Rhoads: "The stats they hand me after the spring game go directly in my toilet"
For better or worse, Iowa State head coach Paul Rhoads will always tell you what's on his mind. He's never been the type of coach that is going to mince words.
That's one of the reasons (at least in my opinion) that makes him so enjoyable, because it's that approach that leads to moments like this.
Which leads me into coach Rhoads' thoughts on Spring games. Some programs hold glorified open practices (like Michigan under Brady Hoke), while others draft teams and go head to head, drawing 50,000+ fans. Regardless of the structuce, one thing that has become clearer and clearer to me over the past few years is that Spring games are for the fans more than anybody. Yeah, the player draft is fun for coaches and players, and you can always learn stuff about guys from game situations, but the intra-squad scrimmage has a minimal (if any) impact on the fall depth chart.
Which is why, after Iowa State wraps up their Spring game, and someone hands Paul Rhoads the stat sheet, he's already decided on its destination.
“The stats they hand me afterwards. They got to my toilet." Rhoads told the Ames Tribune.
Coming off a disappointing 2-10 season, Rhoads' first few games of the 2015 season should be pretty telling. The slate starts with back to back home games against Northern Iowa and in-state rival Iowa, before hitting the road for Toledo, and returning to face Kansas. Then, after traveling to Texas Tech, comes a brutal five game stretch against TCU, at Baylor, against Texas, at Oklahoma and at home against Oklahoma State.
With that five game Big 12 stretch in mind, it might be a good idea for Iowa State to start off hot as soon as possible...even if that means starting with the "meaningless" Spring game.
