The Cyclones are going into next season with out their Ace – linebacker Alvin Bowen that is. Bowen, the team’s leading tackler (99) and emotional leader, graduated along with fellow outside linebacker Jon Banks, the team’s second leading tackler (80), leaving two holes in next year’s linebacking core.

Last Saturday, the ISU football team got a glimpse of life without Ace, and life with its returning starting middle linebacker, junior Jesse Smith, as its leader – a role Smith, who was tied for third on the team with 79 tackles, has clearly taken on with the younger linebackers.

“Jesse Smith,” said converted linebacker Cameron Bell confidently when asked about who the leader of the linebacking core would be. “Jesse was last year’s starter, and he has really taken a leadership role there because most of us got limited playing time.”

Smith, luckily for the Cyclones, had a good role model in Bowen to follow.

“Alvin Bowen gave me some good lessons just watching him do it. Sometimes it’s just by not even talking, it’s just by doing your job and making a play and then that gets everybody riled up,” Smith said. “But I try to see if everybody else is down and somebody gets beat. I try to be there to say ‘It’s OK. Go get them next time.'”

Nevertheless, Bowen is leaving a huge pair of leadership shoes to fill.

“Alvin was one of my mentors last year because I changed positions from running back to linebacker,” Bell said. “He really took me under his wing, as well as Jon Banks, to really understand the concepts and the schemes of the defense.”

As for the two openings at weak and strong side linebacker, no clear candidates have emerged at this point, Smith said. But they do have options. Junior Josh Raven, senior Michael Bibbs and junior Fred Garrin each contributed last season, recording 21, 19 and 19 tackles respectively.

Raven, Bibbs and Garin all played at some point in the spring game alongside Smith, grabbing 7, 4 and 2 tackles respectively. Garin also snagged an interception.

Smith’s backup, junior Derec Schmidgall, also played well, returning an interception for a touchdown and recording 6 tackles.

Running wild

Coach Gene Chizik wasn’t happy with the overall offensive performance Saturday. He did think at times the team ran the ball effectively – and that it did, to the tune of a collective 224 yards rushing on 50 carries (4.48 yards per carry).

Sophomore Alexander Robinson, who emerged near the end of 2007 with two 100-yard rushing games, earned the praise of his coach following a productive spring practice season.

“He’s really improved his game all the way around – running the football, pass protection, all of the things that a running back has to do,” Chizik said of Robinson, who rushed for 58 yards on 13 carries. “Alexander, if you give him the ball, he’s going to be a threat to break one at some point. He can make guys miss in the open field; he can spark our offense – but it’s certainly going to take more than him, and there weren’t a lot of bright spots offensively today anywhere.”

If help is what Robinson needs, then the performance of the rest of the Cyclones’ stable of running backs was promising – at least for the spring game.

Converted running back to safety, then back to running back, senior Jason Harris rushed 11 times for 65 yards to lead the team. Rickey Thompson, Jr., rushed 11 times for 55 yards after graduating from Ames High School and spending two years on the Nebraska-Omaha scout team and two years on the ISU scout team. Transfer Bo Williams rushed for 40 yards on 13 carries.

Senior J.J. Bass, who was the team’s second leading rusher in 2007, with 462 yards, did not play and is suspended indefinitely, and former West Des Moines Valley star Jason Scales carried twice for 6 yards.

Oh, Bo

You don’t know Bo – or at least you won’t for a year.

On Saturday the Cyclones got a peek at running back Bo Williams, who must sit out a year after transferring from the University of Florida.

Bo impressed.

His total of 40 rushing yards was highlighted by an evasive 23-yard scamper which could be a preview of what Williams might bring in 2009. Williams made the decision to come to Ames for the Cyclones’ brand of offense.

“It was a family decision for the better, me and my family,” Williams said.

“Florida is more of a spread type offense, which, I wasn’t getting that many carries. I was carrying like three times a game, where here they are carrying it like 30-something times a game. I love this offense; I love it man. They love to pound it, and that’s just the kind of running back I am.”

Williams, who was ranked 16th best running back by www.rivals.com after high school, redshirted his initial season at Florida, and has three years of eligibility left after he sits out 2008.