Former Iowa State Cyclones Recruit Speaks About Commitment to Penn State

A former recruit for the Iowa State Cyclones recently spoke about joining Matt Campbell and the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Dec 8, 2025; University Park, PA, USA; Matt Campbell answers questions from the media after being announced as the Penn State Nittany Lions new head coach during a press conference at the Beaver Stadium Press Room. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

It has been a wild couple of weeks for the Iowa State Cyclones, who have seen their program flipped upside down following the loss of head coach Matt Campbell. 

In what ended up being a quick turn of events for the program, the Cyclones lost their head coach to the Penn State Nittany Lions and quickly replaced him with Jimmy Rogers from the Washington State Cougars. While it was important that the program was able to get a new coach in so quickly, that hasn’t slowed down the massive turnover since then. 

As expected, the team has lost a number of coaches and recruits so far. While some of their star players have yet to make a decision on their futures, more change and player movement will undoubtedly come. 

It wasn’t too long ago that this was one of the best recruiting classes in the history of the program. However, with about half of the class gone so far, it has taken a significant hit. One of the players who left was three-star quarterback Kase Evans. After a wild recruiting journey for the young prospect, he has landed with Campbell and Penn State. 

Recently, he spoke with Adam Gorney of Rivals about his commitment to the Nittany Lions. 

“After I got released from my ISU signing, coach (Derek) Hoodjer called me, and he basically told me I pretty much had a spot there if I wanted to come play football at Penn State, so I couldn’t let that opportunity pass.”

Evans A Major Loss for ISU

Thank you Coach Campbell for your belief in me! What a ride this has been, and what a ride this is about to be! See you in January #HappyValley‼️#WeAre #PennState @CoachMC_PSU @CoachJWaters @T_Mouser @DerekHoodjer @PennStateFball @dctf pic.twitter.com/gg5yQfqvgl

— Kase Evans (@KaseEvans2026QB) December 14, 2025

There was a lot of excitement after the Cyclones were able to land Evans following his decommitment from the Oklahoma State Cowboys. After the firing of head coach Mike Gundy, Evans became available and ultimately joined Iowa State. 

Unfortunately, just after signing day, he saw Campbell leave, and things undoubtedly got hectic for him. While it was a significant blow for the Cyclones to see him go to the Nittany Lions, it is a great landing spot. 

Evans was ranked as the 64th best quarterback in the class and is a Top 200 recruit from Texas according to Rivals. For Campbell to get him and bring him up north with him is an impressive feat, showcasing that he will undoubtedly have success recruiting. 

For Iowa State, the loss of Evans was a big one for the program. He appeared like he could be a future starting quarterback for the team, and there is a lot of uncertainty about the future of the most critical position on the field. 

After securing a recent recruit to flip, Rogers will continue to have his work cut out for him to improve the recruiting class for the Cyclones and also navigate the transfer portal well.