Iowa State Cyclones Might Be Able to Flip Penn State Nittany Lions Recruit

Will the Iowa State Cyclones be able to flip a recruit from the Penn State Nittany Lions?

Nov 26, 2011; Madison, WI, USA; An Penn State Nittany Lions helmet sits on the field during warmups prior to the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. The Badgers defeated the Nittanty Lions 45-7. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

With the Iowa State Cyclones on their final bye week of the year, the team will hopefully be getting some rest and a bit healthier heading into the final two weeks of the year. 

Injuries have been a major storyline for the program since their strong start to the campaign, and the team struggled as they started to pile up. Fortunately, the program was finally able to snap its four-game losing streak with a victory against the TCU Horned Frogs. 

It was shocking to see the team be able to beat the Horned Frogs, considering that they didn’t play well at all. However, mistakes by TCU opened the door for them to steal one, and they walked right on in. Now, with Iowa State on their bye, the team will be getting some much-needed rest, and their coaching staff is going to be working hard to finish up recruiting for the 2026 class. 

There are still some targets that the team would like to bring into the program, but arguably the top one now will be a player that they initially missed out on. However, due to a coach being fired, Iowa State might once again have a chance. 

Alec Busse of 247Sports recently wrote about the Cyclones being a team that could possibly look to flip Penn State Nittany Lions recruit Pierce Petersohn, who has recently opened up his commitment status. 

Petersohn Would Be a Massive Addition

William Purnell-Imagn Images

The four-star prospect opening up his recruiting status following the firing of James Franklin by Penn State should come as no surprise. With Franklin yet to join a new team as a head coach, players who were recruited to his program could have likely followed him if that were the case. 

Petersohn was offered by the Cyclones to be a linebacker before committing to Penn State as a tight end. That is also a position of need for Iowa State currently, and whether it be at tight end or linebacker, adding a four-star talent at this stage of recruiting would be big for the program. 

As the team actively tries to add a couple of more players to the recruiting class, Petersohn would be a big prize and a significant flip for the program. With the Nittany Lions believing that he could be a tight end for their program, he could follow in the footsteps of what has been a very talented room at that position this year for the Cyclones.