Iowa State Hits Reset in Ames as Jimmy Rogers Rebuilds Almost From Scratch
Iowa State went 8-4 (5-4 Big 12) in 2025, but the story of the Cyclones' offseason is one of the most sweeping roster overhauls in the country. Head coach Matt Campbell left for Penn State and took three-year starting quarterback Rocco Becht with him, and he did not go alone. More than 50 Cyclones entered the transfer portal, including 16 starters, and roughly two dozen players followed Campbell to Happy Valley. Iowa State turned to Jimmy Rogers, who arrives late after one season at Washington State following a 27-3 run and an FCS national title at South Dakota State. Rogers wasted no time reshaping the roster, bringing in more than 45 transfers, many of them former Cougars, to give this team one of the most transformed identities in the sport. The preseason consensus pegs 2026 as a full reset, with national placement in the 70 range and a projected Big 12 finish in the middle-to-back third of the league.
Offense
New coordinator Tyler Roehl, a former Campbell staffer who spent 2025 coaching tight ends for the Detroit Lions, inherits an offense with no returning starters and installs a downhill, play-action-driven scheme. Arkansas State transfer Jaylen Raynor is the clear QB1. He threw for 3,361 yards on 66.5 percent passing with a 19-11 touchdown-to-interception mark in 2025 and accounted for 67 total touchdowns (52 passing, 15 rushing) over three seasons as a starter. The dual-threat veteran impressed the new staff immediately and holds a firm grip on the leadership of the room. He was pushed in spring by Oklahoma State transfer Zane Flores, who owns eight career starts and 1,490 yards, with holdover Connor Moberly also in the mix.
The pass-catchers blend holdovers with an influx of transfers. Tulane transfer Omari Hayes brings speed after a 515-yard season, and returning wideout Dominic Overby offers a 6-5 target who caught passes at a 12.4 clip a year ago. Tarleton State transfer Cody Jackson is the most productive addition, a 6-0 senior who piled up 799 yards at 15.1 per catch and earned all-conference honors at the FCS level; he projects as a possible mid-to-late-round flier and is the lone Cyclone on our current draftable board. Michigan State transfer Evan Boyd adds an 18.0-yard average, and Carter Pabst provides depth. At tight end, Raynor reunites with former Arkansas State teammate Tyler Fortenberry, a natural security blanket, with Hampton transfer Christian Greenlaw also on hand.
Aiden Flora returns to anchor the backfield alongside Bowling Green transfer Cameron Pettaway, the 2025 MAC Freshman of the Year who ran for 365 yards at 5.1 per carry. Neither is a bruiser, and the two have combined for just 87 college carries, but both fit Roehl's physical, downhill "hammer" mold. Establishing the ground game behind a rebuilt line against the Big 12's better fronts is the early question.
The line is essentially built from scratch, with all five 2025 starters gone, including an All-American. Oklahoma transfer Jake Taylor slots in at left tackle and Montana transfer Colin Amick, who started seven games last year, takes the right side. Tarleton State's Braden Smith, an FCS All-American as a redshirt freshman, moves to center, flanked by Auburn transfer DeAndre Carter and Sioux Falls transfer Caden Maas at guard. Rogers has called it the deepest line he has been around, and the group is athletic, though it lacks bulk and must gel in a hurry for the offense to click.
Defense
First-year coordinator Jesse Bobbit returns Iowa State to a four-man front after building a Washington State defense that ranked among the national leaders in both pass and total defense in 2025. His marquee import is edge rusher Isaac "Bobby" Terrell, who led the Cougars with seven sacks and a dozen tackles for loss and blossomed into a starter under Rogers. That production matters for a Cyclone unit that managed just 13 sacks a year ago, one of the lowest totals in the country. Caden Crawford brings pressure off the opposite edge, while holdover Zaimir Hawk and Washington State transfer Bryson Lamb should collapse the interior. Max Baloun and Malaki Ta'ase add rotation depth up front.
The second level is athletic and experienced. Holdover Carson Willich anchors the group alongside Washington State transfer Sullivan Schlimgen, who posted 49 tackles. UT-Permian Basin transfer Tristan Exline arrives as a decorated FCS-level producer with 142 tackles and 19.5 tackles for loss, and Jacksonville State transfer Malcolm Jones adds 55 tackles and three sacks. Willie Breland III factors in at the hybrid STAR spot.
The secondary took a hard blow when prized Toledo transfer safety Braden Awls, a first-team all-conference pick, tore his ACL early in spring, ending his season before it began. The staff has all summer to rebuild around him. Cornerback David Coffey returns, joined by Montana transfer Micah Harper at safety and Montana State transfer Seth Johnson at corner. Washington State transfer Duhron Goodman and holdover Drew Surges round out the back end, with Bowling Green transfer Keyon Washington and Trillion Sorrell in reserve. Depth is the theme here, quality more than certainty.
Placekicker Kyle Konrardy is the lone returning starter and a genuine weapon, widely regarded as one of the best in the country. He connected on 14 of 18 field goals in 2025 with a school-record 63-yarder and has twice delivered game-winning kicks against rival Iowa, including a 54-yarder. The return game is a strength: Pettaway led the nation with a 33.0-yard kickoff return average, and Flora averaged 26.1 yards per punt return with a touchdown. Australian rules convert Ethan Gurney competes for the punting job.
Overview and Prediction
Rogers has assembled a new team almost entirely from scratch, and the consensus reads 2026 as a rebuilding year that lands in the lower half of the Big 12. The schedule offers some early cushion with Southeast Missouri, Bowling Green and the annual clash at Iowa, but a stretch that includes Utah, trips to BYU, Arizona, Baylor and UCF, plus Oklahoma State, Cincinnati and a season-ending date with Kansas State, will test how quickly this roster coheres. The talent Rogers imported is real, and his one year at Washington State proved he can field a competitive team amid chaotic turnover; that Cougars group went 6-6 and won its bowl. The make-or-break here is chemistry on the fly, particularly along a rebuilt offensive line and in a secondary thinned by Awls' injury. If Raynor plays to his ceiling and the front seven generates the pass rush it lacked, Iowa State can hover near bowl eligibility. This is a floor-setting season, but there is enough incoming talent to stay relevant in an ever-shifting league.