Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads says junior quarterback Austen Arnaud is ready to return to the Cyclones starting lineup this week when they take on Oklahoma State.Arnaud, a two-year starter for the Cyclones, has been sidelined the last weeks with a bruised throwing hand. He was injured during the Oct. 17 win over Baylor.
Rhoads says Arnaud was close to returning to the lineup last Saturday at Texas A&M but that his velocity just wasn't there so he stuck with redshirt freshman Jerome Tiller for one more week.
"He was awfully close Saturday, but there was just enough velocity that was off that he would not have been a good position to help us win the football game," Rhoads said during Monday's Big 12 football teleconference. "Jerome threw two interceptions, he threw both balls pretty good and A&M's speed was able to capitalize and still make interceptions. Austen didn't even have that much on the ball.
"But (Arnaud) was much further along and he will start against Oklahoma State."
In his absence Tiller performed well enough to lead the Iowa State Cyclones to a 1-1 record in two weeks, which included an upset of Nebraska on Oct. 24. ISU, however, is coming off a 35-10 loss at A&M on Saturday.
Rhoads said Arnaud returned to practice Sunday and he expects him to practice every day this week leading up to the matchup against the Cowboys.
"We still kept him out quite a bit last week," said Rhoads, who's team is in second place in the Big 12 North standings with a 5-3, 2-2 conference record. "The main issue has been his grip on the ball and we did not want the swelling to flair back up by over practicing so we tried to go into Saturday and see what he could do. The swelling is all gone now and he's grasping the ball fine, we expect him to practice through a normal routine this week."
