Iowa State Cyclones Offer Talented Four-Star Linebacker from Texas

The Iowa State Cyclones are trying to recruit one of the best linebackers in Texas.

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

With the 2026 recruiting class coming in for the Iowa State Cyclones and the transfer portal set, Jimmy Rogers and the coaching staff will be starting to look toward the future. 

It has undoubtedly been a challenging couple of months for Rogers and his coaching staff since coming to the Cyclones. The new head coach inherited a mess with a large portion of the team heading into the transfer portal, and also, recruits were doing the same. 

Fortunately, after having to do something similar with the Washington State Cougars last year, Rogers seemed prepared for it. In the portal, he was able to add a lot of quality players and depth figures to be a strength of the program for 2026. 

Furthermore, with National Signing Day just passing, the 2026 recruiting class is mostly set as well. Despite it being an uphill battle and being behind the eight ball in terms of time, Rogers was able to put together a solid class thanks to a lot of his recruits from the Cougars coming over. 

Now, while things have settled down to a degree, there is still a ton of work to do for the program going forward. Rogers will be attempting to establish himself as a good recruiter for Iowa State, and he and the staff have been working on both the 2027 and 2028 classes. Recently, the Cyclones have offered four-star linebacker Brayden Bonik. 

Bonik Would Be Great Add

After a talk with @COACHJJ_CYCLONE I’m grateful to have revived an offer from @CycloneFB @CoachBobbit @Coach_LaFavers @RPHS_FB @samspiegs @Perroni247 @jackson_dip @TFloss32 @BillyGranville @DonnieBaggs_ @athleticcoach_ @gabrieldbrooks @adamgorney @MikeRoach247 @TomLoy247 pic.twitter.com/5JOou5ZjQE

— Brayden Bonik (@im_brayden23) February 5, 2026

Even though it is for the class of 2028, it is great to see Iowa State looking ahead to try to build strong recruiting classes. Bonik is a really talented linebacker out of Texas, and as a four-star player, would be a nice addition. 

According to Rivals, he is ranked as the 97th best recruit of his class currently, seventh at his position, and ninth in the state of Texas. With the Lone Star State being one of the best for recruiting football players, Bonik being a Top 10 player in his class from there highlights his skills. 

As expected for a player of his caliber, he has received a ton of offers from some really good schools. However, it is encouraging to see Iowa State not being afraid to get in the mix for a player like Bonik. This is a new era for the program, and recruiting in Texas is challenging, but could be very rewarding as well. While there is plenty of time before a decision will come, the four-star linebacker will be a name to keep an eye on.