Penn State Nittany Lions Seen as Favorite to Land Iowa State Cyclones' Defensive Star

Will the Penn State Nittany Lions land a star player from the Iowa State Cyclones?

Nov 16, 2013; University Park, PA, USA; General view of a Penn State Nittany Lions helmet prior to the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Beaver Stadium. | Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

It has been a busy couple of days for the Iowa State Cyclones, who have seen a number of key players announce that they are intending on heading into the transfer portal. For one player, there appears to be a clear frontrunner. 

Due to the departure of Matt Campbell to the Penn State Nittany Lions, the Cyclones have seen their program turned upside down, and new head coach Jimmy Rogers has his work cut out for himself. The talented young coach appears to be up for the challenge, but he will seemingly be building the program back up from scratch. 

As expected, many recruits from the 2026 class won’t be coming to Iowa State following Campbell’s decision to leave. Furthermore, top talent from the team is expected to head into the transfer portal. 

While Rogers was hoping to retain some key players, he was well aware that this could happen. One player whom Rogers was unable to convince to stay with the program was defensive back Jeremiah Cooper. The talented defender had his season cut short because of a torn ACL, but when healthy, he can be one of the best defensive backs in the country. Now, he will be highly sought after in the transfer portal, and one team appears to be the favorite. 

Pete Nakos of On3 recently wrote about the Nittany Lions being the favorite as of now to land star defensive back Jeremiah Cooper in the transfer portal. 

Cooper to Penn State Makes Sense

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It should come as little surprise that the Nittany Lions are the perceived favorite to land Cooper. With coach Campbell and a majority of his staff going to Penn State, top talent from the Cyclones is going to be following their coach to a prestigious school. 

As Campbell tries to establish himself and revitalize the Penn State program, early success is likely to be created by bringing in players he knows and is familiar with. While Cooper is going to make a ton of sense to add to the defensive side of the ball, Rocco Becht and Carson Hansen will likely be targets on offense. 

With the Cyclones, Campbell was someone who prioritized having a strong defense, and he will miss his long-time defensive coordinator, Jon Heacock, who recently decided to retire. However, bringing in one of the best defensive players to enter the portal will help establish that identity for the Nittany Lions.