I don’t ever want to write about my 87-year-old dad’s death. But we all lose our loved ones eventually. My dad, Henry, who taught in the Ames Community School District for more than three decades, has cancer. He’s a better, kinder and more generous man than I’ve ever been — and is currently hospitalized in Des Moines while trying to beat a severe infection. Eventually I will have to write about losing him, mom, and others. I simply hope he can recover from this immediate health crisis and we can enjoy some meaningful, less pain-ridden time with him for as long as possible on the other side of this harrowing situation. Here’s to you, dad. You’re my hero. And here’s an Iowa State football story (see below).
First-year Iowa State head football coach Jimmy Rogers fully accepts the concept of “rebuilding” a team mostly via the transfer portal.
After all, the former South Dakota State and Washington State mentor’s just overseen a dramatic roster overhaul for the second straight offseason, so his name’s become almost synonymous with that numbers-based challenge.
But he rejects the implication that massive change translates to immediate struggle in terms of wins and losses — even as his new-look Cyclones were picked to finish last in the league by USA Today.
“To say this is a rebuilding year, I don’t think anybody in the NFL says that, and their rosters look different every single year,” Rogers told reporters from the podium late Wednesday morning at the Big 12 Football Media Days in Frisco, Texas. “So I’m not gonna buy intro that. We have a team that’s committed with the right people in the building. We’ve just gotta put it on the field and put in the process and feel confident about where we stand.”
To the outside world, that’s 16th out of 16 Big 12 teams — and that’s not really surprising given the nature of things. What Rogers and has staff have pieced together looks like a winning team to them, but to everyone else it’s a roster utterly defined by uncertainty. And that fuels external doubt, at least, as a new era of ISU football swings into view in the Sept. 5 season opener against Southeast Missouri State at Jack Trice Stadium.
“I mean, if nobody’s expecting much from you or anything you do, you’ve got so much to prove,” said new Cyclone quarterback Jaylen Raynor, who will enter fall camp as the clear favorite to earn the top spot after transferring in from Arkansas State. “So obviously it’s kind of like more of an underdog situation, and we’ll be ready to prove the haters wrong, but more importantly, prove ourselves right.”
Raynor — along with rock-steady kicker Kyle Konrardy and several other newcomers and returners — will enjoy ample opportunities to prove that ISU can compete for bowl eligibility right away with Rogers at the helm. The Cyclones reached postseason play eight of the last nine seasons under Matt Campbell before he took the Penn State job in December. Rogers guided Washington State to a 6-6 regular season mark in one season in Pullman, as well, so his track record points to that distinct possibility, not matter what external observers foresee.
“I think when you have so much roster overhaul, I think it’s hard for people to believe that it’s doable for me,” said Rogers, who guided South Dakota State to an FCS national title in 2023. “I feel like we’re so much further along than what we were at Washington State at this time with connection of the team with scheme and overall understanding, and this team has been really willing and bought into the process in which it takes to have success,” Rogers said. “So I do believe the future is bright. I am excited about the roster that we’ve assembled. I do believe that we’re gonna have the opportunity to go prove our truth.”
Forging that truth hinges on one overriding attribute — and the implication that accompanies it. Rogers said his first ISU team and each one to follow will be defined by “toughness,” and as long as that standard is upheld, there’s always a chance to break through under any conditions, including ones rooted in the deepest uncertainty.
“A team that will buy into one another,” Rogers added. “A team that will be united when they step on the field together, and (will) have precise clarity with their intentions to accomplish something that they said they were passionate about. … There’s got to be the right belief system that is ego less and is bound by trust, purpose and accountability. I feel like we have that right now, but we’ve gotta do something about it. It can’t be all talk.”
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