Iowa State Cyclones Freshman Trey Verdon Could Be Sat Rest of Season for One Reason

Will Trey Verdon get back on the field for the Iowa State Cyclones before bowl season begins?

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The Iowa State Cyclones have hit a rough patch in recent weeks. After starting the 2025 college football season off 5-0, they have suffered three consecutive defeats at the hands of the Cincinnati Bearcats, Colorado Buffaloes and BYU Cougars.

With their Big 12 championship and College Football Playoff aspirations all but up in smoke, attention could start to shift for the coaching staff. Players are going to be evaluated with an eye toward the future, seeing who will be part of the plans moving forward.

That means potentially giving more playing time to some of the freshmen on the roster. However, there is a delicate line for head coach Matt Campbell to walk when it comes to the first-year players.

In college football, freshmen can play in four regular-season games without burning their redshirt eligibility. Conference championships, bowl games and playoff games do not count toward that number.

Iowa State Cyclones have 20 freshmen eligible for redshirt season

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There are currently 20 true freshmen on the Iowa State roster, as shared by Alec Busse of Cyclone Alert, part of the 247Sports Network. 

With four games remaining in the regular season, a number of them have already guaranteed that they will be redshirt eligible heading into their second year of college football.

12 of the players have yet to appear in a game. That means they can get playing time over the final four games of the regular season and not exhaust their redshirt eligibility.

The same cannot be said for the remaining players. Defensive end Trey Verdon is the player with whom the coaching staff will have the toughest decision to make.

Trey Verdon on verge of losing redshirt eligibility

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He has played in four consecutive games, putting him on the brink of burning his redshirt eligibility. It will be something worth keeping an eye on in the coming weeks after he recorded a sack against the Arizona Wildcats in Week 5, but he hasn’t recorded any other stats yet this season.

Verdon is the only freshman in danger of losing redshirt eligibility heading into the game against the Arizona State Sun Devils this weekend. Safety LaMarcus Hicks II and defensive tackle Ka’Mori Moore are the only other freshmen with three games played.

Hicks played in three consecutive games leading up to the BYU loss last weekend. With how many injuries the secondary is dealing with, it isn’t too surprising that he saw some action during that time.

Moore played earlier in the campaign, getting action against the South Dakota Coyotes, Iowa Hawkeyes and Arkansas State Red Wolves. He has not played since that Week 3 matchup against the Sun Belt program.

Quarterback Alex Manske, wide receiver Xzavion Robinson and safety Joshua Patterson are the only other freshmen with multiple appearances this season.