Iowa State Cyclones Land Former Five-Star Recruit from Arkansas Razorbacks

The Iowa State Cyclones have added an experience player for their secondary in the 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 transfer portal has undoubtedly been a busy time for the Iowa State Cyclones, and the team has recently been able to add a former five-star recruit. 

Following the loss of Matt Campbell as their coach, the Cyclones knew that this was going to be a much different-looking team in 2026. Campbell has been able to bring over a majority of his coaching staff with him, and players have followed him to Penn State as well. 

With so much talent leaving the program, it has undoubtedly been a lot of work for Jimmy Rogers and his coaching staff to come in and rebuild this roster. However, they are clearly comfortable working the portal, and they have added quite a bit of talent so far. 

Overall, the focus has been a bit more on the defense up until this point, and the identity of the team is seemingly going to mirror that. Recently, the Cyclones were able to get a nice high-upside addition in the portal with former five-star prospect Jaheim Singletary from the Arkansas Razorbacks. 

Cyclones Land Potential High-Upside Starter

BREAKING: Arkansas transfer CB Jaheim Singletary has committed to Iowa State, @Hayesfawcett3 reports🌪️

Singletary was a 5-star recruit in the 2023 class. https://t.co/kSYG7dZ8sR pic.twitter.com/0Dugf20FJ5

— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) January 15, 2026

Coming out of high school, Singletary was a five-star prospect who went to the Georgia Bulldogs as one of the best cornerbacks in his class. When he transferred from the Bulldogs to Arkansas, he was regarded as a four-star player but has since dropped to a three-star player in this year's rankings according to Rivals Industry Rankings. 

With Singletary bouncing around a bit the last couple of years, he will be seeking an opportunity to develop and thrive under the new coaching staff for the Cyclones. Jesse Bobbit is a strong defensive coordinator, and the young cornerback is likely to be a potential starter for the team. 

While he might not have lived up to his five-star potential just yet, he will be one of the most experienced players on the backend for a young Iowa State secondary. This is a unit that was hit hard in the portal and had a ton of talent prior to injuries in 2025. Now, it could be the transfer cornerback who leads them in 2026. 

Even though there are some young options in the secondary who might develop, it would be nice to see another experienced player join the unit alongside Singletary. However, this is a nice addition for the program, and it will be interesting to see how he performs at Iowa State.