To no one’s surprise, A.J. Klein stole the show at the ISU football team’s annual spring game Saturday.

The reigning co-Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year picked off Jared Barnett and returned it 94 yards for a touchdown — the first in the 13-7 victory for Cardinal against Gold — in the second quarter.

Klein said he started slowing down before the goal line since he did not know James White was right behind him trying to stop him short from scoring.

“Nope,” Klein said when asked if White could have brought him down before the goal line. “I would have carried him 20 yards if I had to.”

Klein, who owns the school record for career interceptions returned for touchdowns with three, started the trend of four turnovers forced by the defense in the game.

“The defense was due for a better day and they responded,” said ISU coach Paul Rhoads. “There was a higher level of intensity out there today than I saw a week ago.”

Jeremiah George, who nabbed the second of the defense’s four interceptions the series after Klein’s pick-six, was lauded by Rhoads as the most improved player of this year’s spring season.

“He’s really taking criticism to heart,” Klein said of how George has improved. “He takes it personally, which is good. A player should take it personally, any criticism he gets on the field. He’s one of those players who wants to work hard and he wants to do things right.”

George tied true freshman Cliff Stokes with a team-high eight tackles — six of which were solo — on the defense while also notching a sack.

George hurdled redshirt freshman Rob Standard following his interception of quarterback Steele Jantz in the second quarter, which made for the second-most exciting moment behind Klein’s pick-six.

“That was pretty cool,” said defensive end David Irving. “They were talking about it in the locker room and whatnot. JG, he always goes and tackles Rob, so Rob knows the strength he can bring, so he knew he wasn’t going to tackle him straight-up.”

Irving, a true sophomore, also had a standout day, notching six tackles — five solo — and a sack for a 14-yard loss.

Rhoads said Irving did a good job of getting stops during zone-read plays, which give the end the choice of immediately chasing the ball carrier or playing the quarterback and allowing the linebackers to pick up the ball carrier.

“I saw David coming down the line fast,” Rhoads said. “I know he made a number of tackles for two-yard gains on plays like that, which you have to do if you’re going to play good run defense.”

However, Irving said he is still working on his sense of urgency, which has been a focal point for improvement for him this spring.

“I tried to hustle more,” Irving said. “Sometimes you come off the edge and then it looks like had nothing so you stop going, I just have to keep going and it paid off.”

A focal point for the defensive line as a whole, Irving said, has been getting more pressure on the quarterback, which proved to be conducive to forcing those four turnovers.

“A lot of that is due to our preparation,” said defensive tackle Jake McDonough. “The defensive line was getting off the ball, we were getting pressure and causing the quarterback to get off his spot. The linebackers and secondary were just fitting where they need to fit in order to make the play.”