Iowa State Football Was Keen on Retaining, Making Running Back Happy

A lot of new faces are making up the Iowa State Cyclones football program for the 2026 season.

Gone is Matt Campbell, now the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions. More than 50 players entered the transfer portal after that decision was announced, and a massive recruiting class was cut down to six.

That left new head coach Jimmy Rogers with plenty of work to do. After spending the 2025 season with the Washington State Cougars, he had a lot of coaches and players follow him from Pullman, Washington, to Ames, Iowa.

However, there are some holdovers from the previous regime who stuck around to play under Rogers. One of them is running back Aiden Flora, whom running backs coach John Johnson revealed was someone they wanted to make sure they retained.

Iowa State made retaining Aiden Flora a priority

Iowa State Cyclones running back Aiden Flora returning a punt. — Nov 8, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Iowa State Cyclones running back Aiden Flora (21) returns a punt for a touchdown against the TCU Horned Frogs during the second half at Amon G. Carter Stadium. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

"It was important to make sure we keep him here and make sure he was happy," Johnson said of Flora, via Alec Busse of Cyclone Report, part of the 247Sports Network (subscription required). "When all's said and done, he wanted to be here, obviously (he's) from around this area. So, it was important him to be here, so we're glad to have him."

A former walk-on, he is now on scholarship with the new coaching staff. That likely helped keep him in town instead of entering the portal as so many of his teammates did over the winter after the coaching change.

Flora is someone who should see an increased role this season on offense. He was buried on the depth chart last behind Carson Hansen and Abu Sama III, but this year’s team doesn’t include that kind of experience and previous production.

He will be competing with two transfers, Cameron Pettaway from the Bowling Green Falcons and Salahadin Allah from the Oregon State Beavers.

79-YARD PUNT RETURN TD 😤

Aiden Flora takes it ALL THE WAY for @CycloneFB ‼️ pic.twitter.com/a5PUfETK33
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 8, 2025

Between all of the running backs on the roster, there are 830 career rushing yards in their resumes. Competition is going to be fierce in the backfield, which is exactly what Johnson wants, as players will have to earn their spot in the lineup.

Flora is going to have a chance to seize a legitimate role with his dual-threat ability. Like Pettaway, he can make an impact as a receiver out of the backfield when allowed to be involved in the passing game. He is also a potential game changer on special teams as a return man.

Running back is easily the biggest question mark on the roster, but Johnson and the coaches are excited and optimistic about the talent translating to game day.

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