.
Freshman running back Dylan Lee showed out on Saturday. The former U.S. Army Bowl player got 17 carries in the game, and rushed for 80 yards. Lee’s 17-yard rush to the end zone was the lone ‘touchdown’ play in the alternatively scored session. Lee found open field on a number of occasions on the day, and displayed a talent on back cuts to help get him there. Don’t put much stock into the game, but Lee’s certainly did not go down.
Redshirt freshman J.J. Kohl and freshman Connor Moberly split snaps in the game. Kohl finished 6-8 for 38 yards and had a pair of six-yard gains on scrambles, while Moberly was 5-7 for 32 yards with 16 of them coming on a pass to redshirt freshman wideout Dillon Ranck. If there’s anything that separates the two this far out from the season, Kohl looks more comfortable running the ball, while Moberly was more apt for distance passing attempts. Walk-on freshman Major Cantrell got some reps as well, going 3-4 for 25 yards, which included a 14-yard pass to freshman Beni Ngoyi.
Ta’Shawn James led the team in tackles, recording eight throughout the day, including a tackle for loss of three yards. The Iowa State defense won the game 33-4, officially, with offensive penalties resulting in a loss of five points to the unit’s score. The defense was on top of its game, securing five sacks for 28 yards throughout the day.
Walk-on Kyle Konrardy, who’s slated to be Iowa State’s starting placekicker, connected on four of five field goal attempts, each of them going into the wind from 34 yards out or further. Konrardy made kicks of 41, 40, 42 and 34 yards, with his lone miss coming from a 47-yard attempt. Florida Atlantic transfer Carter Davis was 1-4 with his lone make being a 26-yarder. Again, each of those attempts were into the wind. Campbell commented on Konrardy after the game, as well.
