There probably couldn’t have been a better way to end the spring.

The sun shined and there were almost no clouds in the sky. The east side of the stadium was nearly half full, and the fans in attendance got a glimpse of what is to come in Paul Rhoads’ second season at Iowa State.

But, most importantly, no one left the field at Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday before they were supposed to.

“As with any spring there’s good and there’s bad,” Rhoads said. “The number one positive that came out of this day and out of the entire spring is that we’re a healthy football team.”

The color of the players’ jerseys Saturday mattered about as much as the outcome of the game, but for the estimated 10,000 ISU fans there were some exciting moments in the Gold squad’s 23-17 win.

Running backs James White, a redshirt freshman, had 17 carries for 94 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown trot in the third quarter. Meanwhile, the true freshman Jeff Woody had 14 carries for 70 yards, most of which came between the tackles.

Rhoads said the two backs “shined” in their race for the number two spot on the depth chart behind the Big 12’s second leading rusher in 2009, Alexander Robinson.

Robinson was kept off of the field after his third series — Rhoads said he would have looked “stupid” to keep the back on the field — and was limited to just seven touches which he converted into 15 yards.

However, with the performances of the two backups and the injury to listed No. 2 Beau Blankenship — the sophomore went down with a slight MCL injury in practice last week — Rhoads said the coaching staff had not decided on who would be the number two back next fall.

The offenses combined for 735 yards, but Rhoads said he was “encouraged” by the defensive units taking advantage of two fumbles, one by Gold’s Darius Reynolds and the other by Iowa State’s senior quarterback, Austen Arnaud.

“We moved the ball, but at times we were stagnant,” Arnaud said. “We were efficient, but the defense came in and played their game, too, so it definitely was not a one-sided game.”

The defenses combined for four “sacks” — play was blown dead as soon as a defender laid a hand on a quarterback — and broke up a total of seven passes.

Ten tackles for loss and four forced fumbles stick out, too.

“I thought we were physical all spring long, and we’ve got to build on that,” Rhoads said. “I think we need to have a better understanding of how to tackle.”

Rhoads said in practice, the team executes tackling drills with “perfection,” but the drills did not translate to the field in the 11-on-11 environment of the spring game.

“That’s youth, that’s inexperience,” Rhoads said.

The youngest group on the defense that drew the most attention Saturday was the brand-new linebacking corps.

Sophomores A.J. Klein and Jake Knott and senior junior college transfer Matt Tau’fo’ou must replace the three departed starters from 2009. Saturday, the three combined for 25 tackles and a sack, albeit they split time playing for both the Cardinal and the Gold squads.

“Every year is a transition,” said senior safety Mike O’Connell. “Now other guys have to step up and leadership has to come from other guys, and I think we’re doing that.

“Those guys are still in their true freshman year and this spring was huge for them. For them to get in there and get all the reps really helped, and I think they’re starting to progress.”

There’s obviously still room to grow on both sides of the ball.

Rhoads said the defense needs better vision and to continue to improve on its tackling — a very similar message to last spring — and the offense was less than perfect, even with all the yardage gained.

However, no one could deny the notion that the program is in a better place than it was one year ago at this time.

“I think at times we played really well, then at times we struggled a little bit,” O’Connell said. “We really progressed this spring, and thinking back on the 14 previous practices, we really made some strides.”