Iowa State Cyclones' Secondary Will Be Tested After Losing Key Players

Will the secondary of the Iowa State Cyclones be able to survive recent injuries?

Sep 6, 2025; Ames, Iowa, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell looks on against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the second quarter at Jack Trice Stadium. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones will be coming into their Week 6 matchup with a much-different looking team on the defensive side of the ball following their Week 5 victory over the Arizona Wildcats. 

Last Saturday, the Cyclones had arguably their best win of the season against the Wildcats at home. Iowa State was able to defeat a then undefeated Arizona team by a score of 39-14. On both sides of the ball, the team played really well coming off their bye week and it looked like a complete group effort. 

Complementary football is always a beautiful thing to see and that is exactly what the Cyclones were able to accomplish in the game. Unfortunately, during practice the week leading into the game Iowa State saw cornerback Jeremiah Cooper suffer a knee injury and he was ruled out for the game. 

It was later announced that he suffered a knee injury and would be out for the rest of the season. While the defense was able to perform well without him, in the last couple of minutes of their blowout win, they saw defensive back Jontez Williams also go down with knee injury. 

Even though Williams seemed to be alright coming off the field after the game, it was announced that he suffered a torn ACL and will be out for the rest of the year. These are two major blows to the secondary, and this group is going to look a lot different in Week 6. 

Can Secondary Survive Two Massive Injuries?

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Due to the absence of two starting defensive backs, Iowa State is going to need some players to step up. Behind Williams and Cooper is a lot of inexperienced players who are going to be thrown into important roles and have to learn on the fly. 

The two players who figure to see the most bump in playing time are going to be Tre Bell and Quentin Taylor Jr. Bell was the player who filled in for Cooper, and he did well enough against the Wildcats in the expanded role. Taylor is a redshirt freshman who has been getting some playing time in recent weeks but will now be asked to be the No.2 corner. 

With both Bell and Taylor taking a step up into their new roles, more youngsters will be needed to step up into their roles to provide depth. David Coffey and Beni Ngoyi will be those two players with Coffey returning from injury and Ngoyi being thrust into the larger role after switching positions from wide receiver last year. 

It is not going to be easy for this unit to go against Branden Sorsby and the Bearcats’ offense in Week 6. The talented quarterback is one of the best in the country, and this secondary is going to be tested right away.