Iowa State, Matt Campbell Left Without Clear QB Path After Thomalla Flip to Alabama

Matt Campbell and the Cyclones have to shift focus with Thomalla's flip from Iowa State.

Sep 28, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell reacts during the third quarter against the Houston Cougars at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones received news that had been anticipated for about a month as 4-star quarterback Jett Thomalla announced his commitment flip to Alabama on Tuesday. Unfortunately for Matt Campbell and his program, it’s tough to match anything that the Crimson Tide has to offer, especially at the quarterback position.

Nonetheless, life in Ames moves on, and Campbell and his recruiting staff will have to move forward with a 2026 recruiting class void of its top prize. Unfortunately, all eight of the quarterbacks the Cyclones offered in the 2026 class are now committed to other programs, leaving few favorable options for Campbell in the cycle.

With Thomalla Gone, Cyclones Must Restart Their 2026 QB Search

There are a handful of guys the Cyclones could jump in the race for in 2026, though most aren’t in the typical recruiting pipelines at Iowa State’s disposal. 

Oscar Rios, an Elite-11 4-star from California and the No. 12-ranked quarterback in On3’s rankings, is the top somewhat realistic option for Iowa State to pursue late. He’s primarily focused on Utah and UCLA, and took a recent visit to Arizona. He was a Purdue commit before his recruitment started to open up, and he’s taken a visit as far east as Kentucky. However, it seems a good bit too late in the race to have any sort of shot at pulling him further away from the West Coast than his current options.

Update: Oscar Rios announced he'll be making a commitment on June 27 between UCLA and Arizona shortly after this article was published.

To stick one back to Alabama, Cincinnati 4-star Matt Ponatoski was another late addition on the Crimson Tide’s radar. With Thomalla committed, his options open back up a bit with Arkansas, Kentucky, and Oregon in the mix.  He’s taken three visits to Kentucky, who seem to have a comfortable lead. But, he has an official visit scheduled with Oregon on June 20 that could see his decision narrow further. Just like Rios, it might be much too late to jump into this race, especially with the Ducks yet to sign a quarterback in the 2026 class. Still, Oregon is counting on 5-star Ryder Lyons after his official visit last week, which would likely open the field for Ponatoski again.

Louisiana 3-star Cole Bergeron is the highest-ranked quarterback with few Power 4 offers. Only Indiana, UCLA, and Colorado have made an offer, though Georgia Tech appears to be in the lead without an offer yet, according to 247Sports. Even with a seemingly open playing field in his recruitment, it still seems like a long shot to pursue, especially as more and more quarterback-hungry programs show interest in the 6-foot-4 pocket passer. Still, the race for Bergeron is considerably more open than the two passers listed above.

Cyclones Hold Early Edge for a Pair of Promising 2027 Passers

Looking ahead to the 2027 class, Iowa State is in a good position with two quarterbacks. It doesn’t necessarily solve the issue of presumably replacing Rocco Becht in that season in the manner Campbell clearly would have liked to with Thomalla, but the Cyclones are in a take-what-they-can-get situation at the moment. Luckily, those two quarterbacks are well-regarded.

The Cyclones are currently in the lead for Illinois 4-star quarterback Israel Abrams. However, he hasn’t made a commitment yet, and he recently took a visit to Notre Dame. Similarly to Thomalla, holding onto Abrams won’t be easy as a top-ranked recruit likely to join the Elite 11 class next year.

Iowa State could also be competing with Notre Dame for the next quarterback on its 2027 radar, as Utah 4-star Kamden Lopati recently took a visit to South Bend and is hoping for an offer. Still, according to On3’s projections, the Cyclones hold a slim lead at the moment.

Currently, the Cyclones have offered four quarterbacks in the 2027 class, and Abrams and Lopati are the only ones On3 gives Iowa State a slim edge for. Iowa is leading the way on the other two.

The Cyclones’ future doesn’t rest on signing one of these quarterbacks, especially with the Transfer Portal being a viable option with the Cyclones competing at the top of the conference. But there’s no doubt the Campbell and Cyclones fans would like to see a bit more insurance for the post-Becht era at quarterback, likely coming in 2027.