Key Backup Position Still Seemingly Open Competition for Iowa State Football

The Iowa State Cyclones will be wrapping up fall camp soon, and the start of the season will soon be underway. However, with a lot of new faces, there is no shortage of position battles still ongoing.

With the new era for the Cyclones underway, this has been one of the most important camps for the team in a while. Iowa State has a new coaching staff and almost a completely different roster from last year.

While the team did lose a ton of talent, they will be optimistic that they can have a successful campaign. Unfortunately, the bar for what would be a successful campaign has significantly dropped for the Cyclones.

Due to the amount of talent they lost, it feels like a six- or seven-win season could be the best-case scenario for the team. Now, as the season gets closer to starting, figuring out who will be in certain spots for the Cyclones will be something to monitor closely. One of the spots many will have an eye on is the backup quarterback spot.

Keith Heckendorf spoke with William Seals of On3 about the backup quarterback position on Tuesday and praised both Zane Flores and Connor Moberly.

Backup QB Spot Remains a Competition

Iowa State Cyclones quarterbacks — Iowa State quarterbacks Jaylen Raynor (1), Zane Flores (6), and Connor Moberly (5) line uo for passing drill during the university’s football open practice at Johnny Majors practice field on August 8, 2026, in Ames, Iowa. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Coming into fall camp, this figured to be a good battle between the two quarterbacks for the spot behind Jaylen Raynor. Flores got a good amount of playing time with the Oklahoma State Cowboys last year, but struggled on what was a bad team.

For Moberly, he was one of the few players from the program last year that actually stayed. Unfortunately for him, with a new coaching staff, there was no advantage for him knowing the system or the playbook.

With the competition being open, there still hasn’t been an announcement on who will be behind Raynor. Due to both bringing some good things to the table and no clear-cut choice as of now, it wouldn’t be too surprising if they both see opportunities at some point this season.

Raynor will have a firm grip on the starting job, but in blowouts or if he is forced to miss time, the Cyclones do have two very solid players who could replace him and play in games.

While it seems logical with Flores’ experience as a starter in the Big 12 that he would have an edge, Moberly is seemingly right there with him, which is an encouraging sign to see.

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