Iowa State Cyclones' QB Will Have Big Shoes to Fill Following Rocco Becht Leaving

It has been a very busy couple of months for the Iowa State Cyclones’ football program following the departure of their head coach. Fortunately, things have started to calm down a bit.

New head coach Jimmy Rogers didn’t inherit a great situation following Matt Campbell's departure for the Penn State Nittany Lions. The long-time head coach of the program took a lot of his talent with him to his new school, understandably, and it left the Cyclones in a tough spot.

Rogers has done a good job, along with his coaching staff, rebuilding this team from scratch in the transfer portal, but there was some key talent that left the program. Iowa State was a team that was setting up to be really talented with a lot of potential returning talent that had been starters for a couple of years.

Now, the program is going to have new faces that will be trying to fill in for them. At one of the most important positions on the field, the loss of a key player is going to have some ripple effects for the program.

Max Olson of ESPN recently wrote about the best transfer additions for teams this winter. Unfortunately for the Cyclones, quarterback Rocco Becht was one of them.

Jaylen Raynor Will Have Big Shoes to Fill

Arkansas State Red Wolves quarterback Jaylen Raynor throwing the ball — Arkansas State Red Wolves quarterback Jaylen Raynor | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

With Becht being one of the best players to leave the program and a three-year starter, Iowa State had to bring in someone who could fill those shoes. Due to the Cyclones not having the financial capability to go after some of the top targets in the country, they got savvy and added Raynor from Arkansas State.

Iowa State is familiar with Raynor, as they have played against him the last two years. While the Cyclones were victorious in both of those games, the matchup in 2025 was a close one.

The talented quarterback will be bringing an interesting dynamic to the offense with the ability to both throw and run the football effectively. He has gotten better as a passer every season with Arkansas State and could be poised for a really strong campaign with Iowa State if that trend continues.

With a ton of new faces for the program, the Cyclones have built what looks to be a strong offensive line around Raynor. They are going to have a hard-nosed mindset on both sides of the ball, but their new quarterback should be able to provide some explosiveness on offense.