Iowa State Football Should Be Excited About Potential of New Quarterback

Should the Iowa State Cyclones be excited about their new quarterback?

Nov 9, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Iowa State Cyclones helmets on the bench during the first quarter against the Kansas Jayhawks at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones will be getting set for the upcoming college football season, and it will be an interesting transitional year for the program. 

With a coaching change and a completely new roster, the Cyclones are going to have a challenging year ahead of them. Jimmy Rogers inherited a program that lost their coach of a decade in Matt Campbell, and ushering in a new era can be challenging. 

As expected in the transfer portal, the program lost most of their players with a fair amount of them following Campbell. This was a team that had a lot of really talented juniors on the roster, and it felt like the 2026 campaign could have been the year that they really made a push in the Big 12. 

However, with players like Rocco Becht leaving, it forced the Cyclones to revamp the team. Since Iowa State isn’t one of the big spenders in the NIL landscape, they didn’t land one of the top transfer portal candidates at the position, but they did get an appealing player. 

The Cyclones ended up bringing in Arkansas State Red Wolves quarterback Jaylen Raynor, and as a three-year starter, he should be prepared for what’s to come. 

Raynor Can Be Great

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

While Raynor might not have been viewed as one of the best quarterbacks in the portal, he is a player who could make a positive impact for the Cyclones. At Arkansas State last year, he totaled 3361 passing yards, 19 passing touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. The junior signal caller set a new career-high in passing yards per game at 258.5. 

The increased production in the passing game was impressive, and Raynor is a player who is trending in the right direction. Furthermore, while his skills as a passer are improving, he is also a threat with his legs. As a runner, he totaled 423 rushing yards and seven rushing scores. Becht was also a good quarterback with his legs, and Raynor will arguably be bringing even more to the table with him than his predecessor. 

Even though there is going to be a step up in competition on a weekly basis, Raynor has played for the Cyclones each of the last two years. With that being said, he should be comfortable playing against Big 12 opponents, but he will have to adjust to a more challenging conference schedule. Overall, there is a lot to like about Raynor, and he very well could be a great addition for Iowa State.