ISU QB Sam Richardson nursing sprained ankle

 By Rob Gray

 Correspondent

 AMES - A boot covered Iowa State quarterback Sam Richardson's foot Tuesday.

Cause for concern?

It's fine,” said Richardson, who threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns while being sacked six times in Saturday's 28-20 loss to Northern Iowa. “Not a problem.”

Richardson did hurt his right ankle during the setback, however.

“Kind of just a football play,” said Richardson, who also led his team in rushes (21) and rushing yards (74). “Just getting rolled up on it and obviously I played through it.”

Thus the boot.

Precautionary, Cyclone coach Paul Rhoads said.

“He had it off, then he puts it back on,” said Rhoads, whose team faces an off week before playing host to Iowa in the Sept. 14 Cy-Hawk series rivalry game. “It was obvious to everybody he sprained his ankle late in the game and they put it on him right after. We'll take it a little bit easy on him today. He was out there ready to practice and I don't have any doubt he'll be ready to go by Sunday when we really get in full preparation.”

Richardson's performance in the loss - he improved his career touchdown-to-interception ratio to 10 to 1 - stood as a bright spot.

Rhoads was asked if the amount of carries Richardson totaled Saturday would lead to him being vulnerable, if it persisted.

“When you run an offense like this and he's going to be a productive player, he's going to be vulnerable,” Rhoads said. “One of the reasons why an offense like this can be effective is that the quarterback who adds an extra gap, an extra defender for defense to have to be aware of can run for 100-plus yards and he was over 100 before you take away the sack yardage. So we're willing to understand that and play through that and have the next guy ready to go if that's the case.”

Rhoads said four of the six sacks were on the re-configured offensive line.

“They know that,” Rhoads said. “They've got to do a better job. (Richardson's) got to get through his progression and throw the ball on time, as well. There was a time when we were frustrated with Sam because he was giving up on things too early. Now he's maybe hanging on to things a little bit too long. It's a fine line.”

WATSON UPDATE: Iowa State starting cornerback Jansen Watson will be eligible to play against Iowa, Rhoads said. Watson sat out Saturday's game because of a violation of team rules.