Iowa State Cyclones Receive Commitment From Star Division II Linebacker

The Iowa State Cyclones have been able to bolster their linebacker corps

Nov 9, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Iowa State Cyclones helmets on the bench during the first quarter against the Kansas Jayhawks at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

With the transfer portal open, the Iowa State Cyclones have been very busy working on rebuilding a program that has seen a majority of their talent elect to seek other opportunities. Fortunately, they are doing a nice job of starting to bring in some talent as well. 

New head coach Jimmy Rogers seemed to know right after taking the job that the team was going to have to rebuild through the transfer portal. Former Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell was a great coach for the program for a long time, and it will be no surprise when some of his players join him with the Penn State Nittany Lions. 

For Rogers, he is going to be tasked with completely revamping this roster, but fortunately, he has some recent experience doing that. In his first and only season with the Washington State Cougars, Rogers needed to go into the portal to find talent, and he had Washington State as a very respectable team in 2025. 

Now, he has started to try to build that same culture with the Cyclones. With the transfer window now open, Iowa State and Rogers have reportedly received a commitment from two-time Division II All-American linebacker Tristan Exline.

Impact Addition from Division II

Iowa State has landed a commitment from Division II two-time All-American linebacker Tristan Exline (@TristanExline), his agency @thebizofathlete tells me and @mzenitz.

Posted 143 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, six sacks and an interception this year.https://t.co/qdVqoluOGy pic.twitter.com/AD3qZ2Q2GZ

— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) January 3, 2026

Since Rogers and his defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit have come over from the Cougars, there has clearly been an intention to build the Cyclones as a strong defensive program. With a switch in defensive scheme, bringing in depth has been a goal, and the addition of Exline is a good one. 

The talented linebacker is coming off a really impressive junior year, and he should be able to transition to Division I and make an impact as well. In 2025, he totaled 143 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, six sacks, and one interception. 

Exline is clearly an impact player at the position and is a nice addition. While Division II talent doesn’t always get a ton of recognition, some players just develop a little bit later than others, and the junior linebacker is undoubtedly a good football player and a tackling machine. 

As Iowa State starts to build their identity, it is going to be focused on being a physical defensive team. It will be interesting to see what they try to accomplish in terms of bringing in talent offensively to match that, and there is certainly a lot to be done. While there is still work to do, adding Exline to the linebacker corps is a nice addition.