Iowa State Football Joins Texas in Pursuit of 3-Star RB

A Class of 2028 running back has received an offer from the Iowa State Cyclones.

Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Detailed view of a Texas Longhorns helmet during the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones have to revamp virtually their entire roster for the 2026 season after former head coach Matt Campbell departed for the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Nearly half of the 50+ players who entered the transfer portal followed him to Happy Valley. There wasn’t a team in the country that lost more starters in the portal, and Iowa State and a few positional groups have been left in rough shape.

Arguably, the biggest concerns lie at running back, where the team is lacking experienced depth. Recruiting for the Class of 2028 isn’t going to help this year’s roster, but it should come as no surprise that head coach Jimmy Rogers is putting a focus on the position with the team’s latest pursuit.

Iowa State recently made an offer to Khristian White, a three-star running back out of Cy Ranch High School. There is some ground to make up, with the Texas Longhorns currently leading the way, according to Rivals Predictions.

Iowa State makes offer to 3-star running back Khristian White

Jul 12, 2023; Arlington, TX, USA; A view of the Iowa State Cyclones helmet and logo during Big 12 football media day at AT&T Stadium. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

They have a 30.3% chance of landing a commitment from him, and interest is already incredibly high in the Cypress, Texas, native. The Cyclones are the 10th scholarship offer he has received, and nine of them are from Power Conference programs.

Multiple Big 12 rivals have also made an offer to White, including the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Oklahoma State Cowboys and Arizona Wildcats.

Rogers and running backs coach John Johnson certainly have their work cut out for them with plenty of ground to make up. They were given a 3.2% chance in the Rivals Predictions, which is tied for a distant fourth behind Texas, SMU Mustangs and Texas Tech.

White has made unofficial visits with the Longhorns, Mustangs and Stanford Cardinal thus far in 2026. Iowa State will assuredly look to make a move to bring him to Ames sometime in the near future to help close the gap on the other schools.

After a great conversation with @COACHJJ_CYCLONE, I’m blessed to receive an offer from @CycloneFB. @WRAB50 @shwstppr34 @CyRanchFB @CJVogel_OTF @GPowersScout @adamgorney @TXRecruits @txfblife @On3Recruiting pic.twitter.com/T8MzTa65Gh

— Khristian White (@Khristian_White) May 11, 2026

The Cyclones could certainly use the help in the backfield, with their depth being so shaky right now. The departure of Jayden Jackson after the spring session certainly isn’t going to help matters with Salahadin Allah and Ryver Peppers both nursing injuries.

Transfer Cameron Pettaway and holdover Aiden Flora look locked into prominent roles right now. There have been some rumors swirling of Iowa State dipping back into the portal, being connected to JUCO All-American Markellus Bass.

In a few weeks, Class of 2026 running backs Caleb Francois and Gabriel Wilson will be on campus and getting involved in the summer workouts. Both could find their way into a role offensively, given the current state of the depth chart.