Iowa State hands offense to Messingham | iowa, ames, messingham - College Football Capsules - Brownsville Herald
Senior Steele Jantz and sophomore Jared Barnett have split time at quarterback this spring and the race for the starting job won't be decided until August at the earliest. According to Rhoads, Barnett and Jantz have both improved their decision-making and are more comfortable with the offense.
Jantz has shown the same attributes this spring that earned him the starting job last fall, when he led the Cyclones to a 3-0 start before a foot injury precipitated a downturn that landed him on the bench behind Barnett.
It's clear the coaching staff sees more raw talent from Jantz. That means
Barnett must manage the game as well as he possibly can, and he apparently did just that in a scrimmage last Saturday.
"(Barnett) is not a flashy guy. He doesn't have the biggest arm. But his football teams were productive," Rhoads said. "(Jantz) was a little flashy. He showed us the same guy that we saw in the first 2 1/2 games with his escapability, with his ability to make people miss. He does have great velocity on his ball."
Rhoads said both quarterbacks have benefitted from the switch to Messingham, including improved mechanics and foot work. Third-string quarterback Sam Richardson, a redshirt freshman, said Messingham is also more "understanding" than Herman, who he said could be demanding and less willing to explain things.
"I think (Messingham) does a much better job trying to teaching you exactly what you need to do on everything," Richardson said.
That "team" comment is very important in this sport. One guy can't do it by himself...especially when your trying to be more productive offensively.