The ISU football team planned to wrap up fall camp Saturday night at Jack Trice Stadium, but halfway through, mother nature spoiled the party. 

ISU coach Paul Rhoads said he was disappointed thunderstorms blew the latter half of the third and final scrimmage of the fall indoors. 

But he added that most of the special teams work was completed before the rains came — a crucial element of practice considering the new construction in the south end zone coupled with a 7 p.m. start time to the season opener against Northern Iowa on Sept. 5.

“Obviously it’s going to be louder. Aesthetically, it’s fantastic. But will the wind be affected? I don’t see it,” Rhoads said. “It’s been windy in there, and it’s swirled in there, so I’m sure there’ll be some type of change, but I don’t know if it’ll be very noticeable.”

Rhoads added that the team will get one more practice under the lights as it moves into the first week of classes with a dual emphasis on the No. 1 offense and the No. 1 defense getting reps against one another, as well as beginning to game plan specifically for the Panthers. 

The team remained essentially healthy through the scrimmage, and there were no current injury updates. 

Offensive line

“I would probably say the O-line has advanced, has improved, as much as any position group throughout training camp.

“The grads on those guys have been higher than they’ve ever been.”

-Rhoads

“(Campos) is more mature. His pass sets are better. His run game gets a little wobbly, he gets his weight out over his feet. 

“He’s still kind of a young guy, so we’ve been after him a little bit about doing things the proper way in terms of footwork and recognition and things like that … He’s still a work in progress.”

-ISU offensive coordinator Mark Mangino on offensive tackle Jake Campos. 

“(Burton) is very mature, and being a fourth-year guy, he’s very serious about this football team and his responsibilities. We’re getting him to take some snaps, not playing center, but taking snaps just in case something would happen to Patrick (Scoggins).”

-Rhoads on offensive guard Daniel Burton

“He can be a big asset for us, no question.”

-Mangino on offensive tackle and community college transfer Jaypee Philbert Jr. 

Position Players

“It’s been hard to get a rhythm in the camp for any length of time, but I’m very confident that’s going to be a good spot for us.”

-Mangio on running back position question marks. 

“When you’re as thin as we are … We’ve got to be smart, we’ve got to take care of them. “

-Rhoads on combatting running back injuries. 

“I like what Michael Warren was doing. He’s got some quickness and he’s a tough guy.” 

“Tyler Brown has got quick feet, can make people miss.” 

“Joshua (Thomas) for a freshman he’s a very mature guy, he’s very smart, he’s very tough, he runs with low pads.” 

-Mangino on the three-headed running back attack.

“You name it, the receivers … they have had a great camp.

“They might not be All-Big 12, but they’re pretty doggone good.”

-ISU defensive coordinator Wally Burnham

Run defense

“We’ve done a pretty good job so far in camp on the run … We feel like we’re going to be improved in that area, and that’s been one of our main focuses.”

-Burnham

“We don’t have a superstar on defense … We don’t have an All-American yet. 

“We’ve got about 18-19 kids that we feel real good about. And I’ve been on a lot of teams that had 18 or 19 kids that played real good defense.”

-Burnham on lack of a superstar defender. 

Two new faces to watch for:

-Demond Tucker; defensive tackle, redshirt junior

-Jordan Harris; linebacker, redshirt junior

 Two deep roster players who may emerge:

-Jhaustin Thomas; defensive end, redshirt junior

-Willie Harvey; linebacker, redshirt freshman