Brown leading charge at running back

AMES - An earlier start to spring practice at Iowa State jumpstarts a number of things. The five-week duration allows the Cyclones to get more hands on with the players, but allows more recovery in between practices.

With the number of injuries the roster has sustained through the last two seasons, a little more precaution certainly won't hurt.

'You go four weeks or three and a half weeks, you're going to have to do a number of days back-to-back,” Iowa State Coach Paul Rhoads said at his news conference Monday. 'We feel it would be more advantageous for them to have a day off in between every contact session than going back-to-back on days.”

Sure, taking care of their bodies is going to be the means to try avoiding a fall riddled with injuries, but it'll also give some of the new faces a chance to get their feet wet through 15 spring practices.

The Cyclones stable of running backs will have fresh personnel after the graduation of Aaron Wimberly and the departure of DeVondrick Nealy. Sophomore Tyler Brown is listed No. 1 on the depth chart, red-shirt freshman Mike Warren is slotted second with sophomore Martinez Syria third.

Only Brown and Syria will bring any experience to the ISU backfield, combining for 44 carries and 146 yards last season. Nevertheless, Rhoads has been confident in what he's seen in offseason workouts.

'They are guys we really want to see utilize their foot speed and quickness and their overall speed,” Rhoads said. 'They've shown that in the offseason stuff that we've pushed through, especially Tyler Brown. Tyler Brown will go into spring ball as No. 1, and if his offseason is any indication, he'll be working hard not to give that up.”

Notable position changes were also announced with Qujuan Floyd moving from strong safety to free safety, Darius Lee-Campbell moving from quarterback to wide receiver and Cole Anderson switching from offensive line to tight end.

One constant, however, is the presence of fifth-year senior Sam Richardson at quarterback. Richardson will enter spring drills as the unquestioned starter, something Rhoads hasn't had since his first year in Ames.

Richardson played in all but one game last season, throwing 56.3 percent for 2,669 yards and 18 touchdowns compared to nine interceptions. He's still contending with a shoulder injury suffered in the final weeks of last season, but will be available to participate throughout spring practice.

'Sam is clearly established as our starting quarterback and I would argue that he has the ability to be top three in this league as we go into the 2015 season,” Rhoads said. 'He's experienced, he's skillful and he's smarter with this offense as he goes into his second spring running it.”

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