Iowa State football practice: Offensive line injury woes again, Allen Lazard speaks

After the first day of Iowa State football practice, the offensive line is already seeing injuries. That, and we also hear from Allen Lazard and Mark Mangino.

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Media people that were on the scene for the Cyclones’ practice saw Ben Loth going down with an injury. He is the backup center and very valuable to a unit that was destroyed by injuries a season ago. They would like all the depth they possibly could have entering into the season.

Head coach Paul Rhoads will await an exam before speculating any further, but Zack Spears from 247Sports says that the injury to Loth isn’t bad and that both Jamison Lalk and Wendell Taiese would split second team center reps behind Tom Farniok.

Let’s hope it’s nothing serious, and please, let’s have a season that doesn’t deal with a banged up offensive line. Sure, it’s not a skill player going down, but they won’t be able to do much with an inconsistent offensive line. Just look what happened to a bunch of running backs that couldn’t do much last season until the offensive line finally gelled together in the final games of the season.

More from football practice

 — Rhoads named his captains for 2014. They will be Farniok, tight end E.J. Bibbs, and Cory Morrissey. He tells Cyclones.com why this is so important.

"“Being elected captain at Iowa State is an important responsibility and it’s a huge compliment to Cory, E.J. and Tom,” Rhoads said. “First of all, it’s elected by their peers. Secondly, we take the time to discuss what goes in to it. We want leadership. We want decision-making and that capability. These are guys that have to stand up sometimes to their teammates and not just pat them on the back all the time. It’s a great responsibility and a great honor to be elected captain here at Iowa State University.”"

 — Previously, Rhoads said that wide receiver Allen Lazard wouldn’t be available to speak to the media. Guess he had a change of heart. Rob Gray, who now writes for Cyclone Fanatic, summed up what Lazard said in a couple lines.

"Lazard — who ran with the No. 3s — said his focus right now is the playbook and fundamentals. After that? “Just getting open and stuff,” he said."

— Gray also had a great quote from offensive coordinator Mark Mangino in terms of progress from the three quarterbacks.

"“I would say, overall, they’re getting rid of the ball quicker; they’re getting their reads quicker,” said Mangino, whose resume includes National Coach and National Assistant Coach of the Year honors. “In the spring I could have had a cup of coffee from the time the ball was snapped to the time the ball was launched. Now I can only have a sip of coffee rather than the whole cup. So there’s been some progress there."