Jaylen Raynor Has One Major Weakness To Overcome With Iowa State

There is one weakness Jaylen Raynor needs to overcome with the Iowa State Cyclones.

Iowa State quarterback Jaylen Raynor (1) runs with the ball during Spring football at Jack Trice Stadium on April 25, 2026, in Ames, Iowa | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It is anyone’s guess how the Iowa State Cyclones are going to look when they take the field for the first time this fall.

The entire program was flipped upside down when Matt Campbell decided to accept the head coaching position with the Penn State Nittany Lions. Not only did coaches follow him, but a large chunk of the roster did too in the transfer portal.

That left new head coach Jimmy Rogers with a ton of work to do with the roster. There isn’t a single returning starter on offense or defense, leaving ample opportunity for players to come in and earn prominent roles right away.

One player who is as close to a shoo-in as any for a starting spot is quarterback Jaylen Raynor. After three years with the Arkansas State Red Wolves, he transferred to Iowa State for his last season of college football.

Jaylen Raynor struggled in one key area throwing the ball

Sep 14, 2024; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Arkansas State Red Wolves quarterback Jaylen Raynor (1) throws against the Michigan Wolverines during the first half at Michigan Stadium. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

His transition will be made a little easier since his offensive coordinator, Keith Heckendorf, also joined the program. After being the Arkansas State offensive coordinator, he is the Cyclones new quarterbacks coach.

Their relationship will be key to the unit finding success under offensive coordinator Tyler Roehl. However, there is one area of Raynor’s game that he will certainly have to improve upon for the offense to reach its full potential.

He will need to greatly improve when it comes to throwing the ball downfield. As shared by David Hale of ESPN, when attempting throws 10+ yards down the field, his efficiency plummets.

Raynor had only a 40% completion rate on those attempts, producing four touchdowns and throwing nine interceptions. Given how productive he was overall, hopefully, those downfield numbers will increase with a stronger supporting cast around him.

A lot of responsibility was on his shoulders with the Red Wolves' offense as a one-man show. He led the Sun Belt with 333 completions, 501 pass attempts, 3,361 yards, 11 interceptions, and 258.5 passing yards per game.

Raynor was also the third leading rusher, racking up 423 yards on the ground to go along with seven more scores. He can certainly create plays, but he will need help from the supporting cast.

With a talented, but unproven group of pass catchers at the Power-4 level, it will be interesting to see how things come together offensively. An offensive line that features a mix of players from all levels of college football will also have a lot of eyes on it.

Summer workouts and training camp are going to be incredibly important times for Iowa State to grow and gel ahead of the regular season.