Sixteen former Iowa State football players made NFL 53-man rosters for Week 1, and a few of them wasted no time making an impact.
The Cyclones’ alumni had plenty of offensive production on display, from touchdowns through the air to a bruising day on the ground. There was even a defensive highlight mixed in, with a play that came awfully close to becoming a safety. Three former Iowa State standouts separated themselves in the opening week.
Brock Purdy headlined the group for San Francisco, steering the 49ers to a 27-7 win over the Los Angeles Rams in Australia. He went 25-of-34 for 205 yards and three touchdowns.
His first scoring strike came in the second quarter on a 39-yard connection to Demarcus Robinson. Purdy later added a 2-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans and finished his day with a 15-yard touchdown to Deebo Samuel.
Breece Hall also found the end zone for the New York Jets in their 23-10 season-opening win over the Tennessee Titans. Hall, who played for Iowa State from 2019 to 2021 before being drafted by the Jets in the second round in 2022, scored on a 4-yard run in the third quarter. He carried the ball 22 times for 102 yards.
On defense, Will McDonald IV made his presence felt for the Jets in the fourth quarter with a sack that nearly turned into a safety, though the play ended just outside the end zone. McDonald, a first-round pick in 2023 after playing at Iowa State from 2018 to 2022, gave New York another former Cyclone making noise in Week 1.
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Tamin Lipseys Iowa State Future Now Hinges On One Decision
Former Iowa State guard Tamin Lipsey is waiting on a legal ruling that could shape what comes next in his college career, as a case seeking a preliminary injunction works its way through Indiana's Monroe County Circuit Court. The filing is aimed at giving him and other athletes a chance to play a fifth season of college athletics, and Judge Kara Krothe is expected to make a decision soon.
For Iowa State, the timing matters because Lipsey was one of the more familiar names tied to the programs recent run, and his future remains unsettled until the court speaks. The case has become the latest reminder that roster planning in college sports can turn on developments far beyond Ames, even as the Cyclones continue to sort through other program business, including special teams adjustments and a newly announced Big 12 schedule. [Read more 🡒]
Former Cyclones Are Already Giving Iowa State Fans Plenty To Talk About
The first week of the 2026 NFL season gave Iowa State fans an early reminder of how much former Cyclones can still shape Sundays. Breece Hall opened with 102 rushing yards and a touchdown for the New York Jets, while Brock Purdy kept the San Francisco 49ers moving with three passing touchdowns, two performances that had Ames rooting interest attached well beyond the usual pro football chatter.
Beyond the headline numbers, the rest of the former Iowa State contingent also had their fingerprints on the opening slate through snap counts, production and a few injury notes that will bear watching as the season settles in. For a program that has built a reputation for sending tough, useful players to the league, week one already offered plenty for Cyclones fans to track, and plenty more to see how it develops from here. [Read more 🡒]
Boston College Faces A Brutal Reality In The ACC Talent Race
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For Iowa State, the broader takeaway matters because the Cyclones are part of the same conversation as programs like Boston College, Duke, Arizona and Cincinnati, all of them trying to navigate a spending landscape that can shift quickly from year to year. The piece makes clear that these are ranges, not confirmed figures, and the real tension is how much room schools have to move when the competitive baseline keeps rising and some programs are already working from a thinner margin than others. [Read more 🡒]