Iowa State Football Transfer Standing Out in Spring Practice

The Iowa State Cyclones have gotten things started with spring practice under first-year head coach Jimmy Rogers.

This is an exciting time for the program, which is entering a new era following Matt Campbell's 10-year tenure at the helm. Spring practices are an important time in the college football calendar, as they are the first opportunity for the new coaching staff to implement systems while also showcasing themselves and the team to high school recruits.

The next few weeks are going to be incredibly busy for Rogers and his staff, but it will be worthwhile to start putting together the foundation of the program. There are a lot of new faces on the coaching staff and roster, but some are already making an impression.

One of the players who is standing out during spring practice thus far is safety Braden Awls. A transfer from the Toledo Rockets, he is already making a great impression on the staff, including defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit.

Braden Awls drawing praise from Jesse Bobbit

Toledo Rockets wide receiver Junior Vandeross III shakes hands with safety Braden Awls. — Toledo Rockets wide receiver Junior Vandeross III (2) shakes hands with Toledo Rockets safety Braden Awls (26) to celebrate their win against Pittsburgh Panthers after six overtimes of the 2024 GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. | Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"Braden Awls is doing some really good things," Bobbit said, via Alec Busse of Cyclone Alert, part of the 247Sports network (subscription required). "His athleticism and natural. He's played a lot of football, and you can see that out there. It's fun now to see it in spring ball, just his instincts and being in the right place."

An argument could be made that Awls was the best and most accomplished defensive player that the Cyclones secured a commitment from in the transfer portal. He brings a ton of experience to a secondary that is returning virtually zero players who had a role defensively for Iowa State in 2025.

Awls has also been a playmaker throughout his career with Toledo. Last season, he led the MAC with five interceptions after recording four the season before. He has also produced 9.0 tackles for loss the last two seasons, to go along with one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.

Iowa State was fortunate to secure a commitment from Awls, as he chose the Cyclones over the Indiana Hoosiers after visiting Bloomington.

It was a huge addition for Rogers, who has someone on staff that Awls is very familiar with. Ross Watson, who was the co-defensive coordinator for the Rockets the last six seasons, is now the SAM/Nickels/Passing Game Coordinator for the Cyclones.

Having a familiar face on staff almost certainly helped sway the star safety’s decision to head to Ames for his senior year.

There will be some pressure on him to lead the secondary, but it is something he is more than capable of accomplishing, given the decorated career he has put together thus far.