Iowa State Cyclones' Star Running Back Intends to Enter Transfer Portal

The Iowa State Cyclones' star running back intends to head to the transfer portal.

Jul 14, 2022; Arlington, TX, USA; A view of the Iowa State Cyclones helmet logo during the Big 12 Media Day at AT&T Stadium. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones were expecting to lose players to the transfer portal following the loss of Matt Campbell, but Tuesday was a bad day for the program. 

When coach Campbell took the job with the Penn State Nittany Lions, the Cyclones knew that they were going to be losing a lot of players, coaches, and recruits. So far, that has proven to be true on all fronts. 

As the long-time head coach of the program, Campbell has brought over many of his assistants with him to Penn State. Furthermore, following his departure, recent recruits were understandably released from their letters of intent to sign. This was a class that was shaping up to be one of the best in the history of the program, but it has been diminished significantly. 

Now, with the transfer portal set to open up just after the start of the new year, players are starting to let the program know that they will be entering the portal. Recently, offensive stars like Rocco Becht have made their decisions to enter the portal. Now, he will be joined by one of the best players in the Big 12 from 2025, Carson Hansen. 

Brutal Blow for the Offense

Thank you Cyclone Nation🌪️ pic.twitter.com/G186U6fpGB

— Carson Hansen (@CarsonHansen21) December 24, 2025

With Hansen electing to go into the transfer portal, it is a significant blow to the offense, as he was arguably their top performer from last season intending to leave. In 2025, Hansen had a fantastic campaign, totaling 952 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. The junior running back was really thriving toward the end of the campaign as well, totaling five straight games with over 100 yards rushing. 

Due to some of the struggles from the passing offense with Becht not being 100 percent down the stretch, the team leaned heavily on Hansen to help carry the load. He, alongside Abu Sama III, was an excellent duo for the team and a major spark for the offense at times. 

With the recent return of Tyler Roehl as the offensive coordinator, the early hope was likely that he could help convince Hansen to stay. Roehl was his running backs coach in 2024, and Hansen performed really well that year as well. 

Unfortunately, this is the latest departure for the Cyclones, who are increasingly going to look like a completely different program in 2026. Head coach Jimmy Rogers has struggled to retain key players so far, and the pressure will be on to replace them.