The end of the spring season is approaching — fast.

Just one week of spring camp remains for the ISU football team. And on Saturday, Paul Rhoads and company will open the gates of Jack Trice Stadium to the public for their annual spring game.

So what’s been the biggest focus this spring? Well, offensive coordinator Mark Mangino said two of his biggest goals have been to get the running backs and the offensive line in sync.

The best way to do that, he said, is simply to keep challenging his players more and more.

“I’ve set the bar really high,” Mangino said. “If you want to compete in this conference and beat good football teams and be a team that is eligible for postseason play, you have to have the bar up high. They’ve got to reach the bar. We’re not going to drop it.”

Both Rhoads and Mangino said they think this year’s team is much improved from the team last year at this time.

Along with knowing the system and the offense much better, Rhoads noted how much the team has grown together during the spring season, and how they still get things done on the practice field.

“Everybody likes to play. This group likes to practice, too,” Rhoads said. “When you bring that kind of energy to the practice field, you’re generally going to improve and you’re going to be coachable because you want to be out there and you want to be playing. I think we’re developing a nice closeness with this team.”

The Cyclones held a close scrimmage on Saturday in preparation for next week’s spring game. And while it wasn’t a true scrimmage, Rhoads said the 120 snaps that were taken were great reps for the team, providing an extra opportunity to simulate “game-like” satiations.

Mangino, who has put extra emphasis on the run game this spring, noticed something from the running backs after the scrimmage, too.

“[We] ran the ball decent. Not great, but decent,” Mangino said. “We have a couple running backs there that can do some good things, they’re just young guys that need a little experience. But they’re capable of making big plays.”

Tyler Brown and Martinez Syria are perhaps the two names at running back that most Cyclone fans would recognize. Both Brown and Syria received considerable playing time last season and seem poised to be the lead duo at the position next fall.

Mangino didn’t tip his hand on Saturday, though, saying no one person has taken the lead in the battle at running back. And even though there is, and no doubt will continue to be, uncertainty at that position, Mangino isn’t looking at it that way. He is just focused on what he has to work with and that’s all that matters to him.

“You go with what you got. You play with the guys you have, you make them better, you find a way,” Mangino said. “That’s what we do. Nobody wants excuses and I’m not providing any. I don’t have any. Whoever you have, make them better. That’s why they pay us.”