Iowa State Cyclones' Offensive Star Commits to Penn State Nittany Lions

A star offensive player from the Iowa State Cyclones has decided to follow Matt Campbell to the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Nov 19, 2022; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; A Penn State Nittany Lions helmet is seen with a sticker honoring the Virginia football players who were victims of a shooting on the University of Virginia campus, on November thirteenth 2022, during the second half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at SHI Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

With the transfer portal now open, the Iowa State Cyclones and new head coach Jimmy Rogers will be extremely busy trying to rebuild a program that has taken some significant hits. Unfortunately, some of their top talent is starting to follow their former coach. 

As soon as it was announced that head coach Matt Campbell was heading to be the next coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions, it was safe to assume that a lot of his talented players would follow him. 

So far, that has been the case with a number of recruits flipping to the Nittany Lions, and there has also been a majority of the coaching staff leaving as well. Now that the transfer portal is open, some of his established talent will undoubtedly be following him as well. 

Due to expectations being high for Penn State following a disastrous campaign in 2025, Campbell is likely to bring in some of the talent that he is familiar with. Even though Iowa State might not have achieved everything they set out to do last season, they had a good year, and there were some notable names on the roster. Unfortunately for them, the first major domino has fallen, and tight end Benjamin Brahmer has committed to the Nittany Lions. 

Brahmer Likely First of Many

BREAKING: Iowa State transfer TE Benjamin Brahmer has Committed to Penn State, he tells @On3sports

Through 3 seasons with the Cyclones he totaled 75 receptions for 977 yards and 9 TDs

One of the Top TEs in the portalhttps://t.co/RlUbB6Fk7q pic.twitter.com/bhmWLw7hCf

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) January 3, 2026

With his coaches all heading to Penn State, it was no surprise to see Brahmer heading to play there as well. This was a decision that was made relatively quickly, and the Nittany Lions have a recent history of having strong tight end play. 

Brahmer is an excellent addition to the team and will be an impact player right off the bat. In 2025, he was able to total 37 receptions, 446 receiving yards, and six receiving touchdowns. The junior tight end was a favorite target of Rocco Becht, and it feels inevitable that he will be joining the Nittany Lions sooner rather than later as well. 

For the Cyclones, while the loss of Brahmer to Penn State was expected, it still stings, nonetheless. He was a great player for the program and really was coming into his own in 2025. Now, he will be joining a very strong program and could be positioning himself well to be drafted after the 2026 campaign. 

While Rogers has done a nice job bringing in some talent of late, helping the offense and replacing the production of Brahmer is going to be a top need.