Iowa State Cyclones' Receiver Set to Visit Multiple Strong Football Programs

A wide receiver from the Iowa State Cyclones is set to visit a couple major schools.

Oct 23, 2021; Ames, Iowa, USA; General view of helmet used by Iowa State Cyclones against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the first half at Jack Trice Stadium. | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

With the transfer portal now open, the Iowa State Cyclones are going to be extremely busy trying to rebuild a roster that has been decimated. With a plethora of their players in the portal, most are busy trying to figure out what their next move will be. 

To no surprise, with a ton of players in the portal, there has been a lot of news already for the Cyclones. Recently, their now former star tight end Benjamin Brahmer committed to the Penn State Nittany Lions, and there will undoubtedly be more players who will follow him. 

For Iowa State, they are going to need to rebuild through the portal, and that is not an easy task. The offense has taken a lot of significant hits, and what this team will look like in 2026 is hard to predict right now. 

While a lot of players have already been linked to Penn State, one player who is seemingly looking at other opportunities is wide receiver Xavier Townsend. The junior wide receiver transferred from the Central Florida Knights, so his links to Campbell and the coaching staff aren’t the same as some of the other talent on the team. 

Recently, Chris Hummer reported that Townsend is set to visit a few schools, with a couple of them being historically strong football programs. 

Townsend Set to Visit Multiple Schools

Iowa State WR transfer Xavier Townsend has set a series of visits, a source tells @mzenitz and me.

FSU (1st reported by @ZBlostein247)
Notre Dame
Purdue
Missouri

Townsend has 84 career catches for 764 yards. Also one of the nation's top returners.https://t.co/o3d6EwjoDX pic.twitter.com/EgzHS3h8a1

— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) January 3, 2026

In his only season with Iowa State, the numbers for Townsend weren’t overly impressive as a wide receiver. He totaled just 18 receptions and 243 receiving yards, but it was his punt-returning ability that made him valuable prior to coming to the Cyclones, and perhaps that is the role he will be seeking. 

When looking at some of the teams that he is visiting, like the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Florida State Seminoles, it’s hard to imagine that he would be much of a factor for them at receiver coming off the year that he had with the Cyclones. However, if they view him as someone who can be their primary punt returner, that will provide some added value. 

With Aiden Flora back for Iowa State, their special teams unit should continue to be strong. Townsend is seemingly drawing some interest from good football schools, and it will be interesting to see where he lands and what role he might play. Even though he didn’t do much with the Cyclones, there are still a lot of teams interested in what he can do.