Iowa State Cyclones Add More Talent for Secondary in Transfer Portal

The Iowa State Cyclones were able to add some more talent to their secondary in the transfer portal.

Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers speaks during a timeout in the first half in the Iowa State and Iowa men’s basketball Cy-Hawk series at Hilton coliseum on Dec. 11, 2025, in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones have been very busy in the transfer portal, and they continue to bolster a defense that is appearing to be a strength of the team. 

It has been a busy few weeks for the Cyclones in the transfer portal, with the team seeing a majority of their roster from 2025 enter following the departure of Matt Campbell. This was undoubtedly to be expected after Campbell took the job with the Penn State Nittany Lions, and he has been able to bring over a good amount of talent from Iowa State. 

The Cyclones are fortunate that even when they lost Campbell, they had a quick replacement in Washington State Cougars head coach Jimmy Rogers. Even though he was only with the Cougars for one year, he was able to do a good job and was quickly sought after by Iowa State. 

With the Cougars, Rogers had to build the team through the portal, and that has been the case this year as well with Iowa State. This was a team that had a lot of talent and seemed poised for a big year in 2026 under Campbell, but now things will look a lot different. Recently, Rogers and the coaching staff were able to add an interesting option for their secondary in Montana safety Micah Harper. 

Cyclones Add More Depth to Secondary 

🌪️🌪️🌪️ #gocyclones pic.twitter.com/aCldnDVL41

— Micah Harper (@micahharper_) January 18, 2026

So far in the portal, the focus for the team has been to build a strong defensive unit. This was a group, especially in the secondary, that had a lot of talent in 2025. Now, defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit is building a strong group, and they continue to add talent. 

Harper initially committed to the BYU Cougars, but then transferred to Montana, where he was a starter and played a significant role. The statistics were pretty good for the talented defensive back at Montana, and he will be looking to thrive at the next level with the Cyclones. 

Iowa State is a team that has been finding ways to add talent from plenty of different areas, and getting Harper from Montana is an excellent example of that. He is going to come in off a strong year in 2025 and have a chance to compete for a starting spot with the Cyclones. 

Rogers has cast a vast net when it comes to recruiting and also bringing in players from the portal. This is a bit of a different dynamic for the team, and it will be interesting to see how he operates going forward.