CycloneFanatic.com had a chance to catch up with Iowa State quarterback Austen Arnaud to talk about his status for Saturday’s home game with Oklahoma State.
Could you have gone on Saturday?
AA: I believe that I could have if I had to. Jerome did a good job once again. There were a couple of turnovers that cost us. His percentage wasn’t bad. The offense really got the ball in the red-zone four or five times and we scored 10 points. We have to get better at that.
Were you ready when you had to go in for that one play?
AA: Yeah. I saw how he got hit and I was like, okay, I need to grab my helmet. He got the wind knocked out of him real quick and luckily, he was only hurt for a play.
Have you been keeping a wrap on it a lot still?
AA: Yeah, I try to keep a wrap on to keep it immobilized, to get it as much rest as possible.
What’s been wrong with the offense for the last two weeks?
AA: We’ve just kind of lost that killer instinct you know? Before, we felt like we could always move the ball. We played a great defense in Nebraska, who did a lot of good things. On Saturday, I feel like we stopped ourselves in the just watching from the sidelines. A&M has the third best offense in the nation. We had seven possessions and 22 plays in the second half. We have to make more of our opportunities and we didn’t.
What are your thoughts on Reggie’s amazing comeback?
AA: Reggie definitely has some pain right now with quick, sharp movements. Reggie had started 37 games before Saturday. I felt bad for him. Hey was laid up in the hospital. Me and a bunch of guys went up and saw him on Thursday night. He looked at me and he goes ’37 straight bro.’ He could have gotten past 40 consecutive starts. I felt bad for the kid. Reggie is a tough kid and he’ll be back this Saturday.
You can get the zip on the ball that you need now?
AA: I threw the ball in warm-ups on Saturday and had some good velocity on it. I actually overthrew a couple receivers which is encouraging for me. When Saturday rolls around, I should be ready to go.
How important is it for you to have that line who has pretty much been together all year?
AA: Consistency in the line is huge. We jumbled it around but I thought that guys played tough. They played hard but assignment wise, you could tell we were missing Reggie. He is our leader of that line and one of the leaders of the offense. It definitely hurt on Saturday.
