Media day takeaways from Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers

AMES — It’s time for the Jimmy Rogers era of Iowa State football.

The Cyclones new head coach – hired on Dec. 5, 2025 – took part in his first media day at the helm of Iowa State’s program on Aug. 19, ahead of the season opener against Southeast Missouri on Sep. 5, 2026.

In the final three seasons of Matt Campbell’s tenure at Iowa State, the Cyclones posted winning records. Can Rogers’ group – pieced together after his hiring in December – continue that success, or will it take some time before the Cyclones return to their winning ways?

“It’s been an eventful eight months,” Rogers said during his opening statement. “The team’s come together really well. This fall camp has been extremely productive for us, (and) the competition throughout camp has been fun to watch. … I’m excited for this season.”

Here are three takeaways from Rogers’ media day comments.

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The Cyclones will play one away game during the first five weeks of the season, and that will be against Iowa.

Iowa State opens the season at home against Southeast Missouri, travels to Iowa City in week two, and then follows that with matchups against Bowling Green, Utah and West Virginia in Jack Trice Stadium.

For a roster full of newcomers, taking travel out of the equation could benefit Rogers’ team.

“We spend the first five games in-state, (and that’s) huge for us,” Rogers said. “It will allow us to continue to build depth, and guys will blossom throughout the season in different point and times to see who the best players are.”

Other than both schools hiring Rogers to be the head football coach, Iowa State and Washington State are two very different college programs. So while there could be carryover from Rogers’ time with the Cougars, he hopes that culture is the biggest thing that he brings to Iowa State.

“I think culture, when it comes down to people,” responded Rogers, when asked if there was anything he wants to bring from his previous position. “Being on one wavelength and being about the team and being committed to one another was always extremely important to the last staff. Yeah, there’s similarities, but the voice, the messaging, how it’s said might be slightly different.”

In his first and only season at Washington State, Rogers brought in 75 newcomers. The Cougars went 7-6 that year, despite so many pieces being new to Rogers’ system.

He is in a similar situation this year, with 82 newcomers on Iowa State’s roster. Sure, there were some holdovers from Campbell’s time at Iowa State, but none of the Cyclones’ starters – save for placekicker Kyle Konrardy – are back in Ames this season.

“The experience of going through that with so many new players was unique for me and at times I take things for granted until they show up,” Rogers said. “I can promise you this year I didn’t take anything for granted.”

Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Media day takeaways from Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers