The game clock at Memorial Stadium inched toward zero. Junior quarterback Austen Arnaud screamed out directions and encouragement, imploring his teammates to hold on to the Cyclones’ 9–7 lead.

But Arnaud’s guidance came not from his usual spot on the field, but instead from the Iowa State sideline.

Hampered by a bruise on his throwing hand that he suffered in mid-October against Baylor, Arnaud has been forced to take up residency on the sidelines the past two weeks. Arnaud, however, has not let the injury prevent him from fulfilling his leadership role.

“He has taken this injury as good as any leader could,” said junior defensive back Mike O’Connell. “He has taken it upon himself to step up in areas that, obviously when he’s out there playing, he can’t do. He’s helping coach guys on the sideline, he’s getting the guys pumped up, basically doing whatever he can to prepare us for Saturday.”

In the wake of his injury, Arnaud has worked to help redshirt freshman Jerome Tiller adjust to the starting role.

“I want him to be as good as he can be out there, so I’ve been helping him with looks and what works for me,” Arnaud said. “I’m just trying to be a vessel for him to learn what’s going on and react faster.”

As Tiller guided the offense in his first career start against Nebraska, Arnaud could be seen on the sideline, yelling out to Tiller and talking with him when the offense was on the sideline.

“He has been very vocal and very active on the sideline, coaching Jerome and helping him see things and make adjustments from that vantage point on the field,” said coach Paul Rhoads.

When the result of Tiller’s first start became official — a 9–7 upset victory against the Huskers — Arnaud quickly rushed over to Tiller to congratulate him, a gesture that Tiller said is reciprocal.

“I would be the same way if I was on the sideline and he was on the field,” Tiller said. “I would be the first on the field for him.”

Arnaud, who is in his second season as starting quarterback, is the only non-senior among the five team captains.

“Being team captain isn’t just an honor bestowed upon you just for being the starting quarterback,” said Tom Herman, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks’ coach. “The guys respond to him. He’s vocal. When he talks he’s passionate. And the guys know winning is important to him and he’s going to do whatever it takes to win.”

While Arnaud has shown leadership off the field, his role as team captain is also a result of his game-time performance.

In 2008, Arnaud was a bright spot on a lackluster 2–10 Cyclone squad. Averaging 292.7 yards per game, Arnaud racked up the third-highest single-season passing total in school history with 2,792 yards, and his 3,193 yards total offensive yards placed him second in the ISU record books.

After a slow and inconsistent start to the 2009 season, Arnaud finally began to regain the consistency he exhibited last season in the few weeks prior to his injury and played what Arnaud called some of “the best football [he’s] played as a Cyclone.”

In his last three starts, including the first half he played against Baylor before exiting with the injured throwing hand, Arnaud totaled 628 passing yards and five touchdowns, as well as three touchdowns on 196 yards rushing. His only interception in those three games came against Baylor as he tried to play after he suffered the bruised hand earlier in the second quarter.

“You look at the K-State game, he had some ups and downs, but showed some glimpses of the Austen that we wanted to see,” Herman said. “In the Kansas game he really broke out even though it was a loss. He really showed what he can do when he is playing consistently.”

The recovery process for Arnaud has been slow. The coaching staff had hoped Arnaud would be ready for last week’s game against Texas A&M, but the hand has been slow to heal. Arnaud is pegged to return to the starting lineup this week against Oklahoma State.

Even with the drawn out recovery, Arnaud has maintained a positive outlook and has continued to be a vocal leader among his teammates.

“Austen is such a team guy and he has such an upbeat personality,” Rhoads said. “And that has always been the case with his leadership ability, to bounce back, whether it be from poor play or this injury.”